Hard to define, it's a complimentary or derogatory term depending on usage. It can refer to a person as someone that is
cool, tall, muscular, strong, or a friend (synonym: dude). It can also refer to a penis or someone that is negatively referred to as a penis (synonym:
dick).
You can call anyone 'unit' or 'a unit' or 'the unit' and so on. 'Unit' can be used as a complimentary term or as a derogatory term.
Examples:
"What's up, unittttt!"
"That kid's a fucking unit."
It's all about the emphasis on 'unit'. The usage derives from both 'dude' and '
cock'. 'Dude' is more often complimentary while '
cock' is sometimes just '
cock' and other times 'cock' is derogatory.
Examples:
"Ahhhh, unitttt!!!! What's up, kid?!?!?"
"She couldn't
handle my gigantic unit."
"He'
s the biggest fucking unit."
Also derives from Randy Johnson, also known as 'The Big Unit'. The first known usage of the modern 'unit' terminology was by a
Boston man, himself a big unit because of his height, strength, and ability to crush beers.