Cali World

[Puffer]

If you say so, but I cannot infer anything other than negative connotations in the concept of 'killing' anything (or anyone).   After all, if there is a discussion going on and someone or something interrupts it, that event may be said to 'kill the conversation', i.e. bring it to an abrupt end.

[mlroseplant]

Wow, did I just do all that? I really didn't mean to, I was just trying to be funny, in a George Burns kind of way.

[Shyheels]

You succeeded. The overwhelming percentage of people would have taken that lines in exactly the way you meant it. It is a very common idiomatic use and meaning of the verb “to slay”

[spikesmike]

mlroseplant: George Burns was not ever funny. Gracy Allen was the comedian of that couple. She wrote most (all) of their material. After her death George never had much of a career. Mike

[pebblesf]

9 hours ago, spikesmike said:

mlroseplant: George Burns was not ever funny. Gracy Allen was the comedian of that couple. She wrote most (all) of their material. After her death George never had much of a career. Mike

You are so right Mike.  Same with Mchale's Navy.  Everyone thinks that Tim Conway (Parker) was the funny one, but it really was Captain Binghampton (Joe Flynn) that was the funny guy.  

[Puffer]

21 hours ago, Shyheels said:

You succeeded. The overwhelming percentage of people would have taken that lines in exactly the way you meant it. It is a very common idiomatic use and meaning of the verb “to slay”

Not in the UK, at least with people who endeavour to communicate effectively.

[mlroseplant]

19 hours ago, spikesmike said:

mlroseplant: George Burns was not ever funny. Gracy Allen was the comedian of that couple. She wrote most (all) of their material. After her death George never had much of a career. Mike

That's sort of what I meant in reference to my comment. It wasn't really very funny. It was me attempting to play it straight with the word(s). What I do find funny is that now we seem to be using a slang meaning to define slang, and it's still being debated (and misunderstood, although that might be on purpose, it's hard to tell).

[Shyheels]

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

Not in the UK, at least with people who endeavour to communicate effectively.

You seem to forget I live in the UK. And writing and communication is my business. I do it effectively and have won awards for it, both in the UK and abroad.

I might add that the Cambridge Dictionary includes “to impress” as a secondary definition of slay. I haven’t consulted the Oxford but I expect they’ll have the same.

 

Edited May 21 by Shyheels

[Puffer]

9 hours ago, Shyheels said:

You seem to forget I live in the UK. And writing and communication is my business. I do it effectively and have won awards for it, both in the UK and abroad.

I might add that the Cambridge Dictionary includes “to impress” as a secondary definition of slay. I haven’t consulted the Oxford but I expect they’ll have the same.

 

I am well aware of your residence and occupation - and that you grew up overseas.   Communication was a large part of my career too but has not embraced slang or idiomatic expressions in great depth, I am pleased to say.   The dictionary may well include the secondary definitions you mention but that is not to say that they will be used and understood as universally as you suggest.   I accept that the meanings exist, but not their appeal.

[Shyheels]

Like everyone I use idiom and slang and am familiar with their use by others. When I say I am a writer, I do not mean of legal documents, but of what are meant to be bright engaging magazine features using the full palette of the English language. And believe me the use of the word slay, as a metaphor, is common and widely understood to mean impress or entertain both here and around the world in the Universal English our language has become.

It was used as metaphor as far back as the 19th century, but it’s use it this sense has had skyrocketed in the past 50 years - starting in the 1970s, and led by the black, queer and Latin communities. Comedians have used it for years to indicate success, that they impressed or entertained. Its usage has accelerated even more in the past decade, popularised by stars like Beyonce and has widespread currency on Tik Tok. It is globally understood. 

 

[Puffer]

I am not immune to the use of slang or idiom - in its place.   But I have learned to avoid it in both personal or professional communication in contexts where it might be misunderstood or inappropriate

 

I think we have both lost sight of the point here.   It was not so much the secondary meaning of 'slay' (with which I am slightly acquainted) but that of 'kill' in the apparent sense quoted by Cali as in 'you killed the look'.   What I cannot understand is that usage in the implied sense of met or fulfilled; it seems to me that anything 'killed' has been, at best, spoiled or stopped and at worst totally destroyed.   That point was not answered.

It may be commonplace for words or phrases to take on what are effectively opposite meanings in street parlance (e.g. wicked = good) but that is not to say that they should be universally adopted, especially when accuracy is required.   I can think of many historic examples where imprecise or inverted language has caused real confusion, sometimes dangerously.

[at9]

I'm glad to say that English is shaped primarily by usage. A proud mongrel tongue, unashamed of immigration. Unlike French where the Institut Francais attempts, not always successfully, to impose its view of language on the people. They can stuff their "fin de semaine" where the sun don't shine.

There are many things I don't like about how our language is evolving. I live with them as part of a vibrant language. I even adopt some of them despite not really liking them. Such as "for free" rather than "free" or "for nothing". But if you ever catch me writing "would of" instead of "would have" you have permission to shoot me. But it may become accepted usage.

[Shyheels]

Why write “would of” when you can shorten it to “woulda”? 
 

In terms of the other part of the discussion, has no one ever heard the vaudevillian phrase “knock ‘em dead”? It’s not to be taken literally, any more than “break a leg”.  “Lay ‘em in the aisles” and “slay ‘em” have been around for ages and are widely understood, and an accepted part of the vernacular. “You killed the look” is similarly widely understood and accepted.

At any rate, I’m done with this. Seems to me we’ve hijacked Cali’s thread more than enough.

Edited May 22 by Shyheels

[Jkrenzer]

Language is simply a tool to communicate. It evolves over time, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Slange is often seen as laziness. I'll argue it's often more efficient. 

Thank God for evolution, or we'd all be speaking old English. 

[Shyheels]

I remember having to learn the prolgue to The Canterbury Tales in Chaucerian English... 

[Puffer]

'Mary spent more than an hour with her make-up before going out on her special date.   She killed the look with extra blue eyeshadow.'

So, did she improve her appearance or ruin it?   (No peeping allowed.)

[Jkrenzer]

In that context, it's good.

In sports if a team kills another it dominated it. So Mary dominated the look she was going for.

[Cali]

Good job Mary!!!

[Shyheels]

Hopefuly she was wearing elegant heels - boots, naturally - as well! 

Edited Tuesday at 09:28 AM by Shyheels

[mlroseplant]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I remember having to learn the prologue to The Canterbury Tales in Chaucerian English... 

As did I. I believe I can still get through the first eight lines of it.

11 hours ago, Puffer said:

'Mary spent more than an hour with her make-up before going out on her special date.   She killed the look with extra blue eyeshadow.'

So, did she improve her appearance or ruin it?   (No peeping allowed.)

 

10 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

In that context, it's good.

In sports if a team kills another it dominated it. So Mary dominated the look she was going for.

I will have to disagree. It's still ambiguous. It probably means Mary did a good thing, but extra blue eye shadow is hardly ever a good thing. Setting aside my own biases, with the addition of one little word, "but," it would possibly change the whole meaning, and would be unambiguous. "But she killed the look with extra blue eye shadow."

[Shyheels]

Isn't the English language a rich one, with all its nuances and flexibility; more than a million words in all with contributions coming from 100 other languages.  

[Cali]

Back to heels.

It's the start of Short Season here, so I wore some old wedges with my shorts to work today.

[Shyheels]

You must be welcoming the change in seasons! 

[Cali]

After the winter we had in this area, really happy to break out the sandals and shorts.

[Shyheels]

I’m boots and jeans year round, but I’ve certainly been glad to see some sunshine this past week. I know you guys over there had a lot of snow this year

[Cali]

We had 7 atmospheric rivers hit us this winter. major destruction - roads - piers - towns - hillsides -    floods ....

The ski slope I ski most often had over 60.5 feet (about 18.5 meters) of snow this year.

Edited Wednesday at 04:07 AM by Cali

[Shyheels]

Sounds pretty apocalyptic. We just had a rainy winter, with a few days of unpleasantly gusty winds

[ohnoberty]

Excellent news, wedges are making the summer comeback! Very nice.

[Shyheels]

On sandals, I'll concede, wedges look good.