Sick

I have started the job at the language camp. The kids arrive Monday. Alot of the other monitors are University age so I have been hearing alot of "sick" (as cool, or right on) "sweet" (as cool, or right on) and "it's all good" (...). I just can't stomach 'sick'. No pun intended. I remember in the early 90s the only people that used the word 'sick' in that way were surfers/skateboarders from Southern California

or French Canadian Snowboarders. In fact, French Canadians can still say it and it doesn't have the same effect - it is still acceptable. Something about the sincerity and joie-de-vivre, peppered in with the accent and the "c'est sick le gros" style - I'll let it slide. This guy was my roomate years ago in Whistler. He's French. He said it. There is just something wierd about bubbly 20 year old girls saying it. I think it's because they don't quite understand that the root use of the word as slang was from dirty concrete grinders who were doing moves that were so "gnarly" that they became "sick" since one would have to be sick to attempt something so dangerous. Those minglewoods girls don't know what it really means and if I say "Do you have the time" they may reply with "Oh, Sick, I'm wearing my watch..4:30." ie; they use it all the time. "See you in class." "Sick, see you tommorow." I once expressed my dismay and I was told that it shows my age - that it means I'm getting old. Now, we all know that's not the real reason. I'm just a bossy, linguistic, stick in the mud.