Johnny2Toes' Blog

Remember when cool meant lack of warmth or moderately cold? Cool to the touch, or let it cool down before touching, phrases like this are still used today, but cool has come to mean many other things. Somewhere through the years, cool has also come to mean ‘in a calm and nonchalant manner’. Another definition might mean an item or situation is a good thing.

Definitions, while remaining true, also change and evolve with the times. Most recently, the word ‘Organic’. I remember a time when organic was loosely referencing something grown, plants vegetables, trees and so on. One definition of organic is ‘relating to or containing carbon compounds’.

In today’s world, organic has come to mean so many things. Organic sales, organic views, organic food. There was a time when organic meant natural, but in terms of food, natural and organic are not always synonymous.

Granular. Here’s another word that is evolving. A definition of granular might be, ‘consisting of or appearing to consist of granules’. The word granular is definitely evolving. A current use of this word might look something like this: ‘on a granular level, things aren’t what they appear to be.’

Evolution is about change and adaptation, and our use of words is evolving. Sometimes the evolution of vocabulary is a good thing, sometimes not. Sick used to mean affected by a physical or mental illness. According to the Urban Dictionary, sick has come to mean: crazy, cool, insane.

A few years ago I attended a meeting hosted by VP’s and Director’s. One individual, highly placed mind you, ended his presentation with these words: “All things being equal, at the end of the day, it is what it is.” The room erupted in applauds. I sat there, sort of stunned, and said to myself, Huh? It doesn’t matter the context of the presentation, he ended it by speaking and not saying anything.