The Nature of Slang in America
You know, once “bad” used to mean “good”. But language has a habit of always changing, and so today bad has regained it’s status as demarking something as actually bad, but what about for those of us who hang on to new tradition? In the modern lexicon, if I want to say something is “bad”, using the circa 1990 definition, I have to use a qualifier, like “bad-ass” or “bad-ical”. Is this fair?
I have to wonder what other things will change in 10 year’s time. Recently I heard a new term, “scary”, which would mean something evokes fear. But the way it was used in this situation was… well, here:
“My homegirl and I was at this club and this white girl was muggin my homegirl all hella crazy, so she kept muggin and I was like ‘Yo do you know that girl’ and homegirl was like ‘Hell nah I don’t know her’. But next thing I know the girl straight punched my homegirl in the face and they was on the floor until security came, but afterwords my homegirl was all like ‘Why you gotta be scary? Why you actin’ all hella scary? Why din’choo have my back?’ and now she’s mad at me, so we ain’t homegirls no more. I wasn’ bein’ hella scary at all, that bitch is crazy”
Like that.
If you know any gems to add to the lexicon, please let me know. And don’t cheat and just pick something off of Urban Dictionary, either. I want regional flavor.
