Re: [OT] coo, was Re: Debian release criteria.

[David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk>]

On Fri 06 Jan 2023 at 23:41:25 (-0500), Greg Wooledge wrote:
> > > On Fri, Jan 06, 2023 at 01:26:54PM -0600, David Wright wrote:
> > > > Rather,
> > > > 
> > > >   coo² (slang) interjection, expressive of surprise. (Chambers)
> > > > 
> > > > and this has been around far longer than my lifetime.
> 
> > > When using slang, the current meaning is the one that will be understood
> > > by your audience.  Not some archaic meaning.
> > 
> > Err, where did you get the idea that coo is archaic?
> 
> The part where you said this particular usage is older than yourself.

Yes, it joins the 99.9% of the words we use, whose current usage
predates our own generation, and yet are not archaic.

> > We Brits use the word "Coo"; I guess the equivalent here is "Gee",
> > which sounds very American to British ears of my generation.
> 
> Ahhh, it's a regional usage, then.  My mistake.
> 
> To an American audience, the meaning is quite different.  We only use
> "coo" to describe the noise made by a dove, or as an (urban) slang
> term which is a shortened form of "cool".
> 
> https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=coo

So I'm expected to check my use of slang against a dictionary that's
receiving over 2000 entries per day at times, and where most of the
definitions are not expected to appear in standard dictionaries.
This ultra-contemporary slang, much of which I neither hear nor read,
is supposed to be more familiar to people here for whom English is a
second language. OTOH, reputable, edited dictionaries, printed and
online, are unlikely to be consulted by such people, yes?

>   A slightly shortened version of "cool"
>   used by only the cooest people, coo is the best way to describe
    ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑
>   something that is completely awesome.
> 
> And so on.

Ah, awesome, another word that has had all meaning drained from it
by overuse.

  Receptionist: Do you have your insurance card with you?
            Me: Let's see … ah, yes, here it is.
  Receptionist: Awesome!
  (uttered 2022-12-28 ~16:00)

Cheers,
David.