English, baby!

cramp my style

Date: May 25 2006

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“I love my family, and that could never cramp my style.”

Hip hop artist and actor LL Cool J, in an interview with Maxim Magazine.

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

limit or restrict what you like to do or say

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

When something cramps your style, it limits or restricts you from doing the things you like to do. For example, if you’re single, having children might cramp your style because you can’t go out and party anymore.

Or, if you like to wear tennis shoes and shorts every day, getting a job at a bank might cramp your style because you will have to wear a suit and tie.

In the example above, LL Cool J is saying that his family does not cramp his style. The meaning is that, even though he is a famous and wealthy celebrity, he would rather spend time with his family than go out partying.

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

“This new job is really cramping my style. I can’t go out partying on Saturday nights because I have to work early in the morning.”

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

	prevent me from being all that I am by creativeplane1
	To affect with by khorshid
	interfere with my style or affect my style by julio chojeda torres
	Restrain him or prevent him from doing things the way he wants to do them by Lindsay
	"cramp my style" here means "restrict my style, give bad infulence to me". by changge12345
	influence by arieplb
	I guess it means something you do that goes out of the mood. by justgux
	it my love to my family could never hinder my style by faicel
	to remain intact in behaviour by abhishek
	ruine his style by xanaan_123
	stop somebody to make his ability more suitble to his work by 1990511
	chance my personnality by abeer alsherif
	that means that he would never restrain the free way he expresses himself through his style, (the way he dresses and acts). by gloria alzate
	means influence my style by tina.xu
	give somebody freedom. by anne123fm
	Distruct by phagnu
	to stop sb from behaving in the way they want to. by hossein99
	fetter by anne123fm
	it means to change his mind or stop him from doing something that he has been doing all the time. by suchin
	I love my family, and that could never prevent me from doing what I want, freely. by Zully Tabarez
	change? by jamjamjamjam
	prevent sb from doing sth by dorothywang
	to change by yalcinmerve
	What he is saying is that his family isn't preventing or stopping him from behaving in the way he wants to. by chiaroscuro
	to change sth, have an effect on sth by kacsabe