So a friend asked me what part of speech “right” is. Not the old “right” that meant the opposite of left or correct or a conservative wing of politics.
No, she was referring to the new “right.” The one that is used like,” Angelina looked like a fool at the Oscars–right?! Like she was carrying a skinny white prosthetic leg and sticking it out of her dress periodically. Right?!”
I pondered her question and as a former English teacher I decided the new “right” is a noun of exclamation, affirmation and agreement. Right?!
It’s funny how often I make fun of these buzz words, the words of the moment, “the hear it once–use it three times in a sentence it is yours” words but then, as if by osmosis, they are a part of my own vocabulary.
This first started with me when my kids were younger and I corrected their constant use of “like.” I would say, “It was like or it was? Which was it?” And then, to my own horror and disgust, I would hear myself telling a friend their new habit was “like” my worst nightmare. These regular words or phrases with new usage just creep in like mud on our shoes after the snow melts. And brush and sweep and try as we may, they burrow into the fabric of our vocabulary and hang out for awhile. At least until the next “it” word arrives and the old is shuttled out with spring cleaning.
I’ve tried to follow the origins of these words. They don’t just appear like the ghosts in Scrooge’s dreams, but practically. With email, texting, facebook chatter, twittering, television ads and Siri to the rescue, they break into the talking world in a flurry. Hear it nowhere then suddenly everywhere.
“Obvie” had its day in the sun. “As if” hung around for awhile. “Whatever” came and has stayed longer than I would have thought but I think it has become more dismissive than when it started. At first it was a “whatever” thrown out in conversation in a whimsical sort of devil may care kind of way and now it seems to be more of a “Get out of my face, off my ass, you are dumb,I am right, what you said was stupid. Whatever.”
“It is what it is” seems to be the mantra of 2012. The economy, jobs, the weather, the presidential candidates. We were looking for change at every corner and we haven’t seen it. It is what it is.
I heard Randy Jackson of Idol fame (yes, I am still hanging out on the couch recuperating) on Ellen the other day and she was trying to get him to say his favorite word of address, Dawg. But he wouldn’t or didn’t say it. She had some bet with the audience as to how many times he would say it in his interview and when he failed her, she finally asked him what was going on–where was Dawg?? He said,”I don’t know. I just moved on. Now I say Dude.”
So there you have it. He did some early spring cleaning and I am going to, also. But I’m like how do I get there? Do I need to drop a few words? Obvie. Can I do it in a day? As if! I’ll start with one word at a time. Not. (Oh, I forgot that one!) Whatever. I’m over it. (How could I forget that one, too?)
It is what it is. Right?!
Thanks for reading, Dude.