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Under this Youtube video there is a comment.

When you returned to a game you haven't played in years and discover you're still beast at it.

What does beast at it mean? I looked it up in the dictionary but can't find this usage. Does it means very good at something? Thanks.

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    It could also be 'am a beast' which means that the commenter is still really good/dominates the game. – Joe Kerr Jan 11 at 16:24
  • If it isn't a typo for 'best' then it would certainly mean to dominate the game or sport. – Dhanishtha Ghosh Jan 11 at 16:25
  • If it is meant to be "best", then again, what has happened to the article? "... you're still the best ..." – AIQ Jan 11 at 16:30
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    Google Books doesn't have a single written instance of still beast at it, but there are actually three instances indexed by Google for the Internet at large (this question being about one of them). But frankly it's anybody's guess whether any or all of the writers intended figurative a beast (a formidable opponent / practitioner) as opposed to just being typos for best. – FumbleFingers Jan 11 at 16:33
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    It's idiomatic, or slang, or whatever you want. "Beast at" literally means "exceedingly good at". – Prime Mover Jan 12 at 6:55
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Has the "beast" devoured the article?

When you returned to a game you haven't played in years and discover you're still [a] beast at it.

"Beast" is slang. Urban dictionary says:

a person that is extremely talented at whatever they do and always display great determination, dedication, and resilience to always win or want to win.

Btw, note that your sentence isn't a complete sentence.

Oh god, look now "beast" has got a verb from too: beasted.

  • To have excelled at something as if using super-human beast like skills.
    I totally beasted my math test, got an A.
  • Beasted is a word [some people] use in call of duty [read video games] when they absolutely destroy you.
    Player1: kills you "OHH! BEASTED!!"

And as ColleenV mentioned in the comments, there is beast mode.

a state of performing something, especially difficult activities, with extreme power, skill, or determination.

Merriam Webster defines it as:

An aggressive persona one might assume when in competition

You turn it on when you are breathing heavy, on your last set, squatting 405 lbs.

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  • Thanks for your answer! As a native English speaker, do you know this slang and have you ever used it in your daily talk? – Just a learner Jan 11 at 16:29
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    Don’t forget about “beast mode”, or a state of performing something, especially difficult activities, with extreme power, skill, or determination. For example, “AIQ was in beast mode last night and hit the daily reputation cap on three different sites.” – ColleenV Jan 11 at 18:27
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    @Justalearner This native English speaker finds the term a good deal more mysterious than some of the other commenters here… :-) – gidds Jan 12 at 1:02
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    No, the article has not been consumed by the beast. The idiom that is popular here is literally "beast at" meaning "very good at". Never heard the version with the article. Maybe it's regional. – Prime Mover Jan 12 at 6:54
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    Note that best, as a verb, means to show superior skills than another. It implies, although, not always means, that the player defeated their opponent. Thus you can say Chris bested Ali in the match. I wonder if this influences the meaning of beasted. – CSM Jan 12 at 10:31
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The onlineslangdictionary gives this definition of beast (among others):

a person who is exceptionally good at something, or performs that activity aggressively.

and gives this example:

He is a beast at guitar!

As synonyms, it gives: skill, skilled, talent, talented, but these are not perfect synonyms.

You can see it used online quite frequently, as in this post on Pinterest:

Just James Lafferty being beast at basketball and fine at the same time...

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