That's from an August 1983 NYT article, "City Teenagers Talking Up a 'Say When' Storm."
I'm reading that article this morning because I got a bit annoyed by the use of "chill" in this NYT headline: "Austin Abrams Is Pretty Chill, Actually." Ugh. When did we start talking like that and why haven't we stopped?
There's a time to laugh, a time to cry A time to live, and a time to die A time to break and a time to chill To act civilized or act real ill. G. O'Brien et al., Rapper's Delight (song, performed by ‘Sugarhill Gang’) in L. A. Stanley, Rap: the Lyrics (1992) 325
Those of us who came from the 1960s know that's a play on "Turn, Turn, Turn" — the Byrds recording of the Pete Seeger musicalization of the Book of Ecclesiastes.
In a nice bit of bloggerly coincidence that Byrds rendition of Ecclesiastes came up in a podcast I heard yesterday and have been wanting to write about: "When A.I. Comes for Your Purpose in Life/In the span of just a few months, A.I. systems have solved some of the biggest outstanding problems in math — adding mathematicians to the list of those terrified of losing their job to the technology."
That's the NYT "Daily" podcast. You can listen to it at the link. Highly recommended. The mathematician brings himself to tears more than once. It's quite something. But I won't write about it until the NYT posts the transcript. You know, if A.I. is such a big threat, you'd think they'd have the transcript when they first post the audio.
But back to that NYT headline that got me started, "Austin Abrams Is Pretty Chill, Actually." The use of "chill" is justifiable, as the subheadline makes plain: "In 'Resident Evil' and 'Whalefall,' the actor navigates worst-case survival scenarios. In real life, things seem to be going just fine."
"Whalefall" — Man falls inside a whale:
There was a full stomach built, and then it was like, to the camera crew, OK, now figure out how to shoot it. So, that means either some guy squeezing himself in there or trying to figure out where you can cut a hole. Each thing was built: the first stomach, the second stomach, the throat was something you could actively climb up. It was really wild.
So, you get it, in his off-set life, there's no whalefalling excitement. He's "pretty chill."
When you’re not acting, how do you spend your downtime?
I’m staring at walls, mostly. I don’t know, man. The things that probably everyone does.
पोस्ट्स
४७ टिप्पण्या:
…Sergio Valente, Sergio Valente, uh oh! Sergio…thanks a bunch for resurrecting that jingle from NYC Channel 5 days…
…I suppose we all have our language cheese graters…
…bored as Hell in 5th grade I memorized Rapper’s Delight early on in its run. It made me a grade school phenomenon. I forget the order of verses now but can still recite enough to amaze the youngsters in karaoke…
…I mean the macaroni’s solid the pea’s all mushed and the chicken tastes like wood…
…speaking of cheese graters- get some spank and drive off in a def oj? Anyone? Anyone?
I knew "fab gear" from A Hard Day's Night but then came along that episode of The Simpson's where Ringo uses "gear" as an exclamation so I might very well be misremembering the whole thing.
Yeah, who knew "gear" — meaning clothing — was slang. Clearly, it was slang in the 1960s "fab/gear" Beatles use, but I thought "gear" — as in "rain gear" or "camping gear" — was ordinary language.
Continuously evolving American English is a vibrant yet slippery thing to analyze. I remember the first time I said “that’s bad!” meaning “awesome” in front of Uncle Richard and he looked at Ricky and me like we were aliens, muted the Dolphins game and just shook his head slowly.
He did not approve of the redefinition of “bad” to mean good. And that intergenerational frisson is IMO one of the drivers of this continuing evolution. Baffling adults is cool.
I checked the OED, and "gear," meaning "Apparel, attire, dress, vestments" goes back to to a1350.
Wordsworth wrote of "Noisy swarms Of Peasants in their homely gear."
An interesting 1966 quote: "There was no dressing up—in case, presumably, the customers fled at the sight of the queer gear."
But sometimes a word that used to be a bit rare becomes more widely used. I remember how "awesome" came out of nowhere to become the go-to word to express approval.
" I remember the first time I said “that’s bad!” meaning “awesome” in front of Uncle Richard and he looked at Ricky and me like we were aliens..."
I read that after writing what I did about "awesome."
But, anyway, that makes me remember the first time I heard "that's tough" to mean that's good. Back in the 60s. I don't know how long that lasted. But "tough" was good.
“Tough” was used that way when I was in junior high, so ‘74 or so. My brain is going to randomly generate other examples like this all day. “Dank” is a current favorite of my young (25ish) drummer friend and is a compliment when applied to musical chops or skunky weed.
Our generation used “cool” and “hot” to describe the same thing. No wonder my erudite father was baffled.
"Dank" was such a 90s word.
…in high school we used to joke about math degrees as useless, we being me and the other guys who ended up in their own labs at Ivies doing not much of anything. Me talking quantitative finance, I might as well have said I wanted to be a carnie…
** I’m staring at walls, mostly. I don’t know, man. **
Nice to see “man” still being used as filler and emphasis. Another word that I was told I used too often in the early seventies. Cool.
Current slang among weightlifters is the use of the term gear to mean performance enhancing drugs like steroids. For example, Arnold got big from using gear. Or even more slang, Arnold got swole by using gear. Natty means a natural lifter who is not using gear. Arnold was not a natty. Or, Arnold’s build is not achievable natty.
…bougie like natty, in the styrofoam, squeak squeaking in the truck bed all the way home…
"Chill" is only a half step away from "cool," so it doesn't sound as alien to my ear.
…I checked the Urban Dictionary comma for ‘chill’: …and he said wait a minute, I met this girl and she’s like smokin hot, she’s like at least a nine, and she’s “chill”…not even a three crazy…I said you should be careful- that’s a dude. You’re talkin to a tranny…
Some mornings this blog is like the Cracker Barrel Breakfast Club for geezers who can't sleep through a whole night. The fading memory cells go on full recall. This morning you guys are "dope".
My 26-year-old uses "man." Initially I found this startling, in the sense of "blast from the past." It wasn't something that I or his father used while he was growing up, although we ourselves had used it in younger days (I was born early '61 and son's father was born in 'late 64; son was born in 2000). But it seems, anecdotally, that it's made a bit of comeback, at least according to my son.
I'm just glad he doesn't use "like" every two seconds. Also, no vocal fry (male version--or otherwise). So I'll just color myself lucky in this regard.
Take a chill pill was a popular phrase and the early '70s Junior high environment, the greater Los Angeles basin.
Unironically, modern bro Science backed up by actual science teaches us that by taking daily cold plunges, we will become more calm by stimulating our vagus nerve and thus maintaining our chill throughout the day. Gordon Cooper as quoted in the right stuff would say: maintain an even strain.
It's probably one of the most important personality traits. But forget about it. The algorithm won't stand for chill.
Howard: Indeed! Man, I disliked that popular phrase, and it would still annoy me if I heard it deployed today (I don't, thank God).
I've noticed in pre-25 year-olds the common use of "I mean" to uselessly preface every declarative statement they make.
When my stepson moved here from Brazil, I had to explain to him that when people say something is "awesome", they usually mean it sarcastically. He was duly grateful.
I was referring to "take a chill pill."
Speaking of chill and cold plunges, Howard are you still taking those morning swims in your version of Golden Pond?
When people say "awesome," I'm always tempted to ask, "In what way, exactly?".
But I don't give in. Getting ever more chill in my senior years... .
A big one now is " bro", but used by women of any distantly acquainted man.
"Bro really shouldn't have done that."
"I'm just not that into you, bro."
"Cornell frat bros need to go to jail for that gangbang, cuh."
The notorious epithetification of English continues...
Netflix and chill canoodling with the chick you just met on tinder hoping you can get to 3rd base. Netflix optional.
In the UK, Gear was a slang term for heroin or hard drugs generally. They used it in 'Trainspotting' and I still hear it occasionally in British TV shows and movies.
planetgeo said:
"Some mornings this blog is like the Cracker Barrel Breakfast Club for geezers who can't sleep through a whole night."
A nicely turned phrase indeed.
“Cool” originated as black vernacular slang nearly a hundred years ago, made the jump to white slang, and has been in constant use since. You can’t discuss “chill” without noting that.
Sure you can.
Chill out man.
S'up.
Climate change.
I remember bitchin' from the late '60s.
If you had a cool car it was called a bad short.
Groovy, daddy-o. Make me flip my lid.
Here's a clever new usage: "flex" is showing off (remember flexing the biceps to show off?). The BMW is a flex car, says the 21 year old in the house.
Also, fat, apparently; but, not obese, which is chill.
Atlhouse is a real hep cat.
The bees knees.
But she should take a chill pill
And not have a cow.
Thats bad to mean good illustrates the dumbness of so much of slang. Insider language that's is adopted by the mainstream. Fortunately, all the surfer/stoner slang has dropped out of sight. And that's rad.
I asked Chat and it gave six examples of current slang.
No cap — No lie; seriously.
Rizz — Charm or flirting skills.
Slay — To do something exceptionally well or look amazing.
Bet — Okay, agreed, or sounds good.
Delulu — Delusional, often in a playful way.
It's giving — Describes the vibe or impression something creates.
I asked who uses those expressions and got this:
No cap — Popular with Gen Z and younger millennials.
Rizz — Especially popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
Slay — Used across generations, particularly online.
Bet — Common among Gen Z and millennials.
Delulu — Popular with Gen Z, especially in online fandoms.
It's giving — Common in Gen Z internet culture, with roots in Black and LGBTQ+ communities.
It seems the internet has replaced black music culture as the fountain of youth-giving slang.
The Birth of Chill.
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