Can someone please help me out with African-American slang?

slang evolves over time, so what a thing means may be related (or not) to what it used to mean.

for instance, diva, vixen, and moxie are not (as far as i know) "african-american" terms. they might have newer meanings, however, and you can look at a site called urbandictionary (look for it online.)

here are some guesses (and some terms i actually know) to get you started:

tough chick: haven't heard this used as a common phrase, i think it just means "a woman who is difficult to deal with or protects/can protect herself." chick just means "female." although a chick is also a baby chicken.

vixen - a very attractive woman, especially one who makes an effort to be very attractive - one that can trap men.

diva - a woman that is arrogant/prideful, or impossible to please. technically, a diva is a female performer, particularly a singer that is very famous and talented, but in this case it often just means someone that thinks she is better (and deserves better treatment) than anyone else.

moxie - has always meant nerve, the ability to just get up and go do something without permission or someone urging them to. the ability to be the first to do something, or doing something without anyone else thinking it's okay.

flychick - never seen this as one word, i think "fly chick" (like "tough chick") means she's attractive and very fashionable. might have a look at urban dictionary again.

brickhouse - a woman that is well built. there was a song a few decades ago called "she's a brick house" (or just "brick house") meaning she is attractively constructed... in this case, probably with features that are solid, a woman with a large chest and probably other things, but not a woman that is too fat.

knockout - a vixen. a woman that is not only beautiful, but so attractive that you're taken aback / stopped in the middle of walking, and so on.

chippy - no idea. i would assume it has something to do with chips (french fries) "chipper" usually means "very happy, cheerful" but you don't hear it as much anymore.

try the site i mentioned, you can spend half the day reading slang terms.

i don't think you'll do very well if you rely on my descriptions for your assignment. most of these terms (as far as i know) have nothing to do with african americans. "diva" is/was a commonly used word, but moxie? well, i guess you'll find out what's what if you do some proper research. where words come from- that's trickier than you might think.

vixen - a very attractive woman, especially one who makes an effort to be very attractive - one that can trap men.

I'm a little unclear on exactly what you're looking for. Is this supposed to be historical, or present-day usage? The terms you mention in your first post probably range from early 20th-century to the 1960s or 70s. I don't think you'd find any in use today as street slang, and most of them weren't particularly African American.

There's the rap-inspired "bitch" and "ho" but you'd better be very, very careful how you use those, if you do. I wouldn't recommend it.

If you can use sort of alt.culture terms, try googling "suicide girls" and "grrls" (that's not a typo--no vowels in it).

Isn't there the term "foxy" for a really sexy-looking woman?

Isn't there the term "foxy" for a really sexy-looking woman?