Good and bad slang for YA

Charlie Horse · Mar 7, 2008

This idea was spawned from the other thread questioning whether slang should be used in YA. I think there's some slang words that hold up over time and others that will make your book sound dated if someone picks it up in a few years.

Thus, I thought in my infinite wisdom that maybe we could start a list of good slang and bad slang.

At the moment, I can only think of one for "good" list:

Cool

This has been used since forever and will probably always sound current.

For the bad list:

Chillax

I'm hoping this word will die a quick and painful death.

I'd really love to hear others suggestions for these lists. I think it would be really helpful.

timewaster · Mar 7, 2008

I don't know about 'cool' -there was a long period when it was a cringeworthy word in the UK and associated mainly with ageing hippies. No one said it when I was at school - we said 'ace'. (I heard that on a kid's programme recently and cringed) It's become OK again over the last five years ( more?) but I wouldn't bet on it retaining its current register.
'fit' seems to have around for a while, but the turnover of slang in our house is generally too rapid. ( I have four teenage children)

Charlie Horse · Mar 7, 2008

timewaster said:
I don't know about 'cool' -there was a long period when it was a cringeworthy word in the UK and associated mainly with ageing hippies. No one said it when I was at school - we said 'ace'. (I heard that on a kid's programme recently and cringed) It's become OK again over the last five years ( more?) but I wouldn't bet on it retaining its current register.
'fit' seems to have around for a while, but the turnover of slang in our house is generally too rapid. ( I have four teenage children)

Wow, ace and fit must've never made their way across the pond. Never heard either one.

Gina_Marie · Mar 7, 2008

I cannot recall any YA books that say "cool" in recent years. Although, maybe I just havent read them.

writermom · Mar 7, 2008

Charlie Horse said:
This idea was spawned from the other thread questioning whether slang should be used in YA. I think there's some slang words that hold up over time and others that will make your book sound dated if someone picks it up in a few years.

Thus, I thought in my infinite wisdom that maybe we could start a list of good slang and bad slang.

At the moment, I can only think of one for "good" list:

Cool

This has been used since forever and will probably always sound current.

For the bad list:

Chillax

I'm hoping this word will die a quick and painful death.

I'd really love to hear others suggestions for these lists. I think it would be really helpful.

I LOVE chillax. I think it's hawt.

bethany · Mar 7, 2008

Cool is the said of slang. You don't notice it. I'd bet it was in the majority of YA books, but you aren't going to remember because cool is so accepted/common in everyday speech.

Shady Lane · Mar 7, 2008

I was thinking the other day that 'cool' is a pretty safe word.

LitFa · Mar 7, 2008

Can the word "awesome" be timeless? and what about "duh"? or are these not even slang words lol. The other day my 5 years old niece told me something was "tight". I remember saying that in high school...

Karen Duvall · Mar 7, 2008

"Right On" is back. "Dude" will be around forever.

timewaster · Mar 7, 2008

Karen Duvall said:
"Right On" is back. "Dude" will be around forever.

But not this side of the pond where it just sounds 'lame' and is only ever used ironically.
If you intend to sell internationally this is a consideration.
Slang is a means by which people identify themselves and it differs hugely from place to place and sub group to subgroup.

timewaster · Mar 7, 2008

Exacly. I'm 47 grew up on Lancs UK and now live in London. My language is not your language: slang is not universal.

Gina_Marie · Mar 7, 2008

bethany said:
Cool is the said of slang. You don't notice it. I'd bet it was in the majority of YA books, but you aren't going to remember because cool is so accepted/common in everyday speech.

Well I can tell you right now Rooftop doesnt have "cool" in it. I cant remember Rainbow Boys having cool either. though a lot of YA books drop the F bomb these days.

Charlie Horse · Mar 8, 2008

LitFa said:
Can the word "awesome" be timeless? and what about "duh"? or are these not even slang words lol. The other day my 5 years old niece told me something was "tight". I remember saying that in high school...

"Awesome" and "duh" are definitely timeless. I would have done a tripletake though if I heard a 5 year old say "tight." That's hilarious.

Yeah, most slang isn't international. Look at the HP books, and the difference between the American edition and the UK one. But some of the UK slang in Harry Potter is left in just so us "Yanks" can get a feel for it's Britishness.

Not sure if Brits find American slang cute or not like we do theirs.

bethany · Mar 8, 2008

Gina_Marie said:
Well I can tell you right now Rooftop doesnt have "cool" in it. I cant remember Rainbow Boys having cool either. though a lot of YA books drop the F bomb these days.

Apparently there are hundreds of YA books. Thousands! But if you can prove to me that two of them don't have the word cool in them, then your point will be.....

I agree that Awesome is a classic, too.

Gina_Marie · Mar 8, 2008

I'm sure that "cool" is in some YA books, but I havent seen it lately. Its my job to read YA books. I'm also around teenagers every day. I can only tell you what my experiences are. They hardly ever say cool, and never say "dude". They say "thats boot" and often swear a lot.

Bottom line. I'm sure its out there somewhere. But the point of the matter is making books realistic. Isn't it

brittanimae · Mar 8, 2008

I think that if you have a vocabulary that contributes to your "voice," then you are on the right track. You can make up your own swear words, or have a character that repeatedly (and annoyingly) says "dude" if you want. But it has to contribute to the voice of the story you are trying to tell. That's why some people can get away with some words, and others can't. But I also think that avoiding any type of slang altogether is a mistake. It contributes "atmosphere" for lack of a better word.

bethany · Mar 8, 2008

I'm also around teens all day. I also read YA literature for both my day job and my writing career. I hear cool regularly. Therefore, I consider it a realistic word to include in my writing.

bethany · Mar 8, 2008

I would never spell it this way, but KEWL is the common usage. However, when you read the word cool, I guess you give it whatever pronunciation you want.

Hapax Legomenon · Mar 8, 2008

bethany said:
I'm also around teens all day. I also read YA literature for both my day job and my writing career. I hear cool regularly. Therefore, I consider it a realistic word to include in my writing.

I don't think it's that 'cool' doesn't have a place in YA, I think it's that the meaning has changed -- whereas it used to mean along the lines of 'awesome' and 'great,' it now means something along the lines of 'okay' and 'that's fine.'

I haven't heard anybody shout, 'Cool!' when they've encountered something that could be considered, well... 'cool,' at least back in the day when cool could be used that way. I do hear the word used as, 'Oh, sure, that's cool, whatever,' or 'cool' as in 'cool customer' (though I haven't heard 'cool customer' used in a while except by old people.).

So yeah, teenagers use 'cool,' but it doesn't mean the same thing it used to, or at least not with the intensity it used to. When it used to mean 'great,' now it merely means 'good' or 'okay.'

bethany · Mar 8, 2008

That's how I've always used it because I'm not effusive. Like when I try to be enthusiastic people think I'm being sarcastic and making fun of them. So it's like, I'm going to be late to the thing tonight, response, okay, that's cool.

Shady Lane · Mar 8, 2008

I'm a teenager...I use 'cool.'

I would laugh at anyone who says "that's boot."

I say "sick" all the time, but I wouldn't put it in a ms because I doubt I'll be saying that in a year or so.

we also say "super jel" for jealous and "on the reg" for regularly.

Hapax Legomenon · Mar 8, 2008

bethany said:
That's how I've always used it because I'm not effusive. Like when I try to be enthusiastic people think I'm being sarcastic and making fun of them. So it's like, I'm going to be late to the thing tonight, response, okay, that's cool.

Exactly. That's how it's being used. I'm not effusive either, but I wouldn't say that I use the word 'cool' that often, but for some it comes more naturally.

reenkam · Mar 8, 2008

Gina_Marie said:
I'm sure that "cool" is in some YA books, but I havent seen it lately. Its my job to read YA books. I'm also around teenagers every day. I can only tell you what my experiences are. They hardly ever say cool, and never say "dude". They say "thats boot" and often swear a lot.

Bottom line. I'm sure its out there somewhere. But the point of the matter is making books realistic. Isn't it

........that's boot? I've never, in my entire life, heard anyone say "that's boot"

And people say dude here. It's kind of in a joking way, but people say it. That and dog (dawg).

I've seriously never heard "that's boot" though. I don't even know what that could mean. Is it good or bad when something's "boot"?

bethany said:
I would never spell it this way, but KEWL is the common usage. However, when you read the word cool, I guess you give it whatever pronunciation you want.

yup, people say it like that a lot in my experience. it's like 50/50 around here, I'd say

Haphazard said:
I don't think it's that 'cool' doesn't have a place in YA, I think it's that the meaning has changed -- whereas it used to mean along the lines of 'awesome' and 'great,' it now means something along the lines of 'okay' and 'that's fine.'

I haven't heard anybody shout, 'Cool!' when they've encountered something that could be considered, well... 'cool,' at least back in the day when cool could be used that way. I do hear the word used as, 'Oh, sure, that's cool, whatever,' or 'cool' as in 'cool customer' (though I haven't heard 'cool customer' used in a while except by old people.).

So yeah, teenagers use 'cool,' but it doesn't mean the same thing it used to, or at least not with the intensity it used to. When it used to mean 'great,' now it merely means 'good' or 'okay.'

YES. I was trying to figure out how to explain this, but you did it perfectly Hap. Cool is just like ok or a shrug. It's not like....WOW. or something.

reenkam · Mar 8, 2008

Shady Lane said:
I'm a teenager...I use 'cool.'

I would laugh at anyone who says "that's boot."

I say "sick" all the time, but I wouldn't put it in a ms because I doubt I'll be saying that in a year or so.

we also say "super jel" for jealous and "on the reg" for regularly.

yup, shortened words are awesome. my friends and I call it abrev (from abreviation...lol)

we say super jel and stuff. i've never said on the reg, though. but, then again, I never say regularly either.

Shady Lane · Mar 8, 2008

I usually say "Okay, sick," for the "Okay, cool," kind of thing. And then "AWESOME!" is "SICK!"

Sick = best word EVER.

Good and bad slang for YA

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