Lauren RabainoYou may think you got the phrase that pays, but check again homie cuz your ways are played.
One of the fastest and constantly changing trends is saying catchy, hot things. We spout funny lines from popular movies until they’re released on DVD. We drop lyrics from our favorite pop songs until they’re off the radio. We create inside jokes that grow into casual ways of speaking. These trendy phrases come and go naturally and no one really notices – with a few exceptions. There are some phrases that people seem to think are timeless. But they’re not. So I’m calling them out, in hopes that we can all move on.
First up is “Got Milk?” How long has it been since udder-tuggers pitched this phrase in commercials and print ads? This phrase was the punch line to all kinds of jokes when it first came out, and it got old real fast. But somehow I still see T-shirts with crap like “Got Jesus?” “Got Pirates?” “Got Hemp?” “Got Duct Tape?” Got Damn! Even Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in on this with “Got Experience?” and “Got Hope?” respectively. I say we start answering these questions when we see them. “Excuse me? Yeah, you sir. I just wanted to let you know that yes, I do got beef . with your lame-ass shirt! Booyah!”
Another successful ad campaign that’s been repurposed for everything imaginable is “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” I thought this one was finally dead, and then last quarter I saw T-shirts with “What happens in an Accord, stays in an Accord.” Well, I hope so; a lot of sick stuff goes down in those things. Have you seen how far those seats go back? If this phrase pops into your conscious mind, make sure what happens in your mind, stays in your mind, because it’s more played out than a secondhand “Hungry Hungry Hippos” game.
Another trendy phrase I hope we can put behind us is anything that contains a shortened word, like “What’s the sitch?” or “Quiet your convo, fool!” Save it for the instant messenger. This is just lazy on too many levels. For one, you’re obviously too lazy, or too cool, to finish the entire word. Like shaving off those three syllables is really saving you precious time. Also, what happened to inventing new slang? All you’re doing is cutting your words short. We used to pick synonymous words for what we were trying to say. For instance, “dancing” became “gettin’ jiggy with it.” Well, that never really caught on, except with people trying hard to appear cool with the youth culture, but you get what I’m saying.
Lastly, I want to take some time to give a eulogy to a word that changed many of our lives and is now deceased, to the benefit of us all. It was given wings by an alternative culture in the ’90s, and took flight on half pipes and ramps. It soared through our supermarkets, gracing the labels of sports drinks and cereal boxes. In commercials, it made products appear edgy and youthful. It was the best word to describe Macho Man Randy Savage as he snapped into a Slim Jim. That word, my dear friends, was “X-Treme” (not to be confused with “extreme,” its tamer, less “I’m going to kick the arthritis out of your grandmother” twin). No, X-Treme was much more than that; it was a way of life for soul skaters like Brink from team Pup N’ Suds.
With that said, let’s get over the “Gots.” Let’s let what happens somewhere be free to decide where it wants to go. Let’s not truncate the words in our convos. And let’s pay homage to our fallen slang. TRENDASAURUS X-TREME!
Brian McMullen is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily columnist.