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Noun The pinyin spelling of Chinese word “江湖” (jiāng hú). Literally translates as “Rivers and lakes”.

It means the cruel, ruthless real world or society that you need to struggle to survive. It is often used in Wuxia novels(martial art stories) in which “Jiang-hu” equals to “the whole world that concerned”.

“Jiang-hu” is the whole world minus the tower of ivory. If you are a swardsman, a police, a hobo, a sweat labor works far from home, a doctor secretly works for mafia, an assassin, a prostitute, a thug... or even a common person who have

any kind of relation with those people or there affairs, you are in Jiang-hu.

We alse call any world runs the law of jungle a “Jiang-hu”.
人在江湖,身不由己
In the Jiang-hu, your path is not you to choose.

人在江湖飘,哪能不挨刀?
Once get in Jiang-hu, hard not to get hurt.

江湖骗局
Jiang-hu scam

相濡以沫,不如相忘于江湖
——庄子

I’d rather fishes forget each other in rivers and lakes than quench each other with saliva on dried land.
-Zhuang zi
jiang-hu by Out of focus November 7, 2017
Related Words
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The grindset is a contemporary ideology of self-exploitation disguised as strength, deeply tied to the aesthetics of the “sigma male” and to new digital forms of patriarchy. It promotes the idea that human worth depends on productivity, economic success, absolute emotional control, and the ability to work endlessly, turning vulnerability, rest, community, and tenderness into signs of weakness. Beneath its rhetoric of discipline and power often lies a profound inability to relate healthily to pain, fragility, and human interdependence.
“That’s the grindset, brother. While weak men sleep and complain, sigma males stay disciplined, work in silence, suppress emotions, and build power while everyone else wastes time chasing comfort.”
Grindset by Omega-Male May 22, 2026
Word of the Day on May 23, 2026
well known from south park
rednecks get angrry that future folk took there jobs so they yell
They took ouare jerbs!
Them future folk took ouare jerbs!
jerb by Jimberley Kim April 7, 2005
Word of the Day on May 22, 2026
An Irish phrase meaning shit, derived from ass
(Not to be confused with the literal description of one's buttocks)
"Did you hear the song Aylek$ dropped?"
"Hardly. Her music is absolute cheeks."

"My boyfriend say LaFlame is cheeks."
"Tell your boyfriend I said it's his mixtape that's cheeks."
Cheeks by thecartisan April 26, 2020
Word of the Day on May 21, 2026

sans sheriff 

Lawless use of fonts or typography, with no regard to aesthetics or legibility
I'm putting this CV straight in the bin. Written totally sans sheriff.
sans sheriff by Jamarley July 3, 2019
Word of the Day on May 20, 2026

Breadhead 

Someone who is addicted to obtaining money and building wealth. A money addict and fanatic. Breadheads often work more than one full-time job, and some even participate in illicit activities to "obtain the bread".
A breadhead is like a crackhead, but for money instead of crack.
Breadhead by 🅱️ U S 3 4 8 March 30, 2022
Word of the Day on May 19, 2026