Help needed with American slang

Driftin' Duke

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Hi All

I've written a song in the style of Hank Williams and I've used a UK slang expression, 'pulled', meaning 'picked up a woman', and I'm wondering if there are any single word American slang terms meaning the same thing. If the term comes from the 40's or 50's, all the better. Also, here in the UK we use the term 'pub crawl' to mean moving from bar to bar and getting drunk, are there any Ameriican terms that mean the same.
Thank you racking your brains, especially if you're sporting a hangover.
DD
 
we use pub crawl and while pulled is not common in american english I have heard it in David Bowie and also in the Kinks songs .... but it was foreign to me until I read an explanation of the Bowie song Queen Bitch. But in both the Bowie song and the Kinks song the term pulled is a lot stronger than picked up! if you mean pick up you could use that or maybe find another word ... how bout posting the song lyrics?
 
Thanks so much for suggestions so far. It seems to highlight to me just how big a word 'pulled' is. I've realised the full slang meaning is more like, 'having picked up a woman who I'm more than likely to have sex with'. The line I have at the moment is:-

I started a fight and I thought I'd pulled

As you can see, if you know the meaning of 'pulled', it explains a lot in a few words, but it certainly does not read like HW era lyrics.

hoosierhiver, I loved your suggestions as some of them sounded older, but I'd have to rethink, which is fine of course.
BadLands Bart, doesn't 'baged' mean the same as 'scored'? If so, that's going too far (see later).
I'm sorry if it seems that I'm lowering the tone, but that's not my idea at all. The guy in my song thinks he's just been left by his wife and gets very drunk with his best friend while 'bar hopping', hence his bad behaviour, but the next line is:-

But Jose said, "That's going too far"

Once the song is sorted properly, I will endeavour to do a rough recording and post it, so please bear with me.

Thanks once again.
 
Why not just leave in "pulled"? Just because it's in the musical style of Hank Williams (senior or junior?) that doesn't mean it has to be written in "American".

JJ
 
How about "scored"?
 
"got lucky"

–Lori
 
I know when I was in my late teens and early twenties we used to use the term "pull chicks" as you described picking them up.
 
And his mother goes to meetings,
While his father pulls the maid,
And she stirs the tea with councilors,
While discussing foreign trade,
And she passes looks, as well as bills
At every suave young man

(Well Respected Man... Kinks)


I'm up on the eleventh floor
And I'm watching the cruisers below
He's down on the street
And he's trying hard
to pull sister Flo
My heart's in the basement
My weekend's at an all time low


(David Bowie ... Queen Bitch)
 
Thanks for the song words Huna. Ray Davies liked vaudeville with it's inuendo. I would say David Bowie is using the expression much more along the lines that I'm aware of.

Rockabilly, you have opened up a whole can of worms. What era are we talking about when you were a teenager? And I take it you are American? I know that slang expressions change and evolve with each generation, but it would be interesting if the idea of 'pulling chicks', or as we say here, 'pulling birds' came originally from the US. It's an expression that would only be used over here by blokes over 35-40, and as my girlfriend pointed out, it sounds a bit aggressive to her.

It's amazing, but now I'm using the expression 'got lucky' it has lightened up the whole line and I'm singing it more cheekily, which was how I wanted it to sound in the first place. It takes a womans touch to lighten the ways of men.
 
"got lucky" and "scored" are past-tense, so would need a buildup that you "might" get lucky or score.

In your use, "I thought I'd score" or "thought I'd get lucky" would work, as in I would
 
Rockabilly, you have opened up a whole can of worms. What era are we talking about when you were a teenager? And I take it you are American? I know that slang expressions change and evolve with each generation, but it would be interesting if the idea of 'pulling chicks', or as we say here, 'pulling birds' came originally from the US. It's an expression that would only be used over here by blokes over 35-40, and as my girlfriend pointed out, it sounds a bit aggressive to her.

I would imagine that you are right. Pulling chicks is probably an American term. It was probably exactly the kind of thing that bands like the Kinks, The Stones, and many other "British Invasion" picked up from the American blues and country music that influenced them so much. I agree with your girlfriend too, it does sound a bit aggressive.

Also I question the term "got lucky". I may be confused about what you were going for but it seems to me that earlier you said that you wanted to imply that the person in the song was picking up a girl that he is most likely going to have sex with, "got lucky" implies he already did.. "got lucky" means the same thing as "bagged" or "scored" which you said was going to far.

personally I don't think any words you use in a song about boozing it up and chasing women because of a broken heart could be "going to far". It's an honest song, and honestly the way people deal with heartache can be a messy thing sometimes; especially when alcohol is involved. The phrase is "sex, drugs, and rock n roll" not "the implications of sex, booze in moderation, and rock n roll". That's my two cents anyway :).

It sounds like a really cool song, anything done in the 50's/60's style rock n roll is always worth checking out. I can't wait until you get it posted.
 
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