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The Slang Thread

Back to cool, then probably ice, and then who knows, because most people these days can't communicate with words over one syllable .
I just remembered chill, which for a while kind of replaced cool, but now it almost exclusively means to relax. Cool has also been used that way as well

Perhaps fridge. That's one syllable lol
 
I'm in the US, and I've only ever heard it in relation to paying for something yourself, like when you have to pay for some part of your medical care, instead of the your insurance.

I'm an American who likes to think he's heard most of our slang, & I've never heard it that way myself, always just the paying your own money out of pocket.

I'll also report as an American not ever having heard "out of pocket" in the sense you mention.

Thanks for the replies, all. I guess my assumption that this was a general American usage was a little off-base. I did some Googling, and it turns out that there is a meaning of "out of pocket" that means "unavailable" or "unreachable" (which would fit the context I've heard it used by people who were going to be away from work). But I guess it's not as common, since a lot of the Google results are basically people asking about the usage because someone used it and they had never heard it used that way before!

It appears to have originated in the southern states as early as 1908, but didn't seem to gain more widespread popularity until much later. It has also spread outside of that initial area (I saw references to it being used in northeastern states, as well as heavily in Washington D.C.). One source also said it was heavily used in the military, and another referenced its widespread use in journalism.

It is apparently in the OED with this meaning, but it looks like you need to be a subscriber to view the OED online.

There is also a third meaning that I wasn't aware of, which is "saying or doing something inappropriate".

Here's an article that seems to cover the most ground about this phrase, if you're interested.
 
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I found a site with some horse phrases, and I was right, "in your pocket" just means that they're friendly.
 
A portmanteau is a word composed of two or more words or parts of words. "Skyjacking," "televangelist," "infomercial," and "emoticon" are portmanteaus (or portmanteaux).
After seeing always, already, alright, albeit, & altogether in the "Ask" as a Noun thread, it got me thinking about what other terms we use with the word all, that could be as easily rebranded into a portmanteau.

All over, all out, all set, all told, all gone, all better or all the better, all for naught, all the while. I mean, would althewhile be that much different than albeit?

I guess you could do the same as with anyone/anybody, anywhere/anyplace, anyway, anymore, anytime, & anything. (I didn't even realize anywise was already a word)

So maybe... any other, any case, any type or any kind. I mean, if anymore is a word, then why couldn't anyless be one?

Uhh... & now I'm just remembering the with- words... Without, within, withheld, withdraw, withstand. Somebody help me. I've fallen into an abyss :ack:

Edit: ...Somebody, something, somehow, sometime, someone... some way, some other :brickwall:
 
Some other little bits of equestrian slang, I've learned recently.
Sound: Healthy, and able to be ridden.
More woah than go: Basically, they're kind lazy, they don't like to go fast or do anything real intense. This is the kind of horse that would just be going on calm trail rides.
More go than woah: The opposite, they're a lot more active.
 
Sound: Healthy, and able to be ridden.

Isn't that just one of the standard definitions of the word, though? I'm not sure it really counts as slang, nor horse-specific.

Dictionary.com said:
sound
adjective, sound·er, sound·est.

1. free from injury, damage, defect, disease, etc.; in good condition; healthy; robust:

More woah than go

I like this one though, and am considering making it my custom title here! :lol:
 
Oh, I didn't realize that with sound, I've only heard it relation to horses.
 
"Of sound mind & body" is in nearly every movie/show that ever had a will reading scene

Sound is an interesting word, in that its meanings are so wildly varied. Sound, the noun we use primarily, is an auditory impression. Sound the adjective means of good condition. As a verb it can also mean to measure the depth of something, as in the sea, or a body cavity etc... Such a strange variation
 
So back in the 50s/60s when there was something people thought of as fashionably exciting, they began calling it cool. In the 70s/80s those things began being called hot. In the 90s we'd call it smoking. I seem to recall a move in the 2000s to them being called lit. Now we got people just plain calling them fire. That's so fire.

This is a perishable trend. The next graduation beyond fire is just a bigger fire. So then I suppose the next iteration will be blaze? Maybe inferno? The point is, from there the concept of combustion depreciates into scorched, smoldering, & then ultimately ash, which doesn't seem to hold the same level of potency.

Are we engaged in an ever depreciating use of words for combustibility? & once exhausted where do we go then? :lol:
The word for cool in my city in the 90s was "rapid" it then became "class" and has stuck with that ( I think as I am no longer down with the kids ).
A nice person or a response to a good deed is "sound". As in "John is a sound guy" or when John buys you a pint you say "sound" to him
 
The word for cool in my city in the 90s was "rapid" it then became "class" and has stuck with that ( I think as I am no longer down with the kids ).
A nice person or a response to a good deed is "sound". As in "John is a sound guy" or when John buys you a pint you say "sound" to him
That still seems to jibe with the more traditional meaning of steadfast or hearty.

I've never heard "rapid" used as slang, but "class", well... that one has a long history of meaning something that is top notch
 
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I figure the origin of using "Word" as slang clearly comes from urban Afro-American culture, but beyond that, it's probably impossible to pinpoint. ...
I'm coming to this discussion a little late, but I remember reading that such usage of the word "Word" started as an abbreviation of "Word is bond," which itself is an abbreviation of "My word is my bond." The expression "Word is bond" was frequently used among the Five-Percent Nation movement, and eventually caught on in Hip-hop.

Kor
 
I'm coming to this discussion a little late, but I remember reading that such usage of the word "Word" started as an abbreviation of "Word is bond," which itself is an abbreviation of "My word is my bond." The expression "Word is bond" was frequently used among the Five-Percent Nation movement, and eventually caught on in Hip-hop.

Kor
Well, that at least makes more sense than just "Word." Like, what does that mean?

Well, now I know.
 
Well, that at least makes more sense than just "Word." Like, what does that mean?

Well, now I know.
Well, even without any historical context, just by itself, it really does strike the same tone in usage as "That's the word", "Have you heard the word?" "The word is..." etc... or anytime word is used synonymously with rumor or talk.
 
Well, even without any historical context, just by itself, it really does strike the same tone in usage as "That's the word", "Have you heard the word?" "The word is..." etc... or anytime word is used synonymously with rumor or talk.
Yes, and no. Someone going "Word" in response to my statement as an affirmative is jarring at best.
 
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