These dance music words really should be added to the Oxford English Dictionary

A lot of new words (about 1,000) are added to the Oxford English Dictionary each year, establishing them as canon in the rich vaults of the English language. In 2017 so far we’ve gained the likes of ‘pogonophobia’, a facetious quip meaning a strong hatred of beards, which is most useful for describing an afternoon spent in Shoreditch or Brooklyn. Another new word among the hundreds is ‘420’, a slang term for smoking weed, which is useful for describing an afternoon spent in Shoreditch or Brooklyn.

Last month Eminem’s hip hop track title ‘Stan’, meaning stalker-fan, was inked into the hallowed pages, which got us thinking. There’s a whole host of dance music terms we use on an almost daily basis that are crucial components of our vocabulary, and it’s about time dance music got some OED recognition. You know, other than ‘twerk’. See our picks below.

'Banger’ exists in the OED, but its current definitions are deeply insufficient. Sausage? No. Clapped-out motor? No. Firework? This one’s close to be fair, but no. A banger is a fucking banger, mate. That ludicrously good tune that ignites the rave and has dancers going wild to its unbridled energy every single time. In fact, this meaning is so vital to the dance music lexicon we propose it becomes the word’s only definition and all others are scrubbed from the record. Next Guy Fawkes Night catch us trying the light a fuse on a stack of old Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers 12”s, while cub scouts roast kebab-sticked Underground Resistance records on an open fire, and a local thief tries to hotwire the new R&S bit.

'WOIIIIII' isn’t so much as a word as it is a noise of pure, unadulterated hype exploding from the visceral depths of your lungs when the DJ drops one those aforementioned ‘bangers’. But onomatopoeias are allowed in the OED, and this sound is a true clubland staple, second only to kick drums and hi-hats. And yes OED, capitals and all six Is are essential. (Fine, we’ll settle for ‘Woi’ if we must.)

Ah, PLUR. Peace. Love. Unity. Respect. The four pillars of the rave scene, united like holy Tetris blocks to form the foundation of our culture’s values. Next time you see some aggro taking place in a club, wouldn’t it be handy to have an official document reminding the aggressors to get in line with PLUR? I just think violent delinquents would respond well to folks repping dictionaries in the smoking area. Also, once PLUR is locked in, we can start the campaign for Plurnt, simultaneously adding twerking and getting turnt to sacred rave pantheon.

One for the bass heads. If you’ve ever seen a DJ dropping some murky, bass-loaded UK rhythms that sound like they’ve been born and raised in a gutter on a diet of black sludge and liquorice then you’ll know what we’re talking about. Throw your head back and shout it: “GULLY.” Best served alongside gun fingers.

Percy, meaning personal fav, captures that cherished connection we have with our favourite records. In a club, dance music is about uniting together to the beat of a DJ’s bag, but inside and out there’s also a high degree of intimacy involved. Certain tracks have greater levels of personal meaning to certain people, and instil a love that surpasses natural limits. We call those tracks a ‘percy’. A percy is that track you spent 8 months hunting down after having your mind blow by your favourite DJ playing it in your favourite club. A percy is a track that will never fail to have you screaming “WOIIIIII” on the dancefloor. A percy is a track you have to force yourself to stop listening to on repeat so you don’t ruin it with overplaying. A percy is a high-priority new addition for the OED.

Untz. What a sound. Miles away from arriving at a club or festival you begin to hear it filtering through the air, sending tremors of excitement through your body in anticipation for the slew of drums and bass you’re about to get stuck into. If the word ‘baa’, a noise sheep make, is in there, then untz, the noise that sends ravers across the world into bliss, needs adding. Note: when referring to the beat of German techno, it’s spelled Üntz.

No word quite captures that fizzing thrill of euphoric intoxication quite like ‘pinging’. It’s powerfully evocative, bringing to mind pogo sticks, twanging springs, serotonin shooting through your veins like water gushing over the edge of Niagara Falls. Expressing that whirlwind of overwhelming in-club experiences so succinctly, so elegantly, so absolutely, makes it a compulsory word for any dictionary striving for dance music representation. Maybe keep it out of the primary school editions, though.

Hey, not all dance music words are positive. ‘The scene’ are a fickle bunch, and love to get stuck into a little sniping and in-fighting when they get the chance. For example, when a DJ drops a ‘clanger’, aka a dodgy mix, they love to guffaw and whisper said word to their guffawing pals. It’s a key term on the lips of dance music snobs across the world. So go on then OED, get it in there, see if we can make them happy for once.

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter for discussion about percys and bangers