William Safire explains the words "kids" are sporting these days, including many terms that are so over, even I've stopped using them.
"Camo is fashion slang, short for "camouflage," used to describe outdoorsy wear that blends in with jungle greenery." [OK, maybe I still use that one.]
The list sounds like the only magazine in the doctor's office during Safire's latest visit was a ratty old copy of Vibe. Still, the hip-hop origins, or any "urban" (i.e., black) or musical references go completely unacknowledged, which is pretty wack.
Kiduage , use at your own risk [NYT]
Camo mentions on Daddy Types
Bwahahahahaha! Thank you, William Safire, for making me feel so young again. A vast number of the words he claimed were the "latest" slang were popular when I was in high school or college.
Did you notice that many of the quotes he used sounded like they were lifted from _The Great Gatsby_, only with the "new" slang substituted for the old?
My very favorite part of the article (aside from the fact that he puts "rad" and "phat" together chronologically, and the blatantly clueless whitewashing of the whole thing) was his proposed etymology for "floss."
Oh, and I thought "camo" was just a shortening of a word, not slang. Like saying "fax" instead of "facsimile transmission" and "bus" instead of "omnibus."
Thank you, DT, for bringing this to my attention. I'll be laughing for days.