Overused Word of the Day
Exactly.
Most often said as if followed by an exclamation mark. Exactly!
This word is being heard with far greater frequency than the word “awesome” which had been overused and used inappropriately most of the time. As in, “Wow, dude, that’s awesome.”
While I have you on the phone, can we dispense calling everyone “dude”? Is everyone really a dude? What is a dude, and when and how did dude take on a new meaning? According to Wikepedia:
The term dude is an American English slang word generally used informally to address a male individual. The word was once used primarily by adults but has become a common slang term used in various age groups. The female equivalent, less often used, is “dudette”. However the term dude has evolved to become a more unisex term to encompass all genders[1], and was even true in the 50’s during the word’s older definitions.[2]
“Dude” is also used alone in a sentence as an interjection denoting a feeling of surprise, happiness, disappointment, amazement or other emotions.[3] The word might also be used practically anywhere in a sentence in order to convey such sentiments in conversation, as in ‘Listen dude, we have to go’.
The tone and inflection of the word “dude” are used to convey the various meanings. For example, a short, clipped “dude!” may convey annoyance with someone, while a long, drawn-out “duuuude” conveys amazement.
Other, older definitions of dude exist; a particularly well-dressed male or one who is unfamiliar with life outside a large city. These definitions may go hand-in-hand, hence the phrased definition “An Easterner in the West” (United States).[4]
One of the earliest books to use the word was The Home and Farm Manual, written by Jonathan Periam in 1883. In that work, Periam used the term dude several times to denote an ill-bred and ignorant, but ostentatious, man from the city.