Basic Slang

A vital part of my job in supervising material that is created by teenagers and published is ensuring that nothing horrifyingly inappropriate gets into the newspaper or yearbook. Since I am around teens all day at school and then come home to my own personal teens, I do have significant exposure to the slang of the moment, so I'm not as clueless as many. Even so, it presents a challenge in keeping up. And think for a moment about the pressure: I have to make sure that TEENS don't PUBLISH anything NAUGHTY.

There was the time I almost let "let's get crunk" go through because I thought "crunk" meant rowdy, until a responsible student editor let me know that it means "crazy drunk." And I refused to let "balls so hard" go into the yearbook, in spite of the fact that it's a popular song and apparently just refers to vigorous play in sports. Sorry, but anything ambiguous involving the word "balls" is not going in anything I oversee.

Potential naughtiness is not only limited to words. Hand gestures can be problematic, especially in large group shots at sporting events where fans love to hold up No.1 fingers. I know many a yearbook adviser who has scrutinized such pictures for more time than they'd like to admit. And at my school, with its beachy, surfing vibe, people love doing the "Hang 10" hand symbol with pinky and thumb raised. I've had to check up on that one, too. And don't even get me started about booty dancing or red plastic cups (the universal symbol for alcohol).

The latest slang I've come across is "basic," which seems to be an insult. (Usage: "That girl is basic.") The best I can puzzle out for this one is that having a personality devoid of lively, witty, or interesting accoutrements is considered "basic." In other words, it means you're dull.

But there is nothing dull about proofreading high school publications. I recently came upon a photo caption that read: "A member of the band blows her saxophone like a pro." I paused for a moment to wonder if teens know that "pro" is slang for "prostitute," though I am quite certain that the subtleties of the word "blow" are not lost on them. Needless to say, this caption suffered the same fate as "balls so hard."

This is why, when each issue of the newspaper or yearbook comes out and no one calls demanding that I be fired, I emit a sigh of relief and celebrate by raising a red plastic cup to toast my success.