Post inspired by this awesome list of blog post ideas by The Florkens.
Slang. It permeates our language like the tunnel system branching through the underbelly of Las Vegas, enabling criminal escapes and housing the homeless. (I made up the criminal escapes part, but there are tunnels and it's pretty interesting.)
But wait. Is that a bad thing?
Not necessarily. I like some slang. It adds some color to our language and it's fun to take a break from the stodginess of proper grammar and polite small talk. But some of it is annoying as balls!
Here's some of my least favorite slang terms.
And now for the other side of the spectrum.
So those are the term that I choose to use or not use, but everyone has a different take on it and different words they prefer to use. And that's really part of the beauty of our language. That our vocabularies aren't limited to any one particular set of words. Or even to words that are already words. The dictionary is always changing to reflect our culture, so we can make up as much as we want and eventually, if enough people believe something is a word, it'll become one.
Slang. It permeates our language like the tunnel system branching through the underbelly of Las Vegas, enabling criminal escapes and housing the homeless. (I made up the criminal escapes part, but there are tunnels and it's pretty interesting.)
But wait. Is that a bad thing?
Not necessarily. I like some slang. It adds some color to our language and it's fun to take a break from the stodginess of proper grammar and polite small talk. But some of it is annoying as balls!
Here's some of my least favorite slang terms.
6 Slang Terms That Can Suck It
- YOLO - Yeah, ok. Way to take a fact and turn it into a justification of whatever petty thing you feel like doing.
- Literally - Used for anything that's not literal. Did you know this just made it into the Merriam-Webster dictionary? Ugh...
- Totes - Also jelly, presh, hubs, and any other word that is really not that long but people are too lazy to spell out entirely.
- Moms - or Pops. Why is the "s" there? It doesn't need to be there! Sister3 says these in a high pitched nasally voice that just drives me up the wall.
- Basic Bitch - So... I didn't even know what this was until Helene's post a while back. But yeah, tearing down other women is not cool, and I'm not a huge fan of using cuss words and trying to pretend they're not an insult. I don't care how you meant it, don't call me a bitch.
- Biddy - What IS this? A woman? Why is the word for a hen being used to refer to people? If someone says, "Yo Biddy." Should I respond with, "What's up, mah sow?"
And now for the other side of the spectrum.
4 Slang Terms I'm Pretty OK With
- Baller - I can't explain. Just sometimes I need to say "baller" instead of "awesome."
- Cash Money - This one is just silly, and fun, and I don't think I've ever heard anyone use it seriously, so I'm ok with it.
- Ass Hat - As insults go, this is pretty funny and I get a kick out of it. I like to use more lighthearted cuss words, because they keep me from getting so caught up in my own rage.
- Chica - I might not want to be called a farm animal, but I think using words from other languages is fun. You can call me a "girl" or a "woman" in any language you want!
So those are the term that I choose to use or not use, but everyone has a different take on it and different words they prefer to use. And that's really part of the beauty of our language. That our vocabularies aren't limited to any one particular set of words. Or even to words that are already words. The dictionary is always changing to reflect our culture, so we can make up as much as we want and eventually, if enough people believe something is a word, it'll become one.
What slang terms do you like? And which do you loathe?
