--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hip - Someone who knows the score…" description: "\"“Hip - Someone who knows the score. Someone who understands \"jive talk.\" Someone who is \"with it.\" The expression is not subject to definition because,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/william-s-burroughs-528_burroughs_hip-someone-who-knows-the-score-someone_998705.png" --- # Hip - Someone who knows the score. Someone who understands… ![“Hip - Someone who knows the score. Someone who understands "jive talk." Someone who is "with it." The expression is not subject to definition because, if you don't "dig" what it means, no one can ever tell you.” quote by William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/william-s-burroughs-528_burroughs_hip-someone-who-knows-the-score-someone_998705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/william-s-burroughs-528_burroughs_hip-someone-who-knows-the-score-someone_998705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a2/william-s-burroughs-528_burroughs_hip-someone-who-knows-the-score-someone_998705.png) > ““Hip - Someone who knows the score. Someone who understands "jive talk." Someone who is "with it." The expression is not subject to definition because, if you don't "dig" what it means, no one can ever tell you.”” [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “hip” describes someone attuned to the prevailing culture, slang, and hidden meanings, implying insider knowledge that cannot be fully explained to outsiders. **In simple terms:** Being “hip” means understanding current slang and culture. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness of contemporary language and trends. Themes culture language insider knowledge Mood playful edgy Type observational commentary When to use this quote - music scenes - street fashion - online communities - political activism Key Concepts subculture semiotics social signaling Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay “hip” in rapidly changing subcultures? - What does being “hip” mean to you personally? A Different Perspective The meaning may shift across eras, making it hard to pin down. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burroughs/) [Definition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition/) [Dig Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dig-means-2092690/) [Hip Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hip-knows-2092689/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Junkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/junkie/) [Means Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-tell-811953/) [Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapper/) [Reality check](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-check/) [Truth-telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-telling/) [Understands Jive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understands-jive-2092691/) ## Related quotes > [Like many nonconformist and beat generation writers, William S. Burroughs takes the outcasts of society as his theme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/like-many-nonconformist-and-beat-generation-writers-william-s/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [when I become death. Death is the seed from which I grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-i-become-death-death-is-the-seed-from-which-i-grow/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [As a young child I wanted to be a writer because writers were rich and famous. They lounged around Singapore and Rangoon smoking opium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/as-a-young-child-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-because-writers-were-rich/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“What's with the serum?" I don't know, but it sounds ominous. We better put a telepathic direction finder on Benway. The man's not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-s-with-the-serum-i-don-t-know-but-it-sounds-ominous-we-better/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [If someone says you're not strategic, try to figure out what that means and then tell him or her to go to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-moran/if-someone-says-you-re-not-strategic-try-to-figure-out-what-that/) [Richard Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-moran/) > [Maybe it means 'Tell Monica I'm sorry I drank that kast of the milk' or maybe 'Tell Monica I'm sorry I used your tweezers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-green/maybe-it-means-tell-monica-i-m-sorry-i-drank-that-kast-of-the-milk-or/) [Rachel Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-green/) > [It all means more than I can tell you. So you must not judge what I know by what I find words for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/it-all-means-more-than-i-can-tell-you-so-you-must-not-judge-what-i/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“I could ask him if he think "a lot" means the same as "too many"...I could tell him that he shouldn't call a girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-joseph/i-could-ask-him-if-he-think-a-lot-means-the-same-as-too-many-i-could/) [Diana Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-joseph/) > [When people ask me what 'American Pie' means, I tell them it means I don't ever have to work again if I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/when-people-ask-me-what-american-pie-means-i-tell-them-it-means-i-don/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“I want you to tell me about every person you've ever been in love with. Tell me why you loved them, then tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/i-want-you-to-tell-me-about-every-person-you-ve-ever-been-in-love-3/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [“I WANT YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT EVERY PERSON YOU’VE EVER BEEN IN LOVE WITH. TELL ME WHY YOU LOVED THEM, THEN TELL ME…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/i-want-you-to-tell-me-about-every-person-you-ve-ever-been-in-love-2/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [“ Human ...I don't know what that word means...Tell me what defines it. What sets it apart? Are you going to tell me its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/human-i-don-t-know-what-that-word-means-tell-me-what-defines-it-what/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [ \[william\] Burroughs, incidentally, took up the slogan that we are "Here to go", which contradicts the tendency in Eastern mysticism to advocate staying where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/william-burroughs-incidentally-took-up-the-slogan-that-we-are-here-to/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More by William S. Burroughs > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Well as, one judge said to the other, 'Be just and if you can't be just be arbitrary.' Regret cannot observe customary obscenities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/well-as-one-judge-said-to-the-other-be-just-and-if-you-can-t-be-just/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/after-one-look-at-this-planet-any-visitor-from-outer-space-would-say/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [For seven days she lay in bed looking sullenly at the ceiling as though resenting the death she had cultivated for so many years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-seven-days-she-lay-in-bed-looking-sullenly-at-the-ceiling-as/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When you stop growing you start dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-you-stop-growing-you-start-dying/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Life is a cutup. And to pretend that you write or paint in a timeless vacuum is just simply . . . not .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/life-is-a-cutup-and-to-pretend-that-you-write-or-paint-in-a-timeless/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [When all lies, deceit, pretense is stripped away, what remains? The truth of a painting, or a book or a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-all-lies-deceit-pretense-is-stripped-away-what-remains-the-truth/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There is no final enough of wisdom, experience - any fucking thing. No Holy Grail, No Final Satori, no solution. Just conflict. Only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-is-no-final-enough-of-wisdom-experience-any-fucking-thing-no/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-john-dillinger-in-hope-he-is-still-alive-thanksgiving-day/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need a good bedside manner with doctors or you will get nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-need-a-good-bedside-manner-with-doctors-or-you-will-get-nowhere/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-couldn-t-be-a-society-of-people-who-didn-t-dream-they-d-be-dead/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-prefer-cats-to-people-for-the-most-part-most-people-aren-t-cute-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“It is not the intensity but the duration of pain that breaks the will to resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/it-is-not-the-intensity-but-the-duration-of-pain-that-breaks-the-will/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Explore all 484 William S. Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More Burroughs quotes > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). Like someone who'd be invited quail shooting with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/hollis-thought-he-looked-like-william-burroughs-minus-the-bohemian/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[william\] Burroughs, incidentally, took up the slogan that we are "Here to go", which contradicts the tendency in Eastern mysticism to advocate staying where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/william-burroughs-incidentally-took-up-the-slogan-that-we-are-here-to/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [“Burroughs ... his very junkhood an accomplishment beyond a million dollars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/burroughs-his-very-junkhood-an-accomplishment-beyond-a-million-dollars/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) > [Burroughs is the greatest satirical writer since Jonathan Swift. . . . The net result of Naked Lunch will be to make people shudder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/burroughs-is-the-greatest-satirical-writer-since-jonathan-swift-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Burroughs's voice is hard, derisive, inventive, free, funny, serious, poetic, indelibly American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/burroughs-s-voice-is-hard-derisive-inventive-free-funny-serious/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, having failed at everything else, decided to write a novel. He was then in his mid-thirties, married with two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/in-1911-edgar-rice-burroughs-having-failed-at-everything-else-decided/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [ I really think \[William\] Burroughs was onto something here, when he said, "Dreams are a biologic necessity and your lifeline into space." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-really-think-william-burroughs-was-onto-something-here-when-he-said/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [Cats of all kinds weave in and out of the text; Burroughs has clearly taken to them in a big way in his old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/cats-of-all-kinds-weave-in-and-out-of-the-text-burroughs-has-clearly/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“What's with the serum?" I don't know, but it sounds ominous. We better put a telepathic direction finder on Benway. The man's not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/what-s-with-the-serum-i-don-t-know-but-it-sounds-ominous-we-better/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [Science fiction is a dialogue, a tennis match, in which the Idea is volleyed from one side of the net to the other. Ridiculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/science-fiction-is-a-dialogue-a-tennis-match-in-which-the-idea-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I feel as though dispossessed from the semblances of some crystalline reality to which I’d grown accustomed, and to some degree, had engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/i-feel-as-though-dispossessed-from-the-semblances-of-some-crystalline/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [People talk about this often in the art world. The press releases have reached a level of absurdity and creativity - creative absurdity -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-talk-about-this-often-in-the-art-world-the-press-releases-have/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [As a young child I wanted to be a writer because writers were rich and famous. They lounged around Singapore and Rangoon smoking opium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/as-a-young-child-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-because-writers-were-rich/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There is no right or wrong reading of Naked Lunch, though some readings are more common, and thus Burroughs commercial is not the issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/there-is-no-right-or-wrong-reading-of-naked-lunch-though-some/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) [Browse all 59 Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burroughs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hip - Someone who knows the score. Someone who understands \"jive talk.\" Someone who is \"with it.\" The expression is not subject to definition because, if you don't \"dig\" what it means, no one can ever tell you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William S. 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