babi
noun
a posh or elite person, often imagined as outside deep Sheng culture.
A socially loaded label; who says it, and about whom, matters.
Origins
Babi entered Sheng from English “Babylon,” reshaped into a label for rich or elite people. The form carries the Biblical association into local class and social-identity meaning.
Examples
Yule ni babi wa mtaa.
That one is a posh person from the neighbourhood.
Usijifanye babi leo.
Do not act posh today.
Babi huyo hajui slang ya base.
That posh person does not know the base slang.
Babi wa estate hajui base.
The estate posh person does not know the base.
Usinione kama babi.
Do not see me as a posh person.
Huyo babi ana gari mpya.
That posh person has a new car.
Sisi si babi, tuko ground.
We are not posh people, we are on the ground.
Babi aliuliza bei ya matatu.
The posh person asked the matatu fare.
Walimwita babi kwa mzaha.
They called them a posh person as a joke.
