Word!?!?

I was recently posed with a interesting question. "Cease, what does word!! mean?" For those of you that have been keeping up with my blog, you may have noticed that I added reaction buttons to the bottom of my blog entries  You can click a button with your choice of reaction to my posts. One of my buttons was "WORD!!".


I have a loyal reader named Ms. Jan. She is a friend and co-worker. Ms Jan is about twenty years my senior. She grew up in Alabama. Since I've started writing, she's been reading. As you may have figured out, I grew up in the hood, so I tend to use slang when appropriate.

One day Ms. Jan was reading my latest blog. She noticed the reaction buttons. She understands the meaning of LOL, and Say What? The term "word" eludes her. She contacts Teddy, another co-worker. Teddy explains to her that Word!! is a term used when you agree with what someone is saying.

The next day when Ms. Jan sees me, she tells me what she had to go through to find the meaning of the term. I thought it was the funniest thing hearing her tell me the story.

So today I figured I will define the term "Word!!" and give examples of when I use it. First I will use the dictionary definition.

Word noun [wurd] - a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary accent that distinguishes blackbird  from black bird.  Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are distinguished phonologically, as by accent, in many languages.

Next is the urban dictionary definition.

"Word" is the shortened form of the phrase: "my word is my bond" which was originated by inmates in U.S. prisons. The longer phrase was shortened to "word is bond" before becoming "word," which is most commonly used. It basically means "truth." Or "to speak the truth."

Since I'm getting on in years, and I now fall under the category of "Old School", I feel the need to use old school slang. Such as "word" or "funky fresh".

The common usage of "word" is in agreement.

For instance if your listening to someone speak, and they say something that resonates with you, you would say "word!!"

I like to use it more as a question, sort of like "really??"

When I'm driving to work, and someone does something stupid on the road or cuts me of, I holler out "word!?!?"

When I'm dealing with a customer, and they make a ridiculous request or accuse me of selling them the wrong thing, I say "word!?!?" as I raise my right eyebrow.

My favorite is when someone volunteers me for something or puts me on the spot, "word!?!?" I'm going to take you to the store??

Especially when you know someone is faking or lying, "word!?!?" you didn't rob that guy, it was a setup?

When I used to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Regis Philben. I always wanted Regis to say "word!?!" instead of "Is that your final answer?"

I even use a Spanish equivalent that in those situations. I say "como!?!?" which means "how", but in that context it's like "say what??"

So the next time somebody fronts on you Ms. Jan, look at them like they are stupid and say "word!?!?" (fronts means when someone is faking, lying or making something up Ms. Jan)

Thanks Ms. Jan WORD!!