can you dig it
"Can you dig it?" asks whether you understand, agree with or like something. It is older American slang, best known today from the 1979 film The Warriors.
By Cal Hewitt, Gen X · Researched from public sources · ·
What it means
The words after "dig" usually tell you which question is being asked. "Can you dig what I'm saying?" asks if you follow. "Can you dig this song?" asks if you are into it. Dictionary.com gives the slang verb three senses, "to understand", "to take notice of" and "to like, love, or enjoy", so the phrase can ask for understanding and approval at the same time: do you get this, and are you with me on it. Shouted to a crowd, as Cyrus does in The Warriors, it becomes a call for everyone to agree at once. The tone is informal and friendly, and it sounds dated. Oxford Learner's Dictionaries labels the approval sense of dig "old-fashioned, slang". Said to you directly, it can be warm, persuasive, teasing or a little challenging, depending on the delivery. Said about someone, as in "he digs that band", it simply means they like something. Today most people who type it are quoting the film or the era on purpose, so a "can you dig it?" in a text usually reads as a knowing throwback. It fits casual talk, jokes, dialogue and quotes, and it sounds out of place in a work email unless you are quoting it. Because the slang grew up in Black American and jazz speech, a plain delivery in your own voice reads fine, while an exaggerated imitation of that speech style is what comes across as mocking.
See the quick definition in the can you dig it dictionary entry.
How to use it
“so we split the gas money and take turns driving. can you dig it?”
After an explanation. The sender is checking that you follow and agree, with a retro wink.
“new playlist, all 70s soul. can you dig it”
About something they shared. This one asks whether you like it.
“ngl i dig your jacket”
Dig on its own, said about a thing. It means they like it.
“CAN YOU DIG IT!!!”
All caps is almost always a Warriors quote, used for hype or as a joke.
Where it came from
Dig meaning "understand" was recorded by 1934 in African American vernacular, according to Etymonline, which dates the "appreciate" sense to 1939 and says the slang was probably based on the notion of excavating. Dictionary.com places both slang senses in 1930s African American English. A discussion on Phrases.org.uk quotes an Oxford English Dictionary citation from The World Telegram, a New York paper, in 1936: "'You dig?' is a short cut for 'You understand?'"
The full phrase was in a hit record a decade before the film. The Friends of Distinction's 1969 version of "Grazing in the Grass" repeats "can you dig it?", and the Pancocojams blog, which collects the phrase in records and films from 1969 to 1979, reads it there as "do you like it?". The Warriors followed in 1979, with Cyrus telling the assembled gangs of New York they could run the city and driving it home with "Can you dig it. Can you dig it. CAN YOU DIG IT!" That scene is why most people know the line today. MEL Magazine, writing about the film in 2022, called the phrase "an embarrassing 1960s anachronism" by the time the movie was shot, and credits the delivery for making it work.
The linguist David Dalby suggested in a London Times article on July 19, 1969 that dig in the "understand" sense resembles the Wolof word dega, "to understand", as reported in Linguist List issue 4.705. It remains a proposal. No single coiner of the slang or the phrase is documented; it developed in Black American and jazz speech and spread into general American English from there.
No single person is credited, the origin is well-documented.
Where it's popular
American English, from Black American and jazz speech into general use. Online today it lives mostly in quotes from The Warriors and captions on 1960s soul records.
On TikTok the phrase mostly turns up in posts about the film, such as a Cinespia drive-in screening of The Warriors, and on clips of the 1969 record.
How it caught on
- 1934Etymonline records dig meaning "understand" in African American vernacular.
- 1936The World Telegram, a New York paper, prints "'You dig?' is a short cut for 'You understand?'", an Oxford English Dictionary citation quoted on Phrases.org.uk.
- 1939Etymonline dates the "appreciate" sense of dig to this year.
- 1969The Friends of Distinction's "Grazing in the Grass", with its repeated "can you dig it?", reaches No. 3 on the pop chart and No. 5 on the R&B chart, according to Pancocojams.
- July 19, 1969David Dalby's London Times article suggests a link between dig and the Wolof dega, "to understand", as reported in Linguist List issue 4.705.
- 1979The Warriors is released. Cyrus shouts "Can you dig it" three times in his speech to the gangs, in a screenplay revised in June 1978.
- 2005Rockstar releases a video game of The Warriors, which MEL Magazine names as one reason the film's following grew.
- 2024The Associated Press reviews Warriors, a hip-hop album built on the film's story that reuses the line.
Test yourself
Can you dig it?
0/21. A friend sends a link to a song and adds "can you dig it?". What are they asking?
2. The Warriors made the line famous in 1979. How far back does the slang sense of dig go?
Related slang
Questions people ask
What does "dig it" mean in slang?
To understand it or to like it, depending on what "it" is. Dictionary.com lists three slang senses of dig: to understand, to take notice of, and to like, love or enjoy. "I dig it" usually means "I like it".
Who says "Can you dig it"?
The most famous speaker is Cyrus, the gang leader in the 1979 film The Warriors, who shouts it three times in his speech to the gangs of New York. The slang itself belongs to Black American and jazz speech of the 1930s, and today it is mostly said by people quoting the film or the era.
What does "dig" mean in slang?
To understand, to notice, or to like something. "Can you dig what I'm saying?" is about understanding, "dig those shoes" is about noticing, and "she digs that kind of music" is about liking. Dictionary.com gives all three and places them in 1930s African American English.
When did people say "dig it"?
From the 1930s on. Etymonline records the "understand" sense by 1934, and a New York paper explained "You dig?" in 1936. The full "can you dig it?" was in a 1969 hit record, and The Warriors made it famous in 1979. Oxford Learner's Dictionaries now labels the approval sense old-fashioned.
Is "can you dig it" from The Warriors?
Its best-known use is. Cyrus says it in the 1979 film, and the scene is how most people learn the phrase. The slang is about 45 years older, and the full phrase was already in the Friends of Distinction's 1969 version of "Grazing in the Grass".
Is "can you dig it" rude?
No. It asks whether you understand, agree or like something, and it is fine in casual talk. It sounds dated and informal for work writing, and an exaggerated imitation of Black American speech is what would make it land as mocking.
The Friends of Distinction were singing "can you dig it?" in a No. 3 pop hit in 1969, ten years before Cyrus shouted it in The Warriors.
- https://www.dictionary.com/browse/dig
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/DIG?dir=a&file=abhor001&lang=en_us&pronunciation=
- https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/dig_1
- https://www.etymonline.com/word/dig
- https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/62/messages/654.html
- https://linguistlist.org/issues/4/705/
- https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/can-you-dig-it-in-records-movies-1969.html
- https://assets.scriptslug.com/live/pdf/scripts/the-warriors-1979.pdf
- https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/can-you-dig-it-the-warriors-book-sean-egan
- https://apnews.com/article/warriors-music-review-41241ab6031ac0978fea4bc0545677fd
- https://www.tiktok.com/@cinespiala/video/7072189802539519275
- https://www.tiktok.com/@thabside_72/video/7685396220021460238
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