Means: To be rude or aggressive

Usage: “Darren, why you on a hype?”“Why you hypin’, man?”

Hype is one of the most versatile words in the playground, which over the years has run the gamut of emotion - sometimes positive, sometimes negative, sometimes nonsensical. In common parlance it was originally used to describe a successful marketing strategy (“The hype has been unavoidable”), but this soon became tinged with cynicism, meaning a fad surrounded by unjustified publicity (“It’s all hype, no hope”). It then rose again in the appreciative spectrum as it was recognised as meaning “excited”, as in an abbreviation of “hyperactive”, (“You’re hype, dawg”), before falling again as excitement soon turned to over-excitement and gave way to being out of control (“You’re hype, dawg, calm down!”). Now, “hype” is at its lowest ebb, the “a” prefix adding a judgmental bent to the already depreciating term meaning rude or aggressive. So where next for the schoolyard staple? Is the only way up or is it holding on for its retirement payout? Either way, don’t believe the hype.