A few weeks ago my minister, Bob, said that, when he was in a restaurant with his son, and thanked the waiter...the waiter in return said "no problem."
I've been known to get a little irritated with wait staff overusing the phrase "No, problem." So has Bob. But his son, who teaches English at a college up north, essentially told Bob he needs to lighten up.
"No problem" means "you're welcome." Who knew?
New words and phrases are popping up all the time so how can we keep up? Try the Urban Dictionary. This web based dictionary contains more than seven million definitions. But urban slang isn't for everybody, so be forewarned.
Here's a little example for you: fo shizzle ma nizzle" means I concur with you wholeheartedly my African American brother. But I don't plan to use this (first) phrase - ever!
So why should we care? Last week on NPR they did a piece on the court system prior to the Urban Dictionary. In more than one case the perpetrator was released when the victim wasn't able to use the correct terminology to describe the crime. Urban slang didn't cut it. Even when a woman was describing her own body parts.
Prior to Urban Dictionary attorneys had to hire people to determine the meaning of fast changing urban slang. Most clients couldn't afford it so cases were lost.
So I'm going to lighten up when the guy in the restaurant says "no problem" and assume he means "you're welcome."
***
I've been known to get a little irritated with wait staff overusing the phrase "No, problem." So has Bob. But his son, who teaches English at a college up north, essentially told Bob he needs to lighten up.
"No problem" means "you're welcome." Who knew?
New words and phrases are popping up all the time so how can we keep up? Try the Urban Dictionary. This web based dictionary contains more than seven million definitions. But urban slang isn't for everybody, so be forewarned.
Here's a little example for you: fo shizzle ma nizzle" means I concur with you wholeheartedly my African American brother. But I don't plan to use this (first) phrase - ever!
So why should we care? Last week on NPR they did a piece on the court system prior to the Urban Dictionary. In more than one case the perpetrator was released when the victim wasn't able to use the correct terminology to describe the crime. Urban slang didn't cut it. Even when a woman was describing her own body parts.
Prior to Urban Dictionary attorneys had to hire people to determine the meaning of fast changing urban slang. Most clients couldn't afford it so cases were lost.
So I'm going to lighten up when the guy in the restaurant says "no problem" and assume he means "you're welcome."
***
