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I'm not *fronting*

Posted by ESC on September 18, 2004

In Reply to: I'm not *fronting* posted by Bob on September 18, 2004

: : : Hello to you all,

: : : Does anyone know what the "fronting" means?
: : : I'm not *fronting*, but this cost me 200 dollars.

: : : ThANK you

: : I'm not sure what it means in that context. My New Zealand relatives use 'fronting up' to mean arriving, which they have just done for a family celebration here in the UK. I'm gathering lots of new phrases from the nether regions while they are here. 'Flag that away' seems to mean decline an invitation. Our accents are proving a bit of a barrier to communication. My NZ niece is recently qualified as a 'vit' and says her motivation for this was 'to make animals bitter'. They can't speak South Yorkshire and my mother (whose 90th birthday we are celebrating) only speaks broad Black Country dialect. Last evening the non-veggies amongst us ate, depending on country of origin, chicken/fowl/chuck. Flags might come in useful here.

: It's not clear (a little more context might help) but it may be "putting up money in advance." Front money = an investment early in a process, before any return income is certain. Money to get something started. What makes me unsure is the word "but."

There are several meaning of "front" in my Black English reference: A fraudulent person, someone who is not for real; to pretend; to confront someone about something they are supposedly are doing or should have done. Front on somebody: to deceive someone. Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner by Geneva Smitherman (Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, N.Y., 1994).

Could it mean, I'm not confronting you or making demands, but I'm just saying I spent $200.

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