Meanings
- uncountableBroken English, such as that spoken by the fictional character Tarzan (as played by film actor Johnny Weissmuller from 1932 to 1948).
View points: A quick lesson in Tarzanese.
2002 November 19, The South Wales Echo, Cardiff, page 242 more examples
On the contrary, one of his favorite everyday expressions is “Umgawa,” which he defines as Tarzanese for “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
1970 August 17, Sports Illustrated, Chicago, page 60, column 1Often, fresh from the act he dined at the restaurant, still uptight, forgetting where he was, he ordered in the Tarzanese of the Arena. The waiters thought him a gibbering baboon.
2001, Frank Palescandolo, Remembrance of a Restaurant: A Decameron of Dining, iUniverse, page 199Synonyms: Tarzan English, Tarzan-speak
Synonyms & antonyms
nounBroken English, such as that spoken by the fictional character Tarzan (as played by film actor Johnny Weissmuller from 1932 to 1948).
Origin
Cite this entry
Tarzanese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tarzanese
“Tarzanese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tarzanese. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tarzanese,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tarzanese.
Source: Tarzanese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.