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Glite Dictionary
🧂 Tastes of salt 😠 Annoyed or bitter 😏 Rude or bold
salty

salty

4 7.8
Having bold, slightly rude humor that people find amusing
  • adjective
  • /ˈsɔlti/
  • Informal
: subido de tono
  • Bogan liked salty talk; she once remarked that "the only antidote to affectation is obscenity."
  • salty language
  • salty sense of humor
  • salty tongue

She is just this ass kicking salty Brit who doesn't take any shit from anyone.

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Examples

  • I don't care how much ribald and salty humor he has dished out during his entertainment career.

    Blog text (28)

  • I don't really care for the salty language.

    Daddy's Home 2 (2017)

  • Even if his language is a bit salty for my taste.

    Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)

  • I do say a lot of bombastic things and use salty language.

    Blog text (2)

  • Oh, Lord, them pies ain't the only thing salty about you, are they?

    Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

  • We agreed that my colleague would do the speaking and rightly so for... while her language may be... salty, it has great economy and pith.

    The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

  • Bembry can talk funky or salty or, as we will see, in the cadence and eloquence of the Bible.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Sofia listens to the salty observations of her housekeeper and accepts her insight based on experience; they both agree that a good man is hard to find.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Their conversation took a salty turn when they started debating politics.

  • She has a salty sense of humor that often leaves her friends in stitches.

Synonyms

piquant
vssalty
2 8.0

A lively, slightly surprising quality that makes comments or people interesting

is more coarse and irreverent rather than merely pleasant or lively
a bit salty
vssalty
  • Slang
1 8.8

Slightly rude or sarcastic in what someone says

is more boldly provocative and slightly coarse rather than merely rude
saltish
vssalty
1 6.5

Tastes slightly salty but not strong

is used more for provocative coarse style rather than literal taste
salty-ish
vssalty
  • Informal
7.0

Having a light taste of salt

is applied to bold or provocative language rather than mild taste

Idioms

a bit salty
  • Slang
1 8.8

Slightly rude or sarcastic in what someone says

Compounds

salty tooth
7.6

A strong craving for salty foods like chips or pretzels

How Racy

obscene
  • Offensive
27 5.7
raunchy
  • Offensive
17 8.6
salty
  • Informal
4 7.8
edgy
38 5.8
tame
11 3.4

Surface Forms

salty positive
saltier comparative
saltiest superlative

Morphology

salty = salt (semi-transparent) = salt + y

This sense is a metaphorical extension (piquant/coarse/racy) from the taste sense of 'salt', so the relation is understandable but not strictly literal.

Etymology

Salty is also used for language or humor that is a bit 'sharp' or 'coarse'. Think of how salt gives a strong taste, so salty speech or jokes feel lively, bold, and a little rude.