Big Brother Mzansi is on the brink of its fourth season which premiers on Sunday 21 January. Although the format has enjoyed great success over the years, and produced some of the country’s hottest stars, it is not lost to us that the Big Brother community welcomes new viewers and fans with every season.
Big Brother is more than just a show, it is a culture, a lifestyle and a language. Knowing this, we have put together a list of definitions for the first time viewer, and the fan who just wants to brush up on their knowledge:
Big Brother: (noun) this doubles as the name of the show as well as the name of the big, scary voice in the sky that governs the housemates. Some also refer to this voice as Biggie as a term of endearment.
Diary session: (noun) a time when housemates are called into a usually small small room to share their innermost feelings and thoughts with the big voice from the sky in confidence. This small small room is called the Diary room.
Eviction: (noun) the process or event when a housemate bids the show bye-bye and heads home🏠.
Head of House: (noun) this is the it-girl/boy/person in the house. Like a class representative, they are put in charge of the house and must make sure that everyone does what Biggie tells them to do. This prefect is known as the HoH for short, and the best thing about being HoH is immunity from evictions on that week.
HoH games: (noun) A very serious play time. Housemates put on serious faces and compete with each other for the highly coveted title of HoH. The title is awarded to the housemate that played the most or is it the best? 🤔
Housemate: (noun) the people who left their own homes to live in Biggie’s house and be watched live on national tv.
Nominations: (noun) after play play, housemates must decide which other housemate they like the least, then they step into the small small room and tell Biggie that they want that housemate to leave. The housemates mentioned the most are then nominated for possible eviction.
Ship: (noun) when two (or more) housemates like each other, and they have kissy kissy 💋 time, they fall into a ship (which is short for relationship).
Stan: (noun) a person or group of people who are private school fans of a housemate. Their fandom outlives any drama or revelations about their favourite housemate. Their loyalty is unwavering, and knows no limits. Those who attack their fave in any capacity must be warned.
Wager: (noun) a very important talent show that housemates must participate in so they can win money and buy themselves food. The presentation is accordance to the weekly theme and brief that Biggie assigns them at the top of the week. Whether their creativity wins them the wager is all dependent on whether Biggie was moved at all.
The season is bound to be messy, and if past Big Brother seasons are anything to go by, we know that the culture will continue to grow, and we will surely have more lingo to follow as the show progresses.
Big Brother Mzansi season 4 S’ya Mosha premieres this Sunday 21 January on Mzansi Magic channel 161 at 18:00. Join the conversation online using the hashtag #BBMzansi and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok! Stay connected to DStv to watch every minute.