In our current cultural context, the following phrases aren’t uncommon:
“Bro, that’s wicked cool.”
“That’s awesome!”
“That’s actually sick.”
I readily use adjectives like “awesome,” “sick” and “cool,’ and engage in colorful banter, small talk and meaningful conversations with a plethora of slang words that originated through divergence from original meaning.
I remember sitting in my church’s youth group years ago when my youth pastor asked, “Is a cupcake awesome?”
My contemporaries and I giggled as his question began to take hold. I remember learning to critically wonder if I had been inappropriately using one of my favorite adjectives: “awesome.” My youth pastor went on to explain the original meaning of this word, pantomiming someone in the presence of an awesome God. He explained that God is awe-inspiring, respect-demanding and worthy of our admiration.
“No,” I determined. “A cupcake is not awesome.”
The words that we choose help to further orient our perspectives, ideologies and worldview. It can be argued that incorporating words like “wicked,” “awesome” and “sick” into our daily vocabulary as slang words with their more recently prescribed meaning serves to devalue their original meanings or distract from the truth. “Wicked,” while it has retained its more well-known meaning (i.e., devious, deviant or ill-willed), obtained its most recent connotation through an interesting series of events.
According to The Oxford English Dictionary, “wicked” is (as of 1275) defined as, “bad in moral character, disposition, or conduct; inclined or addicted to wilful wrongdoing; practising (sic). … Of a person (or a community of persons).”
Its new connotation and its origins are notably described by Matthew Baker as thus: A former Mayor James Michael Curley found himself in trouble when his campaign for election to the U.S. House of Representatives was stunted by an affair with the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard of Oz” (Margaret Hamilton). “Once the Rascal King dumped his Hollywood mistress, he swept to victory, thanks to an endorsement from Cardinal O’Connell, who exclaimed, ‘Our wicked man has become wicked good!’ And the rest is local slang history.”
One need be conscious and critical of the words they choose. Not to the point of perversion of intention or misguided rigidity, however. This brings to mind a line from 2014 film, “The Giver”: “Precision of language, Jonas.”
In “The Giver,” Jonas, a newly come-of-age young adult, is restricted from a fuller capacity for understanding, communicating and creating beauty because of the strict limitations imposed upon himself and his community. Unconcise language that conveys strong emotional feeling is dissuaded, and he struggles to convey his love for his family without utilizing it.
Jonas wants to convey meaning in an emotional, connective way, and this is often why we tend to utilize slang: It connects us in that we have found a new meaning common to us all.
Part of our nature as image-bearers is to create with what has been given us. However, this can be perverted. Specific meanings that we assign to words are swapped in response to cultural phenomena; dialects change, and words are lost through lack of engagement, changing ideologies, newly introduced and favored practices, etc. All of these processes that I just listed sound relatively neutral and natural, even. So, what makes new connotation and assigned meaning — like with the word “wicked,” for example — problematic?
Origination, intent and meaning all play roles in why the slang word “wicked” should likely cause us to pause and rethink whether or not we should include it in our day-to-day vocabulary. I personally tend to veer away from this one because I can’t in good conscience use a word that primarily represents evil intent. I find its newer meaning to be a distraction from truth and a novelty that arose from less-than-ideal circumstances, but I understand the collective meaning that all are able to share in once a new symbol is created.
What this comes down to is whether or not the language that you use is honorable and is chosen in a manner that seeks to honor your God above. That’s something I’m still working on (I still overuse “awesome”), and I hope to continue to work out with care as I engage in meaningful conversation with those around me.
Glen is the social media and website manager for the Liberty Champion
