Trying to Get Clued In to the <i> Lingo Loco</i>

Whether you’re a Betty, a Baldwin or a Barney, you might want to bring a reference aid along to understand the dialogue in the new teen-geared film “Clueless.”

Don’t bring your Webster’s, though. As if! Bring a teen-ager.

They may be the only ones to truly understand the lingo that writer-director Amy Heckerling came up with for “Clueless,” a film that explores the mind-boggling lives of Beverly Hills youths through the eyes of a 16-year-old Betty named Cher.

A Betty, in case you don’t speak the language, is a beautiful female, much like a Baldwin (as in actors Alec, William or Stephen) is a stud--which, of course, is the opposite of a Barney.

These are just some of the terms that come up in “Clueless.” Cher and her friends talk with terms like “He’s all . . . and I’m all. . . .” And like all good teen-age gossipers, they refer to their classmates with insults like “He’s a loadie,” meaning he smokes marijuana, or “She’s a Monet,” meaning she’s only attractive from a distance.

It may not be poetry, but it sure is colorful.

“Clueless” comes from a long line of films that derive much of their outlandish dialogue from teen culture. One of the most memorable of these films is 1982’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” which Heckerling also directed. Others include the two “Bill & Ted” movies, “Heathers” and “Wayne’s World.”

Heckerling, a New York native, says that much of the language in these films comes straight from the mouths of Southern California teens, typically because they have more confidence and desire to talk in the hippest fashion.

“Teens here can dress really well, they have more money and fashion at their disposal, they have better education, so they also have the self-pride to try and talk as cool as they can,” Heckerling says. “And they have the time to do things like skateboarding, surfing and throwing up, which are all activities that kids develop their own language for.”

Teens who saw “Clueless” at the Beverly Center in Beverly Hills one day last week say much of the dialogue was accurate and properly used, but that it’s not really how all Southern California teens talk.

“Some kids talk that way,” said Elizabeth Brent, 16, of Glendale. “Even I have said some of the things they said, but it’s not like we talk that way all the time.”

“I have heard some of the things they said,” said James Cabrero, 18, of Los Angeles. “I think a lot of it was just stuff they made up to be funny, though.”

Heckerling admits that some of the dialogue was artificial, but she insists that most of the words or phrases came from research she did on current teen lingo.

“I had been compiling stuff I heard from kids I was around, from magazines, from rap songs, from hanging out at schools,” Heckerling says. “I had like a thesaurus when I got done. So when I was writing [“Clueless”], I would look up something like ‘That was good,’ and I’d have 80 different ways to say it.”

One of the effects of using unusual teen lingo in a popular movie is that kids around the country who don’t already speak that way pick it up when they hear it. After “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” kids in Middle America could be heard saying “dude” or “totally awesome,” just like the surfer played by Sean Penn. And “Wayne’s World” had kids around the country schwinging.

“Language has gotten pretty universal with the media,” Heckerling says. “Kids speak what they see on TV or in movies.”

So don’t be surprised if you start hearing phrases like: “She’s hymenally challenged” (she’s a virgin); “I’m Audi” (I’m outta here); “They’re do-able” (they’re an attractive group); “I’m toast” (I’m in trouble); or “She’s surfing the crimson wave” (she’s experiencing menstrual distress).

Shakespeare would be buggin’. Or, is it wiggin’?