Teen talk Language of youth

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 16

Teen talk Language of youth

Young people, more than any others, have stimulated the growth of buzz words. The 1950 s saw the emergence of Beatniks — counter-culture youths who strove to be unconventional in almost every aspect of their lives, including dress, attitude, and behaviour. One thing they did not do was hang out in places that were “squaresville,” or in translation, boring. During the 1960 s a completely new language evolved, that of the hippies. The themes of peace and love, and the prevalence of drug taking gave rise to expressions such as “flower power,” “power to the people,” and “blow my mind.” Like, just about every sentence began and ended in a certain way, man.

Where today’s teenagers may rebuff a nagging parent with “get off my case,” their counterparts in the hippy era would have transposed “get off my cloud ... man.” Rock music inspired much of the new terminology, and in some cases picked up some of the tired expressions in song or lyrics. “Day tripper,” the ultimate put-down for someone who had not dropped out of the system completely, later became the title of a well-known Beatles song.

The Beatles themselves were known as the “Fab Four.” Girls became birds, chicks, and sheilas, guys were dudes. Some people were straight, good became bad, life was far out, and everything was (and has been ever since) cool.

Although many of the words used to describe people have come full circle, it is interesting to note that the vast majority of those now in common use are derogatory terms. Some even have their roots in the argot of criminals and drug dealers.

According to a 1940 Dictionary of the Underworld, “greaseball” was once used to describe a tramp who would not wash himself. Grease meant to bribe, or an alternative word for money, and a grease joint was a cheap restaurant. A “fuzz face” was a young or inexperienced tramp, and a “fuzz tail” was an unpopular person.

“Dead head” meant to ride a train without paying, a “total wreck” was a cheque, and a “hiplayer” was an opium smoker in the 19205.

No such imaginative beginnings can be found for terms like waxhead, geek, deadbeat, dilbrain, egghead, wally, or birdbrain. Rosco P. Coltrain, the infamous cop on the television show the “Dukes of Hazzard,” is to blame for the phrase “you dipstick,” which spread across the nation about eight years ago. A whole generation of young TV fans have probably taken years to work out exactly what a dipstick really is when you apply it to a motor vehicle ... “You got your ears on Rosco?” Comics must also pick up a few points for furthering the downfall of the English language. One needs only to pick up the latest “Batman” comic to find the enemy referred to as a “little punk,” a “jerk” and a “bozo,” though not all in one sentence.

Slang varies considerably between the children of different schools, the residents of different cities, and the citizens of different countries.

While to the Australians, and some New Zealanders, everything is deadset (true) Wanganui people have abandoned “fine” as a response to the question “how are you feeling?” ... instead they are “a box of fluffies.” “Bulk,” as in “it was a bulk experience,” or “bulk booze,” is a term currently in vogue among students in Dunedin. Little do most of them know that in the old gangster circles, a bulk was a pickpocket’s accomplice. Bulk and file was the pickpocket and his mate.

Another word of advice for those who use the word grouse. According to the Oxford dictionary, a grouse is in fact a “gallinaceous bird with feathered feet.” More recent additions to the zany language buff’s dictionary of buzzwords include “prat,” “the pits/pitsville,” “it blew me away,” and “I know where you’re coming from.”

Primary school children are educating their parents in a whole new slang vocabulary, such as “that’s pimps,” or “pipsqueaks.” Their parents may well have used “easy as pie” to describe the same thing. With a generation of young people growing up in the technological era, one can only wait and see what future variations they will bring to what was once a simple language.