My friends from Wisconsin used some words like this, i never undertanded they use this other "goober". I had never heard these words, Are this kind of words bad words???
Actually, I'm going to disagree with Jmat. (We're talking about an English speaker in Wisconsin, so this is American slang.)
We often do use the word "ratchet" in the sence of turning something, like you would turn a screw with a tool called the ratchet. So if you ratchet something up, you increase it. For example; "The noise level ratcheted up when the drums joined in."
A ratchet is a type of tool, but 'ratchet' is also apparently a slang word that comes from a misspronunciation of the word 'wretched'. It apparently refers to a very slutty woman (and yes, it's offensive). To be honest I'd never heard this slang usage of the word until very recently and I had to look up what it meant.only seen it on the internet, but it probably comes from region-specific slang.
'YOLO' stands for 'you only live once'. The idea behind the phrase is that you should experience as much as you can while you're alive, but now a lot of people just use it as an excuse to do something stupid (or rather, they do something stupid for no reason and then just say 'Yolo' when asked why).
'To turn up' is the same as 'to show up'. You can also turn up the brightness or turn up the volume of an electronic device.
Kevin:
Slang can be invented by anyone, at any time. Also, slang words can acquire different meanings in different places. For example, in the answers you received, you may notice that there is variation in your answers.
For example, Diane Stevenson points out that "ratchet" can mean to increase pressure on some matter or issue.
Also, "goober" can refer to a backwards person, an idiot.
Your difficulty in pursuing "slang" is also confused by a presumption that there are specific definitions and rules about usage. There is no such thing. Anyone can make up slang. There are no rules about it.
well I can see that there are many meanings for these words, thanks for your explanations and examples
Do you know this site? http://www.urbandictionary.com/
It should help you with a lot of informal new words that end up in English every day. YOLO is an acronym meaning "You Only Live Once" a modern form of the latin Carpe Diem. It means to enjoy every moment because we will eventually die.
Hope this helps.
