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Posted on 07/10/2011 5:58:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
People fear, loathe, and ignore change. The term “Brontosaurus” lost its official status to the correct “Apatosaurus” over a hundred years ago, but try telling that to a dino-loving kid. Those of us raised to believe Pluto is a planet will be sticking up for that demoted little rock till we’re buried. Recently, the Scrabble world went into a code-4 uproar when it seemed that the rules might be changed to allow proper names. (Don’t worry, folks, the change only applied to a new game called Scrabble Trickster.)
When it comes to the meaning of words themselves, change is even more upsetting. In a terrific article for the Boston Globe, Erin McKean looked at how “guys” is now frequently used to address groups of men and women. She writes: “Whether from a dearth of suitable alternatives or just from habit, ‘you guys,’ if not completely entrenched, is well on the way to being the standard casual way to address a group. Rather than fight that battle, we may want to save some indignation for the next awkward form of address to surface. I’m thinking it’s probably ‘dudes.’ (Seriously, dudes.)”
I know a segue when I see one. “Dude” is a magnificent specimen for discussing language change in general, because its meaning has shifted and shimmied a ton in a relatively short period of time.
Originally, back in the 1800s, “dude” referred to a dandy-ish sort of doofus. As the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, “dude” was “a name given in ridicule to a man affecting an exaggerated fastidiousness in dress, speech, and deportment, and very particular about what is æsthetically ‘good form’.” Later, in the American West, the term came to refer to “a non-westerner or city-dweller who tours or stays in the west of the U.S., esp. one who spends his holidays on a ranch,” and the tourist-attracting, money-making ranches they visited were "dude ranches."
In the 20th century, “dude” evolved to take on a more neutral meaning. The term was adopted in the black community, then as now a prime spreader of new words and meanings. This 1967 OED example reflected the shift in meaning: “My set of Negro street types contained a revolving and sometimes disappearing (when the ‘heat’, or police pressure, was on) population... These were the local ‘dudes’, their term meaning not the fancy city slickers but simply ‘the boys’, ‘fellas’, the ‘cool people’.” In the sixties, the term attracted more coolness as it was embraced by surf culture, and by the seventies, a dude was just a guy.
The dude-slaught gained momentum through the 1980s and 1990s, as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and dude-heavy movies such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Wayne’s World, and Clerks helped make “dude” a ubiquitous (and, yep, often annoying) word. "Dude" became a widely used exclamation as well. The interjection sense of “dude” has been spoofed many times in comics and commercials. Here John Swansburg looks at a brilliant Bud Light ad in which the only word uttered is "dude," pointing out the various purposes of the d-word, including “The interrogative dude” and “The deflated dude.”
As for dudes and gender, there is a surprisingly long history of women being dudes—and not just in terms such as “dudette” and “dudine.” The OED records “dude” as meaning “a person (of either sex). Freq. as a familiar form of address” as far back as 1974. This 1981 use is typical: “We're not talking about a lame chick and a gnarly guy. We're talking about a couple of far-out dudes.” But even as far back as 1952, Robert E. Knoll wrote, “Nor do my students believe that a dude must be a man, for a city woman as well as her husband can be a dude.” And in University of Pittsburgh linguistics prof Scott Kiesling’s 2004 article “Dude”—the most recent example of dude scholarship—he found that while “dude” is used most often in male-male interactions, it is used in every possible gender combination, and more among women than in mixed-gender groups. Dude-spouting women share what Kiesling calls the “cool solidarity” that “dude” provides.
In a non-surprise, Kiesling found that men are least likely to use “dude” in “intimate relationships with women,” though they will use it often with close female friends. This confirms the long-held belief that “dude” is not anyone’s idea of an aphrodisiac. Well, unless you’re turned on by wordplay, such as the OED-recorded “dudedom,” “dudeness,” “dudery,” “dudism,” and “dudish”—all used in the late 1800s for foppish fellows—or contemporary spellings such as “dood,” “duuuude,” and “duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude.”
And then there are the variations of the stammering Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, a sacred text for comtemporary dudes everywhere:
“I am not Mr. Lebowski. You’re Mr. Lebowski. I’m the Dude, so that’s what you call me, you know, uh, that or, uh, His Dudeness or Duder or, uh, El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.“
Who could complain about the evolution of a word with innovations like that? Only those foolhardy or brave enough to risk the cool-free state Bridges' co-star John Goodman described as "very un-dude."
Dewed: wet behind the ears
Drude: goth
Dlude: space cadet
Dued: a couple
Pluto never stopped being a planet, some people just don’t believe in him at the current time. My very bright 7-year-old nephew still knows “Pluto is a planet!”
I agree w/ him.
DUde - an individual, typically male, particularly a slovenly, pizza-eating Liberal who has never lived outside his parents' basement...
No, it wasn’t drugs. Every generation makes up its own words to differentiate themselves from their parents’ generation. FYI, Dude, Awesome (and some other words) are definitely NOT 60s, they are ‘80s.
duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude, what a great post.
I call my dog “Dude” on occasion - the Vet gets a kicks out of it....
BASEketball, movie starring the creators of ‘South Park’ (another ‘dude’ enclave), is littered with the word “Dude”
Here’s a montage of the dude scenes:(there’s a bit of swearing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DMTcz8qsxA
A dude with attitude?
wrong again/yet!
As a child in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the concept of a “Dude Ranch” was my first encounter with the word, which supports the original understanding, of a somewhat citified person.
A Dude Ranch was akin to a summer camp. This one was up in the Smokies of North Carolina. Urban and suburban kids, with parents of some means or at least aspiring to be so, were sent there to learn horsemanship, outdoorsy stuff, make friends with children of influential families, etcetera. It was at one time the “in” thing to do. Both boys and girls could go, but were segregated.
The one I attended was Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley, but there were and perhaps still are more than just a few of them. Cataloochee is known as a “guest ranch” now, though:
http://www.cataloocheeranch.com/
The Dude abides.
The Word ‘Dude’ The word ‘dude’ is one of the most interesting words in American-English slang. One very officious dictionary defines the term as:
n. 1. [Invented term, 1883], 1. a dandy; fop.
2. [Western Slang], a city fellow or tourist, especially an Easterner.
For most modern Americans, however, even this definition requires some explaining. More likely than not, one would need to define ‘dandy’ and ‘fop’, and also explain that ‘Westerner’ and ‘Easterner’ relate to parts of the United States, as opposed to regions of the globe, and also that the East refers specifically to the stereotype of the industrial Northeast, and the Southwest to stereotypical cowboy characteristics.
‘Dude’ is an exceptionally versatile word. Depending on the tone used, it can span a variety of meanings. It can be an exclamation of delight, an expression of dark horror, a cry of anger, a paean of love, and many other things besides. This word is not for use by the novice, and should be considered carefully if heard, to avoid misunderstandings. ‘Dude’ can be used many times in a single sentence, with only the tone and familiarity with the speaker to guide the listener as to the conversation's meaning.
Observe:
American 1: Dude [greeting], yesterday I talked to dude [mutual aquaintance], and he said ‘Dude [realisation]! I haven't seen dude [reference to American 2] in forever! Next time you see him, tell him dude [greeting] for me.
American 2: Dude [appreciation]. That dude [mutual aquaintance] rocks.
American 1: Dude. [understanding and agreement - usually accompanied by head nodding]
There are many different stories surrounding the word's origins. One such story claims that it was created by Oscar Wilde, as a combination of the words ‘dud’ and ‘attitude’. Another claims that the word was formed by cowboys in the West to refer (unfavourably) to city dwellers1. Of course, none of these possible origins change its current complex maze of meanings one whit.
It is recommended that ‘dude’ is used by advanced slang speakers only. Any who choose to use this word do so at their own risk.
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