Friday, September 26, 2008

"Awesome" is Awesomely Misused...


Every so often, pop culture grabs hold of a word and abuses it to such a degree, that it all but loses its original meaning... Today, I would like to examine the word "awesome"...

The word itself means to inspire a sense of "awe", however it was popularized in the 80's as a way for the oh, so confused decade to describe situations of semi-excitable approval... As a direct result of this misappropriation, it is very rarely used correctly today...

Here are a few examples of the distinction between the two:

Things that are "Awesome":
-The Pyramids
-The Sistine Chapel
-Receiving an H.J. in Public

Things that aren't "Awesome", but are referred to as such:
-The pizza guy arriving
-Last night when your buddy vomited on the dance-floor and some chicks shoes
-A 24-hour "COPS" marathon (debatable)

While the fore mentioned non-awesome items are certainly great, they require a less dramatic word to be coupled with their experience...

If we as a society are so pressed for words that describe approval in a quasi-enthusiastic manner, might I suggest bringing back "Rad"...

"Rad" is easier to say, plus it has the long-hand option of "radical" available for circumstances that require a little extra exuberance...

Just a thought...

Be careful out there...

2 comments:

Jim + Sara May said...

Your own flesh and blood definitely misuses and abuses the word AWESOME...hard not to in the teaching profession! Sorry, Boo. :)

Unknown said...

awesome is awesome.

grow up.

things that truly aren't awesome:

gonorhea in a cup.

swift.

at least that is what joe mauer told me.