On Fri 06 Jan 2023 at 23:41:25 (-0500), Greg Wooledge wrote: > > > On Fri, Jan 06, 2023 at 01:26:54PM -0600, David Wright wrote: > > > > Rather, > > > > > > > > coo² (slang) interjection, expressive of surprise. (Chambers) > > > > > > > > and this has been around far longer than my lifetime. > > > > When using slang, the current meaning is the one that will be understood > > > by your audience. Not some archaic meaning. > > > > Err, where did you get the idea that coo is archaic? > > The part where you said this particular usage is older than yourself.
Yes, it joins the 99.9% of the words we use, whose current usage predates our own generation, and yet are not archaic. > > We Brits use the word "Coo"; I guess the equivalent here is "Gee", > > which sounds very American to British ears of my generation. > > Ahhh, it's a regional usage, then. My mistake. > > To an American audience, the meaning is quite different. We only use > "coo" to describe the noise made by a dove, or as an (urban) slang > term which is a shortened form of "cool". > > https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=coo So I'm expected to check my use of slang against a dictionary that's receiving over 2000 entries per day at times, and where most of the definitions are not expected to appear in standard dictionaries. This ultra-contemporary slang, much of which I neither hear nor read, is supposed to be more familiar to people here for whom English is a second language. OTOH, reputable, edited dictionaries, printed and online, are unlikely to be consulted by such people, yes? > A slightly shortened version of "cool" > used by only the cooest people, coo is the best way to describe ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑↑ > something that is completely awesome. > > And so on. Ah, awesome, another word that has had all meaning drained from it by overuse. Receptionist: Do you have your insurance card with you? Me: Let's see … ah, yes, here it is. Receptionist: Awesome! (uttered 2022-12-28 ~16:00) Cheers, David.