bra, noun
- Forms:
- Also bla, blah.
colloquial
1. Mainly in urban (especially township) usage: ‘Brother’: an informal or familiar title, used with a first name, nickname, or full name, usually when speaking to or of a black man. Cf. boet sense 2, mfowethu sense 1, sis noun2.
2. ‘Mate’, ‘buddy’, ‘pal’, ‘friend’: an informal or familiar term of address or reference to a man or boy.
a. Mainly in urban (especially township) speech: used as a term of reference. Cf. bricate sense b.
1974 Drum 22 Sept. 10Like, you and your bra’s move into a koesta where ander mannes are doing their thing.
1987 New Nation 3 Dec. 10Bassist and vocalist Mac Mackenzie turns from the microphone to his ‘bras’ onstage.
b. Orig. mainly in township slang, but now widespread: as a term of address. Often in the phrase my bra. Cf. boeta sense b, bricate sense a, bro, broer sense 1.
1978 C. Van Wyk in Staffrider Vol.1 No.2, 36Bob: I’m even tired of that mosque of yours; that noise over the loudspeaker. Ebrahim: Believe in Allah, my bra and that will no longer be noise.
1989 J. Hobbs Thoughts in Makeshift Mortuary 272His cousin..said, ‘Listen, bra, I’ve got my Ma coming for a few days and I’ll need your bedroom.’
3. main man.
1974 Drum 22 Sept. 10There was this..ou..who used to bully me, take my money, beat me up...He was like one of ‘Die manne’, and I had no alternative...If you’re one of ‘die bra’s’ no one else is going to mess you around.
4. A man; a ‘guy’.
1984 Drum Jan. 6When he was 17 years old a Mafia member took him..to the house of the Mafia ‘grootkop’...The member was told..: It is not the right time now. Bring the ‘bra’ tonight.
5. A black man who is acknowledged to be particularly street-wise and adept at making the most of urban life while remaining part of working-class black society.
- Note:
- Such a person is distinguished partly by the adoption of attitudes, behaviour, and language (see tsotsi-taal at tsotsi sense 2) rooted in township life rather than in traditional African society or in modern western society.
1983 Natal Mercury 8 JuneQ: Why was that word ‘bra’ so important? A: Because it’s saying to the cop: ‘Hey man, I’m black like you.’..Also, it’s showing him that he’s dealing with a bright guy, someone who is ‘one of the boys’. Q: You mean not all blacks call each other ‘bra’? A:..Some people don’t even speak the township lingo...They are the dumb ones, who just speak the vernacular. You can’t regard them as ‘bras’...The youngsters don’t speak the lingo properly any more, but they look up to a grootman who is a bra.
1984 Drum Sept. 26Dave Mokale was what we all called a bra. A real mjieta who could swing...He left teaching to join bantustan politics, but he still remained a bra.
‘Brother’: an informal or familiar title, used with a first name, nickname, or full name, usually when speaking to or of a black man.
an informal or familiar term of address or reference to a man or boy.
used as a term of reference.
A man; a ‘guy’.
A black man who is acknowledged to be particularly street-wise and adept at making the most of urban life while remaining part of working-class black society.
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