One of our listeners taught me some new words today, so I share those with you.
The new words I learned today are:
- extra
- try hard
As in, “Wow, that is so extra! He wanted me to become a tryhard and do all the homework…”
As this is a new word for me, I had to turn to Google and the Urban Dictionary to learn more. (Caveat, before using words you learn on the Urban Dictionary, first find out if it is appropriate for the circles you travel in. Some of these words are good to know…but not so great to use…at least not everywhere. )
The Urban Dictionary is my second source for looking up words that sound like English, but appear to be used in a completely different manner than I expect. Words grow out of culture and the culture of a 20-year old is going to be different than a 50 or 70 year old. That doesn’t mean I can use their words…but I certainly can learn how they are used!
In this case, let’s check out the first word….extra.
Woa! So it seems that just by opening this 5:55 room everyday, posting the content on this website, and then making notes in my journal….I am being EXTRA! The caution here of course is that EXTRA is not a good thing to be. Extra is the opposite of being Cool. Apparently doing nothing or as little as possible is the way to be these days. Ah…to be a millennial. I’m assuming that’s who uses this?
Lets’ move on to “tryhard”. I would have written it with two words, but apparently this thing has morphed two words into one and made it a noun. Jumping in we go the Urban dictionary….
Oh boy. We are back at it again. Working too hard, trying too hard. The whole concept of putting in extra effort is undermined in single attack. No, make that a double attack….try-hard combined with extra. I used to think that trying extra hard was a good thing to do.
Now the new language tells me it is not.
I want to know the opposite of these words. Someone tells me that word is “basic”. So back to the Urban dictionary to get some insight….
To be honest, I heard this phrase for the first time in the last episode of Season 1 of The Good Place.
They probably only said it a total of 6 times, but it caught on, is now a T-shirt, and you can hear it everywhere. It is an insult. Don’t use it on anyone for real. Unless you are really, really angry…
Consider yourself in the know now!
I’m sure I forget to include dozens of other things we talked about today.
Reading my notes, I see Scarcity, Obsolescence, Demand. What was that one more thing I wanted to add? I just cannot think of it now…
What’s the word I was looking for????
Arghhh…. It’s the thing where you repeat a purchase. Like a subscription. What’s the word I’m looking for?
All the big businesses are based on subscription models.
-Gas for your car. Loans that you pay interest to the bank.
-Insurance that you pay monthly to the Insurance companies.
-Your electricity and your phone.
Want to grow? Create the demand, ensure customers have to get a new thing every once in a while, be sure that your thing is scarce (scarce = valuable), and then, get them to pay regularly.
To be sure, I am not saying obsolescence is bad.
Without it, we would never move forward in life. We would all still be using faxes (or sending telegrams).
There would be no email. The TV would still be Black and White and 20 inches.
There might be no YouTube and FM might still be popular.
Progress and in fact, nearly everything we love about our world depend upon these four pillars! Obsolescence, Scarcity, Demand, and …. Subscriptions.
Want to help out a farmer? sign up to get their goods delivered on a regular schedule.
What do you think?
It was too funny you were learning English. This is a great post for everyone✨