Learn English with Breaking Bad: 25 signature words

Breaking Bad's words come from three places: a chemistry lab, the drug trade and a cancer ward. Walter White teaches chemistry, so precursors, batches and flasks come up the way pans come up in a kitchen. His business is methamphetamine, so cartels, mules and money laundering follow. And the story starts with a diagnosis, so remission is never far away. A viewer who knows these 25 words is following the plot rather than guessing it.

Breaking Bad has 233 signature words, words it uses far more often than TV in general. These are the 25 strongest.

1. 1

   meth

   Short for methamphetamine, the drug Walter and Jesse cook and sell.

   You can watch us knock down a meth lab, huh?

   Season 1, episode 1. Said 112 times in 44 episodes, 61x the average show.

2. 2

   barrel

   A large cylindrical drum, here the 55-gallon drums the lab's chemicals are stored and stolen in.

   Hey, try rolling it, morons. It's a barrel. It rolls.

   Season 2, episode 1. Said 50 times in 15 episodes, 19x the average show.

3. 3

   methamphetamine

   The full chemical name of meth, a synthetic stimulant drug.

   Now, the group that I supervise focuses on methamphetamine, which is a growing problem in the country.

   Season 2, episode 13. Said 23 times in 16 episodes, 252x the average show.

4. 4

   ricin

   An extremely poisonous substance made from castor beans.

   Ricin. It's an extremely effective poison.

   Season 2, episode 1. Said 20 times in 7 episodes, 230x the average show.

5. 5

   batch

   One quantity of something made at a single time, here one cook of meth.

   I just recently cooked the best batch ever.

   Season 1, episode 4. Said 29 times in 20 episodes, 24x the average show.

6. 6

   chemist

   A scientist trained in chemistry, and in this show the person who makes the drug.

   Hey, look, I'm just the chemist here. I'm not the street guy, yo.

   Season 2, episode 5. Said 24 times in 13 episodes, 46x the average show.

7. 7

   cartel

   An alliance of drug traffickers who fix prices and divide territory, here the Mexican syndicate.

   And even worse, El Paso says he's got some kind of cartel connection.

   Season 2, episode 2. Said 38 times in 17 episodes, 11x the average show.

8. 8

   pseudo

   The characters' short form of pseudoephedrine, the cold-medicine ingredient meth is cooked from.

   Pseudo's in short supply, so these two make do by changing up the formula.

   Season 2, episode 1. Said 14 times in 6 episodes, 431x the average show.

9. 9

   gallon

   A unit of liquid volume, about 3.8 litres in the US.

   I'd say we've still got 10, 12 gallons of methylamine.

   Season 2, episode 9. Said 21 times in 10 episodes, 26x the average show.

10. 10

    crystal

    Crystal meth, the drug in its solid crystalline form.

    Say, Jesse, you still cook a little crystal?

    Season 1, episode 4. Said 27 times in 17 episodes, 10x the average show.

11. 11

    mule

    A person paid to carry drugs or money for someone else.

    You're forgetting about the mules. They get a flat 20 percent.

    Season 5, episode 3. Said 18 times in 4 episodes, 30x the average show.

12. 12

    distribution

    Getting a product out to the people who sell it, the selling side of the operation rather than the cooking.

    Look, we control production and distribution.

    Season 2, episode 5. Said 20 times in 12 episodes, 21x the average show.

13. 13

    launder

    To pass illegal money through a legitimate business so it looks earned.

    Now, you know you need to launder your money, right?

    Season 3, episode 9. Said 21 times in 14 episodes, 13x the average show.

14. 14

    laundry

    A business that washes clothes commercially, and the building it occupies.

    You still working at the laundry? How are things there?

    Season 4, episode 7. Said 22 times in 12 episodes, 7.7x the average show.

15. 15

    gamble

    To bet money on games of chance, and the habit of doing so.

    Gambling addiction is a sickness.

    Season 4, episode 6. Said 23 times in 11 episodes, 7.0x the average show.

16. 16

    flask

    A glass laboratory bottle with a narrow neck, used for heating and mixing liquids.

    Yeah, that's a boiling flask. This is a beaker.

    Season 1, episode 5. Said 12 times in 4 episodes, 40x the average show.

17. 17

    junkie

    A drug addict, said with contempt.

    I don't work with junkies. That's what I thought you'd say.

    Season 3, episode 4. Said 17 times in 12 episodes, 9.3x the average show.

18. 18

    fed

    Slang for a federal agent of the DEA or FBI, and usually said in the plural.

    That's the Drug Enforcement Administration. The feds.

    Season 2, episode 8. Said 17 times in 12 episodes, 8.7x the average show.

19. 19

    remission

    A period in which a disease, especially cancer, has stopped growing.

    In certain cases, it's prolonged a patient's life and even resulted in remission.

    Season 1, episode 4. Said 9 times in 5 episodes, 45x the average show.

20. 20

    inventory

    The stock of goods a business holds, or the written list of it.

    Because I'm counting six, inventory says eight.

    Season 1, episode 6. Said 14 times in 9 episodes, 10x the average show.

21. 21

    ounce

    A unit of weight, about 28 grams, and sixteen of them make a pound.

    Last time I checked, there were 16 ounces to a pound.

    Season 1, episode 6. Said 13 times in 7 episodes, 12x the average show.

22. 22

    precursor

    A chemical used as the starting material for making another chemical.

    What happens when you get a bad barrel of precursor?

    Season 4, episode 1. Said 7 times in 4 episodes, 84x the average show.

23. 23

    fugue

    A fugue state, a spell of amnesia in which a person wanders off and forgets who they are.

    Walt, a fugue state is a very serious event.

    Season 2, episode 3. Said 7 times in 5 episodes, 81x the average show.

24. 24

    scumbag

    A contemptible person, a strong insult.

    Why would you make a deal with that scumbag?

    Season 1, episode 7. Said 12 times in 10 episodes, 13x the average show.

25. 25

    marijuana

    Cannabis, the drug also called pot or weed.

    He was arrested for having a small amount of marijuana in his car, not in the school.

    Season 1, episode 7. Said 11 times in 7 episodes, 14x the average show.