4 ms·

I find it interesting that within the space of a human lifetime these words can go from secret language to common usage, completely divorced from where they cam

I find it interesting that within the space of a human lifetime these words can go from secret language to common usage, completely divorced from where they came from. I wonder what my Grandparents think when I discuss having a bevvy. Although that shouldn't really be surprising, as my younger brother will happily use bad to mean good without any context/intonation whatsoever. So if a common word can reverse in meaning in a decade....

clouddrover 8y ago
> my younger brother will happily use bad to mean good Here's an example of that from the 1989 movie The Wizard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVc6xuQfq9Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVc6xuQfq9Q He loves the Nintendo Power Glove. It's so bad.
- benj111 8y ago
  Yes its been around for a while, but the intonation etc clarified the meaning. My brother doesn't say "that is bad", he says "that is bad". Then he gets exasperated when I ask him if he means good or not good.
  - Angostura 8y ago
    Bad to mean good was certainly in playground use in the UK in the 1970s, in London. If something was particularly good - it was ‘well bad’
    - benj111 8y ago
      "without any context/intonation whatsoever" I grew up with that usage, I coped very well with that usage. If I'm talking with my 12 year old mates saying "wow that's well bad" it is obvious what I mean. If I bake a new cake recipe and ask you to try it, and you neutrally reply "that is bad", what am I to infer from that? Not "wow that is well bad", or "that's bad ass", or "mmm that is one bad cake". If Stephen Hawking said "that is bad", what would you infer from that?
      - bartread 8y ago
        > If Stephen Hawking said "that is bad", what would you infer from that? That he'd faked his death.
        mercer 8y ago
        That comment of yours is bad.
- NikkiA 8y ago
  Almost like it was part of the cultural lexicon then, for some, obscure reason.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_(album) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_(album)
exelius 8y ago
I would assume those words would leak into the public lexicon without the public realizing their origins. The gay community back then was largely camouflaged within the few areas they were accepted: artistic communities and long naval voyages (where men having sex with men was considered a reality of life at sea). So people may associate those words with the larger groups which were not suspected of being gay.
rsynnott 8y ago
Note that some words are from pre-existing English (especially London) slang. I think ‘bevvy’ May be an example of that.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

clouddrover 8y ago

> my younger brother will happily use bad to mean good Here's an example of that from the 1989 movie The Wizard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVc6xuQfq9Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVc6xuQfq9Q He loves the Nintendo Power Glove. It's so bad.

benj111 8y ago
Yes its been around for a while, but the intonation etc clarified the meaning. My brother doesn't say "that is bad", he says "that is bad". Then he gets exasperated when I ask him if he means good or not good.
- Angostura 8y ago
  Bad to mean good was certainly in playground use in the UK in the 1970s, in London. If something was particularly good - it was ‘well bad’
  - benj111 8y ago
    "without any context/intonation whatsoever" I grew up with that usage, I coped very well with that usage. If I'm talking with my 12 year old mates saying "wow that's well bad" it is obvious what I mean. If I bake a new cake recipe and ask you to try it, and you neutrally reply "that is bad", what am I to infer from that? Not "wow that is well bad", or "that's bad ass", or "mmm that is one bad cake". If Stephen Hawking said "that is bad", what would you infer from that?
    - bartread 8y ago
      > If Stephen Hawking said "that is bad", what would you infer from that? That he'd faked his death.
      - mercer 8y ago
        That comment of yours is bad.
NikkiA 8y ago
Almost like it was part of the cultural lexicon then, for some, obscure reason.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_(album) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_(album)

exelius 8y ago

I would assume those words would leak into the public lexicon without the public realizing their origins. The gay community back then was largely camouflaged within the few areas they were accepted: artistic communities and long naval voyages (where men having sex with men was considered a reality of life at sea). So people may associate those words with the larger groups which were not suspected of being gay.

rsynnott 8y ago

Note that some words are from pre-existing English (especially London) slang. I think ‘bevvy’ May be an example of that.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]