What it doesn't mean
That story came from a viral Tumblr post in November 2011, later admitted to be a hoax. Cray is simply short for 'crazy'.
'Cray cray' was recorded online as early as 2001. Their 2011 single made the short form famous.
What it really means
Cray is "crazy" with the second syllable cut off, and for a few years in the early 2010s it was the most fashionable way to say something was wild.
The word was around online long before it was famous. The Online Slang Dictionary recorded cray cray, meaning crazy, strange, insane or wild, on 24 December 2001, and Urban Dictionary had an entry the following year. Doubling it, cray-cray, gives it a bouncy, playful emphasis.
The single cray got its big moment on 13 September 2011, when Jay-Z and Kanye West released a single whose refrain was built on the word. The song was a major hit and won two Grammy Awards, and the clipped word went with it into countless captions and texts.
Fame brought a myth. In November 2011 a viral Tumblr post claimed the slang was a reference to the Krays, the London gangster twins. It wasn't: the post was later admitted to be a hoax. Cray is simply short for crazy.
Dictionaries noticed. Know Your Meme reports Oxford adding cray in August 2014, and Cambridge Dictionary lists it today as a short form of crazy.
Like totes and bae, it belongs to a particular moment of clipped, playful early-2010s slang. Said now, "that's cray" tends to come with quotation marks around it.
Where it comes from
clipped from 'crazy'
A plain clipping. Doubling it, 'cray-cray', adds playful emphasis.
- 24 December 2001
The Online Slang Dictionary records 'cray cray' meaning crazy, strange, insane or wild.
- 2002
An Urban Dictionary entry defines 'cray cray' as 'really crazy' (Know Your Meme).
- 13 September 2011
Jay-Z and Kanye West release a single whose refrain is built on 'cray'; it goes on to win two Grammy Awards.
- November 2011
A viral Tumblr post claims 'cray' refers to the Krays, the London gangster twins; its author admits in 2012 that she made it up (Know Your Meme).
- August 2014
Know Your Meme reports Oxford adding 'cray' as slang for crazy.
In real life
- 'The queue for the concert was cray' — wild, unbelievable.
- 'My week has been cray-cray' — doubled for playful emphasis.
- Saying 'that's cray' today usually marks the speaker as either a 2011 nostalgist or someone doing a bit.
Questions
Q01What does cray mean?
Crazy: wild, outrageous or unbelievable. Cambridge Dictionary lists it as a short form of 'crazy'.
Q02What does cray-cray mean?
The same, doubled for emphasis and playfulness: very crazy.
Q03Where did cray come from?
It is a clipping of 'crazy'. 'Cray cray' appears in online slang dictionaries from 2001–02, and a 2011 Jay-Z and Kanye West single made the short form famous.
Q04Do people still say cray?
Rarely, and usually ironically. It is strongly tied to the early 2010s.
Sources
- Cray Cray — Know Your Meme (2001 and 2002 definitions; September 2011 single; Kray twins hoax; Oxford, August 2014).
- cray — Wiktionary (slang adjective, short for crazy; cray-cray).
- cray — Cambridge Dictionary.