BBC Learning English

Keep Your English Up To Date

14th April 2009
Big up

Big up Big up, two words. As a phrasal verb - to big somebody or something up - big up
the London crew. It can also be used as a noun a big-up as in a big-up to all my people
Its an expression of respect or recognition, an acknowledgement of the value of another
person or group.

Its one of many expressions that have come into English from the Caribbean, often from
Jamaica, and it was the influence of Jamaican music and culture which made the word
popular in the UK. It was, and still is, used by reggae music artists to name-check other
singers, sound systems and fans and has also crossed over into rap and hip-hop.

In the Caribbean itself, the term seems to have a variety of different meanings. For example,
when used as a noun, a big-up is an important person, or someone with a certain status in the
community, a politician or a policeman maybe. Or, in Bahamian slang (from the islands of the
Bahamas) big up can mean to get bigger, referring to a pregnant woman.

From its origins within the context of reggae and dancehall music, the use of big up has
evolved and expanded. It has entered the mainstream and can be found in newspapers, not just
tabloids, and on television.

But you know a word has really entered the language when a politician uses it. In a speech in
June 2006, Conservative party leader David Cameron attempted to show his street cred (see
Series 2) by using the word when he was talking about supposedly family-friendly
supermarkets. Weve got to big up Asda We need to big it up, talk about it, promote it
said Cameron, attracting a certain amount of ridicule as a result.

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There seems to be an interesting difference in the way the verb is used in the UK and in the
US. In the UK, it is generally the verb big which changes to form the past or gerund, for
example, he bigged up his fellow artists. In the US however, the inflection (a variation in
the form of a word to change its word class) is sometimes on the up part of the term, giving
us big-upped and big-upping.

Jim Pettiward has a BA (hons) in French and Spanish, CTEFLA and Trinity TESOL Diploma.
He has taught EFL, EAP, ESP and Business English in Ecuador, Venezuela, Hungary and the
UK. He has also worked as an ICT trainer for the British Council and the University of the
Arts, London. He is currently teaching English for Academic Purposes in the Department of
Humanities, Arts, Languages and Education at London Metropolitan University.

Keep Your English Up To Date

British Broadcasting Corporation 2009

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bbclearningenglish.com