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NEW YORK (AP) -- Groovy is over, hip is square, far out is long gone. Don't worry, though -- it's cool. "Cool" remains the gold standard of slang in the 21st century, as reliable as a blue-chip stock, surviving like few expressions ever in our constantly evolving language. It has, despite the pressures of staying relevant and trendy, kept its cool through the centuries -- even as its meaning changed drastically. How cool is that? Way cool, say experts who interpret words and slang for their messages about society. "Cool is certainly a charter member for the slang hall of...

Michael Fisk is a street fighting man. And the street he's fighting is named Dicks. Fisk, who lives on Dicks Street in the Los Angeles suburb of West Hollywood, has gone to city hall to get the road's name changed -- saying that its slang meaning has made life difficult for homeowners. "Since we moved in four years ago its just become such a hassle," Fisk said. "It's embarrassing. Something definitely needs to be changed. I realize that it's a man's name, but words change meaning, and this one has." Dicks Street is in a neighborhood that fancies first names...

The 1st Amendment has been getting a workout in recent weeks on two college campuses--the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--where students are learning that free speech is a messy business. The two cases, one involving a columnist at North Carolina and the other a political cartoonist at Florida, have inflamed minority groups--Muslims and blacks, respectively--provoking protests and debate. That's the good news insofar as protest and debate are the currency of free speech. <SNIP> Exhibit A is Jillian Bandes, a former columnist for North Carolina's The Daily Tar Heel. Her column, which was...

I've been at FR for awhile now and I thought it would be funny to list some of the Freeper language and meanings as we have made up our own words and meanings over the years. Have fun.

Republicans' liberal use of Mafia metaphors has angered some Italian-American activists who weighed in on the contentious campaign for the governor's office Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester enjoyed some unexpected praise from environmental leaders who are at odds with his Democratic opponent, U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, over preservation of a Delaware River island. The Italian-American activists gathered in Trenton to demand an apology from top Republicans, who have repeatedly compared Corzine and his allies to mobsters in an effort to underscore his links to the party's most controversial figures. "To actually have a party organization that...

The Gooseberry LayFrom "Getting Away with Murder," by Erle Stanley Gardner, in The Atlantic, Vol. 215 No. 1 (1965). Dashiell Hammet, on the other hand, was one of the few writers I have known who had all the earmarks of genius and the temperament which goes with it. For a brief period he was a Pinkerton detective, and because of this experience, he dazzled credulous editors with a presumably encyclopedic knowledge of the underworld. Dashiell was also a fast hand with a dictionary of criminalese and had a vast knowledge of the editorial psychology. Heaven knows how these dictionaries of...

n the 19th century, "gay" described people or times of high spirits -- the Gay '90s -- or colorful clothing or decor. By the last quarter of the 20th, Fred Flintstone's "gay old time" took on a new meaning as gay became a euphemism for homosexual, just as "choice" replaced "abortion" and "revenue enhancement" was substituted for "tax increase." But in the 21st century, gay has become synonymous with silly or lame, especially among teens and young adults. Rarely a day goes by without them remarking how "gay" a friend, relative or acquaintance is. This usage has nothing to do...

AS marketing schemes go, the hip-hop music star Nelly risks sending a lot of mixed signals with the name of the new energy drink he's marketing. It's called "Pimp Juice." I could be wrong, but "Pimp Juice" does not sound to me like something that you want to put in your mouth. Either way, you won't get a chance to find out, if certain leaders of black community organizations have their way. In Los Angeles, three organizations called Project Islamic HOPE, the National Alliance for Positive Action, and the National Black Anti-Defamation League staged a press conference last Tuesday (Sept....

Tuesday, November 14, 2000 254 'boy words' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's note: The following column contains content of a sexual nature that some readers may find objectionable. Those debating whether homosexuals should be scout leaders should take a look at the dictionary to help decide whether or not homosexuals have an inordinate interest in young boys. Or is it really as gay rights leaders say -- they just labor in young boys' best interests. Let's look it up and see if pederasts (men who sexually assault boys) comprise just a small cadre within the much larger male homosexual population. The dictionary I...

I am a senior at Clarke Central High School, and I am writing in response to the (March 3) article ''Clarke Co. schools seeking to increase minority teachers.'' I was very disappointed when I read this article. There was a slang term used in referring to African Americans, the word was ''black.'' The other minority groups were classified as Latino, Asian and Native American. I thought this was very inappropriate, especially for a newspaper that is sent to a school where more than half of its population is indeed African-American. I believe that African Americans deserve the same respect as...

Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang Compiled by William Denton buff@pobox.com. Copyright © 1993 - 2003. Please send me corrections, additions, suggestions and comments. Edition 3.9.2. Version 4.0 is planned. Originally published as a pamphlet by Miskatonic University Press, 1993. This glossary may not be reproduced on the World Wide Web in any form. You can link to it using this URL: http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html. This glossary may be reproduced for public consumption as long as it is copied as is and in its entirety and no extra charge beyond copying or printing costs is made. Other arrangements may...

HOUSTON – THE conversation begins on the computer, nothing too atypical for a pair of teenage boys bored on a Friday night: Garret: hey Josh: sup Garret: j/cu Josh: same Garret: wut r u doing 2nite Josh: n2m Garret: cool Need a translation? Not if you're a 13-year-old who's been Internet-connected since birth. For the rest of us, welcome to the world of Net Lingo - the keyboard generation's gift to language and culture. "sup" is not a call to supper, but a query: "What's up?" And Josh's "n2m" reply? "Not too much." As in every age, teenagers today are...

Watch out your basket, son

Boys Are 'Firefighter Cute,' Messy Room Is 'Ground Zero' in Sept. 11 Slang Their bedrooms are "ground zero." Translation? A total mess. A mean teacher? He's "such a terrorist." A student is disciplined? "It was total jihad." Petty concerns? "That's so Sept. 10." And out-of-style clothes? "Is that a burqa?" Click here to read the rest of the article.