From: Robert Klemme <shortcutter@...>
Date: 2008-05-17T21:55:09+09:00
Subject: Re: Dude?

On 17.05.2008 14:39, Phlip wrote:
>> I have been quite bothered with the usage of the word "dude" recently.
>> Not that I dislike the word itself but I feel it should be reserved to
>> friends using it in a quite informal context.
> 
> Dude comes from "dud", meaning fine clothes. Someone dressed up was "duddied 
> up", hence "doodied up". Confer "Howdy Doody". So the word "dude" came to 
> mean "a respectable urbane gentleman".
> 
> It's not informal: That's what it means.

Although it may well be the case that meaning has changed and / or 
people use it differently.  For example, I was exposed to the term the 
first time in http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/ and picked up a 
slightly different meaning.

>> Am I wrong and do I have to adapt or is there some kind of agreement
>> with my POV?
> 
> Yes, yes, and no. (-:
> 
> Now go rail against non-native speakers of English using English-based chat 
> in forums that are not interactive enough to sustain acronyms like "smth" or 
> "no1"! I'm not sure, but I suspect some of them know English Chat better 
> than Standard English! 

Which was the standard again, do you have the ISO # handy?  I can't seem 
to find it... :-)

Cheers

	robert