Friday, July 28, 2006

WORDS: "Whatevs, Dude. Just Chillax."

Have you ever noticed how certain words creep into your vocabulary despite your avowed hatred of them? No, I'm not talking about vile corporate-speak like "impacted" or "prioritize." I'm talking about words from the fleeting vernacular that is our shared, entertainment-derived lexicon. I'm talking about words like "chillax" and "whatevs" and "coolio" and "dude."

When I first heard these words in their separate contexts, I swiftly administered the sound mocking they so clearly deserve. And then I started using them sarcastically, as a way of both ridiculing the words themselves and intentionally irritating the person I was addressing.

And then, at some point, the irony disappeared, and I found myself participating in exchanges like this one:
"Fuck. I just fucking stepped on my fucking sunglasses."
"Whatevs, dude. Just chillax."
"Coolio."

9 comments:

MonkeyLover said...

The only one I have been able to keep out of my vocabulary has been "hella" it just won't happen. So true though :)

landismom said...

OMG, I've never heard "chillax" and now I am scheming as to how to use it in a sentence. Sad, I know.

Unknown said...

Once upon a time, I moved to Oklahoma. And immediately commenced mocking the natives for their constant use of "Do what?" instead of the more civilized, refined "Excuse me?" or "Could you repeat that?" or even "Huh?" (They think King of the Hill is a drama 'round those parts.)

Then, while back in the Northwest for the holidays, my family gleefully informed me that my vocabulary had become infected, and my usage of "Do What?" had moved from ironic to compulsive.

It was a sad day.

I feel your pain.

Anonymous said...

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

Cataclysm said...

"Chillax" should be cool for another couple of days, shouldn't it!?!?

What a great word, I wish I had thought of it myself!! So no issues if you use that word around Rian either... its cool in our part of the world!

And I just said "Do what?!" in response to, should we watch the National now. Infectious indeed! Just so easy to find the right context to use it in!

Off to watch the National - does anyone else think the G8/rest o' the world should have called for CEASEFIRE in the middle east or is it just me?! WTF?!! Hella?!?!
Kris

trophycase said...

Sarcasm and irony, the gateway to cool.

Tammy said...

Aw, crap. And here I thought all this time that drugs and sex were the gateways to cool. Now you tell me.

Claire said...

This? Always happens to me. Net result? A white middle class British girl with a posh English accent who unironically uses half the vocab of your typical 'Ricki Lake' guest.

Whatever, G, I'm cool. Stay loco dude!

Gah.

Anonymous said...

I fall into the same trap every time, Doppleganger. It starts with the sarcastic mocking, and then moves on to the slightly less sarcastic but kinda sorta still mocking, and the next thing you know, I'm using words like hella and whatev in regular conversation.

I feel your pain/shame/whatev.

In other news, I've never heard of chillax! Something new and exciting to mock sarcastically!