hip to the game 

The state of being especially well-versed in a particular area of expertise. There are no boundaries for what constitutes a subject that can be considered a person's area of expertise. Experts specialize in topics that range from dating to bowel movements. Simple cursory knowledge of a topic does not fulfill the requirements for attaining this lofty status. An individual who reaches this state has intimate knowledge of his specialty, and has honed his craft over a considerable period of time. A suitable comparison is a person who has achieved the rank of Grand Master in chess. The only difference is that there is no governing body that determines one's eligibility to be deemed worthy of this status. Rather, a person's eligibility to be deemed "hip to the game" is established by a plurality amongst their peers. If no consensus can be reached, it is clear that the person in question does not reach the high standards associated with this label. Also, an individual who is privy to certain information not available to the general public may be classified as being "hip to the game." It may also be used as a verb ("hippin' you to the game" or "hippin'" for short). The verb conjugation of the phrase is used when an expert is passing on his expertise to less knowledgeable persons. This form of the phrase was originally used to describe the relationship between wise master and eager apprentice, but today it is used colloquially as a term to describe any informal teaching process.

Bob: Son, there are mad females at the pool today!
Tom: Really?
Bob: Yeah, wasn't sure if you knew. Just trying to hip you to the game.
Tom: Good lookin' out.

Larry: Did you hear that Sean got indicted by the feds for insider trading?
John: Yeah, what a shame. I hate the S.E.C. Call it what you will but the only thing that he's guilty of is being hip to the game.
Larry: True, true.

Carlos chuckled as the freshmen obsessed over their reading assignments. Procrastination was not new to him; he was hip to the game.

Person A: See that girl over there?
Person B: Red shirt?
Person A: No, more to the left.
Person B: Tank top?
Person A: Yeah. She's hot, but what you DON'T know is that she only likes dudes under 5'7.
Person B: Really? That's amazing, how do you know that? I'm not sure how I feel about that...
Person A: Just hippin' you right now. Real talk.
Person B: Thanks, man. Respect.

hip to the game by djfacilitator September 27, 2010