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What’s In An Alphabet?

Nov 15, 2018
by Caroline Miller
Ben Schott, emoji, Moby Dick, Noblesse Oblique, rich people's slang, youthful slang
2 Comments

Courtesy of google.com

It’s a joke so old, I don’t remember the punch line. A guy stands up in a town hall meeting and shouts a number.  People around him laugh. A second person calls out another number and again those present break into applause. The community is so accustomed to one another, they’ve reduced their communications to a shorthand. — which makes the joke weird and funny without the punch line.

Language often simplifies as it evolves.  “Is not” becomes “isn’t.”  The article “that”  is disappearing as when, “The book that I read,” becomes “The book I read.”  The examples are many and in an earlier blog, I talked about Moby Dick being written with emoji. (Blog 9/2/14)

A few millennials have joined my circle on Facebook of late.  I’m being exposed to slang more advanced than IMHO or LOL.  Seldom do I understand their abbreviations, but I will grant that, for those in the know, an alphabet string allows them to express the commonplace faster.  What puzzles me is why they are in such a hurry.  They probably won’t pause to answer, but youngsters should be warned.  I’ll bring down a curse upon any who thinks, “2B or not 2B” is literature.

 Like the young, the ultra-rich employ a secret slang to communicate with one another, says writer Ben Schott. (Noblesse Oblique,” by Ben Schott, Town & Country, 2/17/17 pg. 29.)  Well, why not?  They’re exclusive about everything else.  Here are some examples which Schott may have risked his life to share.  PLU means “people like us.” The opposite is NQOSD, “Not quite our sort, darling.”  Never be guilty of MIF (milk in first)  — pouring milk into your cup before your tea. Or HKLP, holding your fork like pen. NSIT (Not safe in taxis) is  useful to any female of any social status, I should think.

At 80, I hope I can be forgiven for wanting neither my life nor my language to speed up.  I’ve enough trouble chasing upgrades on my computer.  I see nothing wrong with taking time to stop and stare. Have we forgotten the art of doing nothing?  Perhaps, some think that’s a lesson best reserved for the grave.  If true, I’ve already raced ahead. My tombstone will read: WTF?

(Originally published 2/2/17)

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2 Comments
  1. Betsy Cameron November 15, 2018 at 2:54 pm Reply
    Being in my 80's, I much prefer the family phrases that emerge, and leave bit of story that intrigues. Like, "it's the marmalade problem" to describe a pecunious uncle, or "why did you want to run over that?" if you're not paying attention. But we southerners love stories.
    • Caroline Miller November 15, 2018 at 5:36 pm Reply
      Everybody loves a story. A marmalade problem peaks my curiosity more than my appetite.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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