Hey kid, have you done any of the following today?
Chilled out, kicked back, hung around, chillaxed, or maybe today was a busy day so you put your nose to the grindstone, aced your test and slayed the homework monster.
Nice, but here's the thing, most of the words I just used to describe what you were doing don't mean what they say, huh?
For instance, I'm pretty sure none of you are actually chilling like an ice cube in the freezer.
So cold. And I seriously doubt any of you were literally putting your nose against a grindstone.
Ow! Who even owns a grindstone?
And while you may have done your homework or completed an assignment, you certainly didn't pull out a sword and slay a homework monster.
But homework sure would be more fun if you could.
Then it's certainly more fun to say, which is why humans adapted fun colorful ways of speaking.
And we call that slang. But where did slang come from?
Why does so many of us use it?
And how are you able to decipher the meaning of new slang terms?
Hmm, it's time to chillax to another whiff of science on.
Who's smart at? Who's smart at?
Who's smart is it you? Is it me?
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Pretend for a moment you're an alien from another planet.
Let's call you... Today, you're observing a fourth grade class.
Pay close attention to any slang words or phrases that you hear and count them on your fingers.
Ready? Go. Good morning, class.
Good morning, Mrs. Hogan.
I'll be passing back the quiz you took yesterday.
Wait, excuse me? Who are you?
What's your name? Uh-oh.
I think she's talking to you.
Do you remember your name?
Quick. Say it. Hmm. Interesting name.
Okay. Katie, here's your quiz.
Good job. Ooh, nailed it.
Well done, Bobby. Sweet.
I'm on fire. Well, this wasn't your best work.
I don't know what happened.
I studied my brains out.
Whoa. Did you catch all the slang words and phrases being used?
There were four of them.
Did you get them all? Now, if you were an alien who only knew the English language based on what you had read in a dictionary, you'd probably be pretty confused right now, especially when you heard.
Ooh, nailed it. Does that mean she took a hammer and pounded it now into her quiz?
Or what about when Bobby said, sweet.
I'm on fire. You'd probably be running to get a fire extinguisher or call the fire department.
Don't worry. Bobby isn't literally on fire.
Also, his quiz wasn't sweetly delicious.
And then there's Val. I don't know what happened.
I studied my brains out.
Thankfully, her brains are still inside her head.
But she did do poorly on the quiz despite the fact that she studied hard.
Or so she says. Fine. I probably could have studied more.
So how many of these expressions did you know?
Are they ones you've used yourself and how do new expressions enter the common language you use?
Hmm. Let's start with a simple one.
Okay. No, that's it. Okay.
Huh? Entered into the English language in 1839.
The word okay means undisturbed, content, fine, but not great.
As in, how you doing, Val?
Okay. Now, one thing you should know, Smarty Pants, is that not all words were invented at once.
Which is constantly evolving.
Some words fall out of favor and stop being used.
Like dabbing? Yes, like dabbing.
And other new words or phrases become popular or come out of nowhere.
Take okay, for example.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Was being used so frequently in the 1830s, even by the president of the United States, Martin Van Buren.
Okay. That it was officially accepted as part of the English language.
It's also the English word that is most often adopted by other languages.
Okay. But what you can't learn in a dictionary are the words and phrases that take on new meanings over time.
I'm talking about slang, and it's actually a really important part of every language.
Huh. What about you, my alien friend?
Do you sometimes use words in a way that is different than what they actually mean?
I mean, I do it all the time.
And do you know what that kind of communication is called?
Um, I should have studied harder.
It means you're communicating figuratively rather than literally.
The literal definition is what's in the dictionary.
But the figurative definition can be whatever society decides it is.
That's why if something good happens, you can say, sweet.
But you're not talking about taste.
But since most people like things that are sweet, if something's good, it can also be sweet.
And if you do something perfectly, you can say, just like a hammer has to perfectly hit a nail to get it to go in straight.
But where do I find those definitions?
Well, that's the thing about slang.
It's ever changing. As soon as you write down this year's sweetest words, they've already been replaced by others.
That's Craig Cray. Which is slang for.
That's right. Crazy. The best way to determine the meaning of a slang word is to listen for other words it sounds like.
Cray, crazy. And to pay attention to the context, how the word was used in order to figure out the new word's meaning.
Sweet. Quick question.
What's up? And that goes to you, our alien observer as well.
What's up? You probably thought it's not mature, just chilling or listening to who smarted.
But if you think about it, I didn't ask how you're doing or what are you doing.
I asked, what's up? Nobody does that.
My dad does. Instead, you recognized a common phrase and responded appropriately.
So what's up is also slang?
Not anymore. What's up has become an idiom.
Idioms are phrases that have been around so long and are so widely adopted that everyone knows what they mean.
Unless you're an alien.
No offense. Slaying, on the other hand, is so new.
That it hasn't quite reached all corners of society.
I'm confused. Think of it this way.
At some point, all languages start using words in new ways that aren't completely literal.
But all those non-literal phrases have to start somewhere, and I'll give you a hint, it's not in the dictionary.
So, where do new words and phrases come from?
What about you, smarty pants?
Where do you think the best slang words and phrases come from?
Here's a hint, they can be found in a classroom.
Did you say your teacher?
If so... That's crazy. No, definitely not your teacher.
But who else is in the classroom?
Did you say kids? Young people are responsible for inventing and spreading slang as a way to create their own cool lingo or kid code.
Sweet! But hang on. Another way to make new words go viral that's even more powerful than kids.
Any ideas? I'll give you a hint.
It's the reason you're able to hear me talking to you now.
To find out where slang comes from and where it's headed in the future, stick around.
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Now back to who's smarted?
So what's the main way cool new slang words appear?
I don't know. Well, like I said, it's the same reason you're able to listen to this podcast right now.
Technology at any stage in history majorly influences the language people use.
Think of all the different terms that popped up because of computers like surf in the web, going viral, spam, and hundreds more, but the influence goes way beyond computers.
Because of telephones, we say, hold the phone or phoning it in.
Because of cars, we say, shifting gears or staying your lane or refer to life in the fast lane.
And by that, it loves that song.
Of course, technology is more than just an influence.
It's also the way we share slang.
But how does slang spread before telephones are online?
Historians say salespeople were responsible for a lot of slang terms.
Salespeople? Yep. Can you guess why?
Was it A? Because they consider themselves trendsetters.
B, they traveled from region to region.
C, they used code words to communicate with one another.
Or D, they needed cool names for the gadgets and do-dads they were selling.
You mean merch? Yes, merch.
But that's not the right answer.
The answer is B, traveling from region to region lets salespeople spread slang.
Don't believe me? Listen.
Excuse me, ma'am. I've got some great merchandise here.
Very easy to use. No thanks.
Sir, my new merchandise is totally easy to use.
Oh, no. No, thank you. Hi.
Wanna check out my new merch?
Merch? Merch and dice. It's Toats easy to use.
Toats. Totally. Hmm. Sounds interesting.
How much? Slang is often a way to be efficient, like shortening merchandise to merch.
Of course, not only does slang need to take off and be picked up and spread widely, it also needs to be understood by society as a whole.
But didn't you say once slang is recognized by everyone it's no longer slang?
Yes, slang is meant to be an exclusive form of communicating.
Once everyone starts doing it, like your teacher.
Who's ready to raise the roof with some fractions?
It's time to come up with something new to replace it.
Why? Because once a term becomes mainstream, it's no longer...
What? What is it no longer?
It has to do with one of the slangiest slang words of the century.
Parents use this word, their grandparents use this word, and you use it to mean something that's sweet, awesome, and not lame at all.
What word do you think it is?
On the count of three, one, two, three.
Cool! Yep, cool has been the coolest slang term of the last three generations.
And it's the reason why slang is slang at all.
Slang only succeeds because enough people deem it cool.
Some slang is short live, including some other words people come up with to mean cool.
Really? Not cool. Ha ha, tabular.
Not cool. Cool. Cool. Cool.
Cool. Hester the test of time.
Whereas other slang words come and go based on a particular moment in time.
Like when texting first started, and everybody said, LOL.
As technology evolves, so does language and slang.
Isn't that right, Smarty Pants?
Hey, that slang isn't it?
My pants aren't smart. Nope, but the girl wearing them is.
Good job, Val. Nailed it!
A big shout out to Superfan Anna in Indiana, whose family wrote in to say they've been listening to who's smarted since our very first episode.
As a homeschool family, they love learning fun facts and sharing them with friends and family.
Last but not least, they think the trusty narrator is hilarious.
Aw, you guys are the best.
We're so glad your family is part of our Smarty family.
Oh, and we love your idea about doing episodes on the States!
This episode Slang was written by Jenna Hobitt and voiced by Jenna Hobitt, Imogen Williams, Sheffield Chastain, Gia Davis, Max Kamaski, Adam Text Davis, Jason Williams, and Jerry Colbert.
Technical Direction and Sound Design by Josh Hahn.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez with lyrics written and performed by Adam Text Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Text Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This is an atomic entertainment production.
Who Smarted?
