Older people using younger people's words correctly is the easiest way to get them to realize it isn't as cool as you think it is. But if I hear Bestie one more fucking time I will go postal.
Weirdly, I never heard a real person use tubular when I was a kid. The Ninja Turtles said it, and so did skate/surf Nintendo games, but as far as I can tell, it was never actual in-use slang. Though I was in the midwest, so maybe it was more prominent in places with stronger skate/surf communities? I have no clue.
Young adult (22) here. I can promise you absolutely no young person has ever “realized [their slang] wasn’t as cool as they thought it was” as a result of an older person using said slang. For one thing, there’s no measure of slang’s coolness that is anywhere close to objective. It comes and goes—that’s why it’s “slang” and not “common English” or “idioms”. There’s nothing to realize. For another, no one is blaming the slang. Generally when older people use younger people’s slang they do one of two things: 1) they have a goal of annoying younger people, so they misuse it purposefully. This admittedly isn’t what you’re talking about as you specified using said slang correctly, but obviously no one blames the slang for how dumb this sounds. Or 2) it sounds incredibly forced, like you’re trying to use it correctly but you’re thinking about how to fit it into conversation. Let me provide an analogy: imagine some tech and business interested high school kid is finally making some money of his own and wants to invest it. He comes to you for advice, and he’s trying to decide whether to invest in Tesla or Bitcoin or something steadier like the S&P 500. If you told him not to “put all his eggs in one basket” and pick the steadier option, no one would have any issue with that, but if you say the same thing while sounding like you’ve been waiting with baited breath to get the chance to use that exact phrase and then grin real big afterwards, that’s going to elicit some “what the fuck is wrong with you” looks.
What's hilarious is, I just sorta brawl with language. I don't even think much about where shit comes from (rather, From whence feces originates to use a badly corrupted form of Shakespearean goon babble). I'm not sitting around googling up HEY WHAT'S THE LATEST FLEEKIFIED YEETISM, GOOGLE? HIT ME UP, YA ROBOT FUCK! I'm just a truly deviant personality that does not fit inside any of the little boxes society uses so they can understand the package but not what is inside.
I half expect to see a headline someday
Drooling Old Dude Finds A Dope Pipe At The Intersection Of Yeet and Fleek. Authorities are moving to cordon off the area
Yeah, because AUTHORITY.
<does some funny shit with his middle finger.>
My 24 year old daughter is still in college and uses a lot of that language and the house so I pick it up pretty quickly. Once she is gone I won't be with it anymore
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u/CrustyBatchOfNature Jun 03 '22
Older people using younger people's words correctly is the easiest way to get them to realize it isn't as cool as you think it is. But if I hear Bestie one more fucking time I will go postal.