Explanations Of Some African American Church Words & Phrases, Part II

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: March 22, 2023

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series about "took me to church", "sang", "went in" and other words, phrases, and sayings that are used by African American church goers, and, particularly among African Americans who are members of Apostolic, Church of God In Christ (COGIC), and other Pentecostal Christian churches.

These terms may also be used by Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and other Christian congregations in the United States and elsewhere around the world. Some of these terms come from non-religious cultural sources and are also used in non-religious contexts.

Part II provides terms which begin with the letter M-Z. Selected comments from the showcase video's discussion thread are included for most of these terms.

This post also showcases a 2008 video entitled "Foot Work- Praise break, Watch close!!!!". Many of the definitions that are included in this post are given with examples from the discussion thread of the video that is embedded in this post.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/09/what-took-me-to-church-sang-went-in-and.html for Part I provides terms which begin with the letter A-L. Selected comments from the showcase video's discussion thread are included for most of these terms.

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The content of this post is presented for cultural and etymological purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in the video which is embedded in this post and thanks to the publisher of that video on YouTube.
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Most of the content of this post was originally published in the 2013 pancocojams post entitled "Cut A Step" And Other Black Pentecostal Words, Phrases, & Sayings, Part I" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/cut-step-and-other-black-pentecostal.html [Part I's link; The link for Part II is given in that post.

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THE PURPOSE OF THIS SERIES
I'm interested in documenting the use of these terms as found in YouTube video viewer comment threads for the folkloric, historical, and cultural record. While many YouTube video viewer comment threads contain profanity, racist, sexually explicit, homophobic, and other problematic content, those same discussion threads and other discussion threads may contain insightful, informative, well worded, and witty comments that I believe should be archived as part of the folkloric record.

I believe that the content of YouTube video viewer comment threads can provide insight about the lifestyles, values, and opinions of persons who posted to this particular YouTube viewer comment thread. I also believe that the way those comments are written (the slang and colloquial expressions that are used, the variant spelling, the inclusion of internet/text writing elements (such as acronyms and the lack of punctuation/capitalization which lead to run-on sentences), and even the commenters' screen names are worthy of documentation and study as part of the folkloric record.

In this pancocojams post, as in other posts such as http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/examples-of-black-slang-in-youtube-juke.html, I include what I believe are the meanings of the vernacular examples that are listed.

Like other YouTube Praise Break videos's viewer comment thread, the comment thread for this featured video contains extensive doctrinal exchanges, including scriptural references pro and con "shouting". This post does not include any of those comments, unless that comment is used as an example of a vernacular word or phrase.

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DISCLAIMER:
I'm not now nor have I ever been a member of a Pentecostal church. I have attended such churches a few times, and I have pbserved people in those churches, and in my childhood Baptist church (in New Jersey) doing shout behaviors such as are described in this post.

I don't consider myself an etymologist. However, I'm interested in the origin, meaning, and uses of certain words & phrases.

Some of these vernacular words and phrases are used with the same meanings outside of religious services or religious events.

Additions & corrections are very welcome.

WARNING: In spite of the fact that it is a religious video, this YouTube video's viewer comment thread includes profanity, the use of the n word, and other content that I consider to be problematic. None of that content is included in the examples that are featured in this post.

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FEATURED VIDEO: Foot Work- Praise break, Watch close!!!!



DeMario Jives, Uploaded on May 19, 2008

Give God a sacrifice of praise inspite of, just go for what you know!
-snip-
Several commenters identified the recorded song that was played in the introduction to and the end of this video as
Karen Clark Sheard's 2005 Album "Its not over" track #8 ["Hallelujah"]

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FEATURED PENTECOSTAL WORDS, PHRASES, AND SAYINGS (M-Z)
(With selected comments from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_aZHl3L0mI.

(These words are numbered for references purposes, continuing from the numbers given in Part I.)

32. (CHURCH) MOTHERS
a referent and a title (similar to the title "Mrs.") for older females who are members of the church

“samuel surles, 2013
“yes the mothers went to get her and sir you better get in that conner
-snip-
This is two sentences. The first refers to the actions of women who “based”, put protective arms around the space where the shouter was dancing to protect her from injury or from bumping into others.

The second sentence is a lighthearted, pretend reprimand to the man dancing in the corner. That sentence is based on the practice of a child being punished by having to stand in the corner. Btw, I wonder if that praiser didn’t purposely moved to the corner when he felt his shout coming so that he wouldn’t be in anyone elses' way

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33. [TO] PRAISE
to give spoken compliments to God; to give testimonies about how God has blessed you; to do the Holy dance, to speak in tongues, and/or to do other things (such as play praise music and
also read “Got his (her, my, their) praise on”, “got his shout on”, got his dance on”

The related term and title "sister" is found below.

Justina Schrieber, 2010
“I always find myself cracking up laughing at that kind of praising! LOL!! I try not to laugh, but it cracks me up! :) I wouldn't be surprised if that carpet has holes or tears in it. I wish every church would Praise Him this way!!
-snip-
I added this comment to document that there are a large number of commenters on most Praise Break video comment threads who find watching people doing shouts amusing.* Also many commenters approach videos of holy dancing almost the same as an “American Idol talent competition” where they are critical (judgmental) about a dancer’ performance and where they indicate their favoritism for the best dance. I think that such comments are inappropriate and disrespectful.

*Such comments aren’t done in a church settings as they would be frowned upon public as they would be ingdon rfind that response to be unfodon’t think that tmany of these eat ucmThe reaction of laughing at videos of people oa person theor with
2. the comment about the carpet having holes or tears in it relates back to the “cutting the step”, “cutting the rug” saying
3. The use of the vernacular word “cracking up” for “laughing a lot”

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34. PRAISE BREAK
A “praise break” is an unscripted portion of a Christian worship service or Christian event such as a revival when individuals who feel the [Holy] Spirit spontaneously praise God (Jesus) by doing one or more of the following spontaneous actions: holding up one or both of your arms toward Heaven and give verbal praises to God and/or “testimonies” about how God has touched their lives (while seated or, more commonly standing up from one's seat); moving out of your seat and walking fast, running down the church aisle, or around the church sanctuary (the main room where church service are held); doing dance-like movements in the church aisle/s or in front of the sanctuary’s rostrum, and/or “speaking in tongues” (speak words from a language that is not formally recognized by linguists).
Click
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/black-church-praise-break-videos.html for a rather lengthy comment that I wrote about praise breaks.

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35. PRAISE BREAK MUSIC
songs and/or instrumental music that is sung or played during praise breaks

Coco Faye, 2012
“So I see alot of people are used to traditional praise breakmusic??? There was nothing wrong with the music at all....it's ok to put a new sound and spin on things.....for alot of muscians who cant really shout the way they play the organ or drums is their way of "shouting" YALL BETTA PRAISE HIM
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Notice that implicit in this comment is the fact that there are older and newer forms of Praise break [shout] music. Newer examples of shout music are faster than older forms. Read this comment that refers to that:
amarvinwinansfan, 2009
“LOLOLOL they are going sooooo fast on the instruments!!!! I cant even beat the tambourine that fast and I.m good!!!!”
-snip-
A number of commenters were critical of the musicians. However, read these comments:
“pytwhoCARES, 2012
“I dont mean any harm, but that IS HOW the music goes. He's just cutting the whole beats into halves and fourths w. a skip technique. Its quite creative if you ask a fellow musician”

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Jamie Harris, 2012
“This music isn't that bad. It gives all of them experience and the more they do it the better they'll get. I don't know why some of ya'll act like you all were on it when ya'll were coming up. Some of us have been laughed off, I know I have. But you know what, I went and practiced and got better. Cut these young men some slack and remember where you came from. Keep playing for Jesus Young men@!!!!!
-snip-
“were on it”= “had it all together”, hit the mark [hit the bull’s-eye], did everything perfectly]

"Cut them some slack" = give them a break [from a fisherman term]

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36. PRAISER
a person who gives praise to God, in particular a person who is doing the holy dance, and/or a person who is known for "shouting" (getting their shout on, getting their praise on), for instance Gospel vocalists Shirley Caesar and Beverly Crawford

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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37. REVIVAL
From https://christianministryedu.org/faq/what-is-a-church-revival/#:~:text=A%20church%20revival%20involves%20a,both%20believers%20and%20nonbelievers%20alike.
"Church revivals, also called revival meetings, are religious services within the Christian church that are held to inspire, or reawaken, the spiritual vigor of a group of believers. Historically, revival meetings have been held for Christian communities and churches, that tend to be largely Protestant. Church revivals serve two, main purposes: (1) to revitalize the spiritual life of its members and (2) to gain new followers."

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38. RING SHOUT
From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ring%20shout#:~:text=noun,counterclockwise%20usually%20with%20much%20shouting "a dance of African origin done by slaves and revivalists in which all form a circle and shuffle counterclockwise usually with much shouting"

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39. ROCK
to move side to side while singing Black [Southern United States] "old school" Gospel songs (hymns); also sometimes referred to as "the Macon [Georgia] rock"   

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40. SAINTS
members of Pentecostal churches (and members of similar Christian churches such as Apostolic and Primitive Baptist)

"Saints" is also generally used for other Christians (as in the song "When The Saints Go Marching In"  

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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41. SANG / SANGIN
[present tense verb; African American Vernacular English]
to sing very well, particularly to sing soulfully very well; people who sang are vocal powerhouses who FEEL their songs and whose singing moves their audiences, giving people goosebumps, chills, or makes some people cry because it's so good

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]
-snip-
Added September 2, 2018
An African American saying that's a synonym for "sangin" is "singing [her, his, their] ass off".
People can Sang songs that aren't Gospel. For example, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhUPpChcSI for a 1985 video of Patti LaBelle singing "Isn't It A Shame".

I'm not sure when the verb "sang" and its noun form "sanger" were first used. However, here's one of the earliest examples, if not the earliest example of that verb that I've found [in the discussion thread for the Patti LaBelle concert that is given above:

Yes, 2007
"When you can get on the floor and SANG that good, you are BADD to the Bone! Luv Ms. Patti"

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42. SANTIFIED
usually used as a referent to a person who has been saved and is a member of a Pentecostal church
From https://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/pentecostal-churches
...[The Pentecostal church] encourages its members to share their personal testimonies with others, to live their lives with an eye to "holiness", to embrace good works as part of the "Spirit-filled" life, to be open to the sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit through charisms, signs and wonders, and to support the work of the church through regular tithing. In recent years, some classical Pentecostal groups have begun to downplay the role of speaking in tongues as evidence of baptism in the Spirit, though they continue to value it as a legitimate charism [definition: extraordinary power] of the Spirit"...

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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43. SAVED
people who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are said to be "saved"

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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44. SET THE CHURCH ON FIRE
bring down the Holy Spirit (also known as "Holy Ghost fire"] to the church

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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45. SHOUT
doing the holy dance, speaking in tongues, and/or doing other Praise actions that demonstrate that the person feels the Holy Spirit

Read the definitions and examples for "cut a step", "get your praise on", "get happy", "went in"

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46. SISTERS (SISTAHS)
"Sisters (and its variant spelling "sistahs") is a prefacing "title" and referent for adult females in the church, similar to "Mrs" and "Miss", for instance "Sister Jackson", "Sister Jones", "Sister Betty". "Sister" can be used with last names and/or with first names.

Read the related title "brother" in Part II of this post.

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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47. SNATCHED SOME WIGS
[when used in reference to a Gospel singer, choir, preacher, or speaker] - this is a high compliment that means that the singer/s sung powerfully, or preacher/speaker spoke powerfully; The source of this term: The person or group singing, preaching, or speaking was so full of the Holy Ghost that it caused women in attendance who were wearing wigs to jump up and do Holy dances, which resulted in their wigs being "snatched" from their heads; also used as "She's [the singer] getting ready to snatch some wigs" [meaning she's getting ready to sang (and, as a result, bring down the Holy Spirit; set the congregation on fire]

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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48. SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Speaking an unknown language or a language that isn't known to the speaker as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit

[given without examples from this video's viewer comment thread]

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49. STOMP , STOMPED
to forcefully hit down hard with the soles of your feet.

"Stomp" is very similar to the word "stamp". However, that word appears to be only rarely used nowadays among African Americans. I think that the sound that "stomp" makes is more forceful (perhaps because it has more bass) than the word "stamp".

Shacara Chrisp, 2012
“he stomped a HOLE in tht floor.! lol amen.!!!!”

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50. STOMP ON THE DEVIL’S HEAD
a term for the fast paced footwork of shouting (cutting a step, praising, doing that holy dance) which includes the belief that the devil (satan) lives underground and the person doing that holy dance is hitting the devil in the head

asiababiie, 2009
“Whooo!!!! he is tearing that floor up down and all to pieces..Musician...Drummer!! What??!!...well, Bless the Lord!!! But he was Gettin it!!! i con almost hear his stomping.lol..he sure stomped on that devils head! And Boy I noe it is KILLING HIM!! Bet he won't come back up for a LONG while!! Lol”
-snip-
This comment includes multiple examples of African American vernacular English. Read other entries in this post for the meanings of those terms and phrases. Also, read the entry for
"tramped the devil under his feet" for another way of conveying the same idea.

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51. TARRY ; TARRYING
[This term isn't found in the discussion thread that is featured in this post. However, it is often used in certain old school African American churches and other churches]

to wait on the Lord and/or the religious service where people wait on the Lord to answer their prayer instead of saying a short prayer and expecting immediate results 

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52. TEARING IT UP (TORE IT UP)

Doing something really well (did something really well), in the case of dancing, an extension of the phrase “cut the rug”; in
reference to "holy dancing", this is an extension of the phrase "(to) cut a step”, and "to cut a step" is an updated way of saying "to cut a rug"

Renee Turner-Tavares, 2012
“Wasn't he tearing it up?...You betta Praise Him man...Love it...”

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53. TESTIFY
same as "give a testimony"; to publicly tell about your faith in God and share your story about how God has blessed your life

[given without examples from this viewer comment thread]

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54. TOOK ME TO CHURCH
[in reference to Gospel singing or speaking about some emotive subject] the performance was so spirit filled -in the positive, religious meaning of that term- that while listening to it the person was touched by the Holy Spirit. People who feel the Holy Spirit behave in ways that are outside of their control. For example, they may weep, shout (get happy i.e. go in, do the Holy dance), testify about God's grace, speak in tongues etc.)

Similarly, "almost took me to church" means that the performance is reminiscent of church services that were/are full of the Holy Spirit

[given without examples from this viewer comment thread]

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55. TRAMPLING THE DEVIL UNDER HIS FEET
Read the meaning written for "stomp the devil on his head"

GodsOffspring1, 2010
“He sho nuff was praising God and trampling the devil under his feet.”
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I think "sho nuff" is an example of purposely using downhome vernacular African American English. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/puttin-on-black-online-black-talk-code.html for a pancocojams post on "Puttin On The Black - Online Black Talk & Code Switching".

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56. WENT IN (GO IN; GOING IN; GONE IN) [revised September 9, 2018]
(as in "He went all in" and She's going all in")

In religious contexts, these phrases mean to do the holy dance (to "shout", to "cut a step", to "get happy") and/or to do other actions (such as "speak in tongues") that are the result of a person being touched by the Holy Spirit and, as a result, being compelled to move (behave) in those ways.

When a person has "gone in", he or she is in a state (condition of) religious ecstasy. During that time, that person has lost his or her own self-control. The Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost ) compels that person to move.

Being touched by the Holy Ghost is sometimes referred to as being touched by "Holy Ghost fire".

Here's information about "religious ecstasy" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_ecstasy
"Religious ecstasy is a reported type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euphoria.

Although the experience is usually brief in time,[1] there are records of such experiences lasting several days or even more, and of recurring experiences of ecstasy during one's lifetime.

A person's sense of time and space disappear during a religious ecstasy forsaking any senses or physical cognizance in its duration. Among venerated Catholic saints and mystics, a person's physical stature, human sensory, or perception is completely detached from time and space during an ecstatic experience.

In Sufism, the term is referred to as wajad and the experience is referred to as either jazbah (jadbah o jedbah for Maghreb) or majzoobiyat.
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In non-religious contexts, "went in" is a shortened form of "went all in" (i.e. "to "go all in" means to show your total commitment to something.)

Example from the embedded video:
iluvelmo123, 2009
“Alright Now... He Really Went In At The Second Time... Go 'Head! Go 'Head And Praise Him!”.
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The urbandictionary.com definition for "go in" that is closest to the religious definition that I've offered is:
"Going In
To enter into an activity with unparalleled enthusiasm and fervor.
I'm so hungry, I'm going in on this chicken pot pie!

Oooh this is my jam I'm going in on the dance floor!

by #TeamHellaSwag September 16, 2010" https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Going%20In
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"Going in ("being in") on the dance floor" means "to really feel the beat"; "to really feel the music".

I believe that the particular meaning of the phrase "Get into the groove" that is found below is somewhat similar to the non-religious meaning of "go in" and therefore shares some similarity to the religious phrase "went in".

From https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/32131/getting-into-the-groove
"To "get into the groove" is generally a positive thing; its etymology comes from dance and live music, and it implies finding the beat and rhythm of music being played and moving to it. That usage in turn most likely stemmed from the use of vinyl records up until the mid 1990s; vinyl EPs/LPs have a literal "groove" with the analog sound wave pattern moulded into it and picked up by a needle; "get into the groove" may thus have been used literally to mean "put the record on the player and drop the needle in the groove".

It is now used figuratively to refer to finding and following any sort of rhythm, or finding one's place in a group. It is roughly synonymous with "go with the flow" or "find your rhythm".

edited Jun 29 '11 at 20:33; RedGrittyBrick

answered Jun 29 '11 at 19:29, KeithS"
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Pop singer Madonna's 1984 hit song "Get Into The Groove" popularized that phrase. I wonder when the religious phrase "go[ing] in" and "went in" began to be used and whether it predates "get into the groove".

If you have any information about this or other religious phrases and terms that are included in this post, please share them in the comment section below. Thanks!

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57. WHOOPING (WHOOP, WHOOPER)
"Whooping" (also given as "hooping") is a term for a Black (African American) oratorical and homiletic (sermon) style that some pastors use at the end of their sermons to heighten the spirit and emotions of their congregations. Whooping is described as pastors speaking in a call & response, sing/song cadence. Responses to the pastor's words ("call") are from the congregation which might repeat his or her words, and/or shout "Amen!", "Preach!", "Yes, Lord" or other words and phrases. Responses also include riffs played by the pianist, organist, and snare drummer. In addition to preaching in that sing/song style, pastors who whoop toward the end of their sermons may also sing during that whoop.

The art and study of whooping is [facetiously?] referred to "whoopology" and "hoopology". Preachers who "whoop" ("hoop") are called "whoopers" ("hoopers").

"Whooping" is most often associated with African American pastors, particularly COGIC (Church Of God In Christ) pastors and some Baptist and Missionary Baptist pastors.

Whooping is negatively described as "screaming".
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For more information about whooping, and video examples of that oratory, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/09/call-and-response-in-african-american.html for the pancocojams post entitled Call And Response In African American Communication (with particular focus on "whooping" in African American churches)

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.