Entry · catalog no. 0119
no cap
/ noʊ kæp /noh KAP
phrase · Atlanta · 2000s
✓ Verified
1.
For real; no lie — an assertion of truth. To “cap” is to lie.
“That’s the best plate in the city, no cap.”
Origin & Attribution
From Atlanta trap vernacular, where “cap” (a lie / to boast) traces to older Black idioms of “capping” — exaggerating or signifying.
early 1900s
“capping” — to boast / signify
2000s
Atlanta trap: “cap” = lie
2010s
“no cap” nationwide
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The South
Atlanta · 2000s
Spoken by
Atlanta; Black youth
$NOCAPThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Peaked10 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
80/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
2008
in the culture
Recorded here
2024
point of first record
Mainstream crossover
2018
search interest spikes
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@nolakid
New Orleans, LA
@htxdri
Houston, TX
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