Definition Essay: "Tight"
Tight “Your outfit is really tight”, one of my classmates at school said to me as I walked down the hallway. I was horrified! I know I have gained some weight lately but I thought my outfit looked rather becoming. It was not until after talking to my sister at home that I discovered they were actually giving me a compliment instead of insulting me. The word tight has become the latest craze in vocabulary words with double meanings to hit the streets and today’s youth.
Tight is just one of many words in today’s vocabulary that has been revamped by the younger generation. The Urban Dictionary, an online dictionary of slang words used by teenagers today, defines the word tight as meaning very good, excellent; cool, hip. It is meant to compliment a person or object they find cool. You may hear them use the word to talk about how great a car looks, such as “that car is tight” or “look at his outfit, isn’t it tight?” Back in the day, teens would have said, “that car is gnarley!” or “look at his outfit! That’s totally rad!” The older generation who is not “hip” to the new lingo the kids are using today would have made the same mistake I have and thought of the more traditional meanings of the word tight when we hear it.
The most frequently understood definition of the word tight, is the one in the Merriam-
Webster dictionary: “fitting very close to the body; also: too snug”. Hearing the word tight automatically brings to mind those tight jeans you have in your closet that is waiting for you to lose those last five pounds so you can get them over your hips. Or those expensive shoes you paid way too much money for and can’t wear because your feet look like stuffed sausages once you have managed to cram your feet into them. If only these would look “tight” instead of just painful. Another meaning we relate the word tight to is "difficult to cope with: ‘relatively difficult to obtain”. This definition of tight refers to money being
Tight is just one of many words in today’s vocabulary that has been revamped by the younger generation. The Urban Dictionary, an online dictionary of slang words used by teenagers today, defines the word tight as meaning very good, excellent; cool, hip. It is meant to compliment a person or object they find cool. You may hear them use the word to talk about how great a car looks, such as “that car is tight” or “look at his outfit, isn’t it tight?” Back in the day, teens would have said, “that car is gnarley!” or “look at his outfit! That’s totally rad!” The older generation who is not “hip” to the new lingo the kids are using today would have made the same mistake I have and thought of the more traditional meanings of the word tight when we hear it.
The most frequently understood definition of the word tight, is the one in the Merriam-
Webster dictionary: “fitting very close to the body; also: too snug”. Hearing the word tight automatically brings to mind those tight jeans you have in your closet that is waiting for you to lose those last five pounds so you can get them over your hips. Or those expensive shoes you paid way too much money for and can’t wear because your feet look like stuffed sausages once you have managed to cram your feet into them. If only these would look “tight” instead of just painful. Another meaning we relate the word tight to is "difficult to cope with: ‘relatively difficult to obtain”. This definition of tight refers to money being