As we read through Gretchen McCulloch’s book, Because Internet, I find myself really interested in the ways that she connects the acronyms and slang we use on the internet today, to language, writing and even to the doodling of past generations, pre-internet. I thought it would be interesting to take a more in-depth look at the world of acronyms and how language has changed over the years with regard to the internet and internet writing and particularly how words or acronyms with the same meaning have evolved over time.
Being an 80’s/90’S kid myself, it’s neat to see that some of our words used back in the day are still used today, just in a new way. So, let’s go ahead and dig into some of these, here’s the scoop. I mean the TEA!
Yo, when I was a young buck, cool beans woulda been our way of saying YOLO! You woulda been a cold Mo-fo if you chose to be so SAVAGE. And duuude, that totally dope party would’ve been EPIC, and you know it! And Alicia wouldn’t have been so Clueless, saying “I CAN’T EVEN” instead of “As if.” You mighta been throwin’ some SHADE if you said, “No sh*t sherlock,” but ON POINT if they were posers anyway. Take a chill pill and stay WOKE!
Ha! So, there it is. A little rap mirroring some of today’s acronyms with words from the past that share the same meaning (maybe?). Hopefully it's clear that I put today's words in all caps and left the ones from the past BASIC AF.
I also think it’s important to mention some of the ones I came across that seem to have survived the years and still carry the same meaning today. Some of those are:
Hella, Ralph (I’m assuming it has the same meaning), Dude, Legit, and Like.
Anyway, hope ya’ll enjoyed this little bit of me embarrassing myself while reliving my childhood. Peace!
This was a delight to read! Yeah, some of them are very persistent, and even others have picked up "ironic" usage. I've definitely used "ugh, gag me with a spoon" in order to make every under-20 in the room cringe in unison, that's for sure! A few other terms that are still used or have evolved are "bod," as in "dad bod," or "veg/veg out." Funny what stays and what goes, huh?
ReplyDeleteHonestly I have never heard that saying. This is all so interesting to me. I would love to see a list of other sayings to see if I knew them! Maybe the internet would provide some? I will have to look into this.
DeleteThis was so interesting. Did you come up with that rap? I love it so much it made me laugh. It is so funny how words that mean the same things change over the years. My mother says "amazeballs" and I do not use that word nor have I heard anyone my age say it. Honestly I am not even sure what it means haha!
ReplyDeleteHa! Delightful, indeed! I feel seen! :)
ReplyDeleteAs my classmates have said before me, this was so fun to read. It made me laugh and think back to remember what certain words meant because I hadn't seen them in a while (lol). It is quite intriguing to see how terms have evolved over time, and which words didn't make the cut between each generation. Cool topic!
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