Every so often I like to bring you up to date with some of the nutty (or offensive) slang being battered around online. Here’s a list of a few more:
Ohio—is used (mostly on the Internet) to describe something that is weird, awkward, cringeworthy, or otherwise undesirable or bad in some way. It can also be used to mean ‘boring’ or ‘foolish.’ I think this might be the American equivalent of our word ‘bogan.’ This use of ‘Ohio’ as a put-down emerged in the late twenty-teens from statements along the lines of ‘only in Ohio.’ The idea is simple: you take a video of something clearly wrong and describe it as 'normal in Ohio.' You feed a baby in Ohio by throwing it out the window. Monkeys at the Ohio Zoo have AK-47s and so on.
IJBOL—another of those initialisms that texting and emails seem to love. In this case it means ‘I Just Burst Out Laughing.’ It’s been around since at least the late 2000s. And I am told by people who take an interest in such things, that it is undergoing a period of popularity at the moment.
Pressed—stressed out, upset, offended, annoyed, bothered, etc. This slang sense of pressed originated in African American English and has since become widespread.
Uncanny valley—refers to a certain level or stage of lifelikeness (as of a doll, computer-animated character, robot, etc.) that is past the point of being impressive or endearing and is instead disconcerting, creepy. ‘Uncanny valley’ is credited to Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori, whose 1970 article on the phenomenon contained a phrase that has been translated as ‘uncanny valley.’
Womp womp—this can appear as Womp womp (or womp womp womp or womp womp womp womp … you get the idea) and is used as an interjection to mock someone else’s misfortune or distress. English has the word ‘schadenfreude’ (adopted from German in 1895) which means taking a malicious enjoyment in the misfortunes of others. But since young Americans are largely illiterate, they have never heard of this word (and probably couldn’t pronounce it) so they use their own intelligent expression for the same notion with this form of words ‘womp, womp.’ This mimics the sound of notes from what has been dubbed a ‘sad trombone,’ descending pitches long used in comedy, game shows, etc., to signal sadness or disappointment (because young Americans, of course, live on their screens.)
And that’s quite enough Weirdness for one day. More normal words tomorrow.
Tonight I will join John Stanley (back from his short holiday) for 'The Word Clinic' on 2GB, 4BC, 2CC and the Nine Radio Network -- right after the 10pm news. This is your chance to interact and take part in a discussion on words and language.
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
