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| Title | Everything and Anything Is Chopped |
| Content | Rashell Aldas
Professor Carrie Hall
English 1101
October 27, 2017
Everything and Anything Is Chopped
“That's chopped,” my friend Nahida said to describe what my friend was telling her. Similar to the word mom and dad, which means something different to everyone because not everyone has the same mother or father. The word chopped is used in my friend group and everyone does not use it. It doesn't mean to chop something or an item chopped into pieces, it is a slang word for something that is “ugly” according to the article called “11 New York Slang Words I Didn't Know Existed Until College” and I agree with that. It can also be used to describe an action that is undesirable in one's eyes. Although many do not use it, some do know about this slang and based on my encounters it seems to be a few people from Brooklyn. However, people from other areas seem to use it too.
Even though there seems to be no specific place the slang word chopped originated from. Still, the slang word is used in other areas such as Toronto (Canada), and South Africa. In Toronto, not only does it mean something “ugly” or an action that is undesirable, but it can be used in a romantic sense. It is used to describe an action of an attempt of getting someone to go out with you. South Africa has a similar definition or use of this slang word like my friends and I use it, accept it is also “often used affectionately” (SAPeople Contributor 7). Both in Toronto and South Africa, it is used to call someone an idiot as well.
Something that would be is relevant and considered chopped for insists is Donald Trump's tweets. An example of this is when he tweeted “Please understand, there are consequences when people cross our Border illegally, whether they have children or not - and many are just using children for their own sinister purposes. Congress must act on fixing the DUMBEST & WORST immigration laws anywhere in the world!” Vote “R” (Edward B. Colby 5) This is chopped because immigrants who come to the United States ESPECIALLY with children just want a better life than what they had, and were brave enough to make the journey and hopeful that this country would give them that. Another thing that was really chopped was when Donald Trump considered himself a nationalist based on “The New York Times”. Peter Baker states “...he embraced the term as unabashedly as he ever has. ‘Really, we're not supposed to use that word,’ he told supporters… ‘You know what I am? I'm a nationalist, O.K.? I’m a nationalist. Nationalists! Use that word! Use that word!’” This is very chopped because he sounds ridiculous. He knows the word has a bad reputation and even though he is a president he encourages people to use it. Overall Donald Trump is just a chopped person.
When Kanye West went on a rant on SNL he compared his Make America Great Again hat to a “superman cape” which he went into depth by saying the hat or his “superman cape” had a meaning, and this meaning was “you can't tell me what to do.” This just threw me off because a superman cape can be a symbol that represents something heroic. The hat has been worn by many who exclude certain groups and blames them for the failures the country has. There is nothing heroic about that. The only thing it is, is simply chopped because hatred isn't something heroic. The hat doesn't mean “you can’t tell me what to do” because the people who wear the hat agree with the president's ideas, which is the exact opposite of the meaning he is saying and that is just simply chopped. Aside from his SNL appearance, he tweeted that the thirteenth amendment should be abolished. I honestly don’t know what to say to this but the word chopped because I never heard of anyone in the time that we are living in say this. Nowadays it seems like everyone wants to be chopped because the things people be saying and wearing is just absurd.
However, the word isn’t only used to describe serious actions or items we think are dumb, but anything can be considered chopped. The jacket the person wearing on the subway can be chopped or the way the guy pushed his way out the train can be chopped, a dog, a cat, the way you write can be chopped. Simply anything can be chopped if you think it is.
The word is understood in my friend group, not everyone can understand it and that's what makes it special. I can say a sweater is chopped or what the kid sitting next to me in the class did was chopped and they can understand what I am saying. I can’t just use the word with anyone that I meet with especially someone I just met because they would probably not know what I mean and think I am making no sense. It was not made up by us, it is a used slang word, but it is not as common as other slangs like dead-ass or tight. It gives us something to relate to and that's what makes it special.
Works Cited
Colby, Edward B. “Trump Tweets: End Mueller Probe, Collusion Not a Crime, More.” Newsday, Newsday, 3 Oct. 2018, www.newsday.com/news/nation/donald-trump-s-noteworthy-tweets-as-president-1.12632966.
Basa, Eul. “15 Slang Words Spoken In Toronto That Are Used In Dating And Relationships.” Narcity, Narcity, www.narcity.com/ca/on/toronto/lifestyle/15-slang-words-spoken-in-toronto-that-you-could-use-in-your-relationship.
“Kanye West's Pro-Trump Rant Gets Boos on Saturday Night Live: 'My God,' Says Chris Rock.” PEOPLE.com, EMILY ZAUZMER, and JANINE RUBENSTEIN, 30 Sept. 2018, 2:17 pm, people.com/music/kanye-west-trump-speech-saturday-night-live/.
Kozikowski, Rachel. “11 New York Slang Words I Didn't Know Existed Until College.” The Odyssey Online, 6 Sept. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/york-slang-didnt-hear-until-college.
Baker, Peter. “'Use That Word!': Trump Embraces the 'Nationalist' Label.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/us/politics/nationalist-president-trump.html.
“South African 'English' - Guide to Slang Words in SA.” SAPeople - Your Worldwide South African Community, 24 Jan. 2017, www.sapeople.com/2014/07/02/south-african-english/. |
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