You Too Can Learn Street Lingo: Lesson One

“Barf!” Rihanna squealed, at the sight of a pair of pale pink satin Brian Atwood stilettos. In her world this is a compliment. “Usually it’s ‘ill’ or ‘I want to throw up on it,’ ” she explained. “But barf is the worst,” meaning the best. “Barf is 10 out of 10.”

In a no-frills rehearsal space near the Burbank airport, Rihanna, the R&B star, was picking out the sickest outfits for her next few weeks of appearances. “This whole line is barf,” she said.