When did you come of the age where you realized lingo has passed you by? I’ve always thought of myself as at least on the fringe of culture (Never in the midst, but always up on enough current events to be able to carry on a conversation), but I can’t even pretend after viewing Lake Superior State University’s 45th annual list of banished words.
Lake Superior has, for almost a half century, published words that deserved to be given the boot for “mis-use, over-use and general uselessness.”
Making the list this year were verbal abominations including “living your best life,” “literally,” “influencer,” “totes,” “jelly,” “chirped,” and “OK, Boomer.”
Be honest – how many of those did you know? I was familiar with about 75 percent, including the latest jab at the children of the 60s, “OK, Boomer.”
It’s interesting to see how the list has changed with cultural shifts over the years. The explosion of social media brought “sexting” and “selfie” to the public consciousness. Politics and the media’s coverage of it brought “truthiness,” “echo chamber” and “fake news” into the lexicon.
It almost – almost – makes me pine for the olden days like the 1950s, when “Big Tickle (something hilarious),” Chrome-Plated (dressed up)” and “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin (looking for trouble)” ruled the conversation.
I don’t think everything from the 1960s was drug-related. Perhaps it just seemed that way. “Far Out (approval),” “Bummer (things don’t go your way),” “Foxy (sexy),” and “Let Your Freak Flag Fly (get wild)” were the phrases of the day.
What goes around comes around, so perhaps, since we have just started a new decade, we could bring the Roaring 20s back into style. Here is a sample (clunky, to be sure) of 1920’s slanguage. See if you can decipher it through context:
Let me just ankle over to the sofa, put on my cheaters, get some giggle water and wait for the sockdollager: UK versus Duke. The Cats are darb this season, but if they lose, I might just pull a Daniel Boone. Let me iron my shoelaces, then we’ll watch the game – maybe get the bearcats and go to the petting palace later. That is, until the usher tells us the bank’s closed.
If you know your onions (what is going on), that paragraph reads like the bee’s knees. If not, here is a translation:
“Let me walk over to the sofa, put on my glasses, grab some beer and get ready for highlight of the season: the UK versus Duke basketball game. The Cats are fantastic this year, so if they lose, I might just barf. Let me visit the restroom, then we can watch the game. Maybe afterwards, we can call the girls and go to the cinema – unless the usher kicks us out for kissing.
Funny thing. The Roaring 20s had more slang words for getting drunk than for any other activity. My favorite was “Spifflicated.” On second thought, maybe reviving the colloquialisms of a century ago isn’t such a good idea. I guess I’ll just plod along using today’s lingo and see if I can get “Woke.” How hard can it be?
