What is YOLO? Only teenagers know for sure - The Boston ...

A youthful slang craze flies under the adult radar · A tip to the oldsters: YOLO is an acronym for “You Only Live Once.” It shot to fame earlier ... Skiptomaincontent ANTHONYSCHULTZ/GLOBESTAFFEverynowandthen ,abitofslangcomesalongthatdrawsabrightredlinebetweenyoungandold.In2012,thatslangtermisYOLO.Ifyouareover25,YOLOlikelymeansnothingtoyou.Ifyouareunder25,youmaybesofamiliarwithYOLOthatyou’realreadycompletelysickofit.Atiptotheoldsters:YOLOisanacronymfor“YouOnlyLiveOnce.”ItshottofameearlierthisyearthankstotherapperDrake,whosesong“TheMotto”hasthehook,“Youonlyliveonce,that’sthemotto...YOLO,andwe’boutiteveryday,everyday,everyday.”AfteravideoforthesongwasreleasedinFebruary,thebuzzwordspreadquicklyamongthehighschoolandcollege-agesetbywordofmouth,notjustinpersonbutthroughtheturbochargedvehicleofsocialmedia.AdvertisementHowquickly?ConsiderthelistsofslangcompiledeverysemesterbystudentsofConnieEble,aprofessorofEnglishattheUniversityofNorthCarolina,ChapelHill.YOLOwasentirelyabsentfromthesubmissionsbyEble’sfall2011classes.Bythespringsemester,YOLOhadbecomethemostfrequentlymentionedslangtermamongthestudents,justedgingout“totes”for“totally”and“cray”(or“cray-cray”)for“crazy.”WhataccountsforthemeteoricriseofYOLO,andhowhasitgonevirtuallyunnoticedbynonmillennials?Itsappealtotheyouthfulisself-evident.YOLOasashorthandmantradefinesyouth,onacertainlevel.Whatisteenagehoodifnottheadventurous,oftenfoolhardy,desiretotestthelimitsofacceptablebehavior—becausehey,whynot?YOLO!Thecarpediemsentimentof“youonlyliveonce”hasalonghistorypredatingitspunchyacronymicclipping.GarsonO’Toole,onhisQuoteInvestigatorblog,tracesvariationsonthethemebacktothe18thcentury,asinthislinefromSamuelRichardson’snovel“Clarissa”:“Welivebutonceinthisworld;andwhengone,aregonefromitforever.”Theexactwordingof“youonlyliveonce”beginscroppingupinthelate19thcentury,andby1937itwaspopularenoughtobeusedasthetitleofaFritzLangfilmnoir.Onewryelaboration,creditedtothecomedianJoeE.Lewisin1952,is“Youonlyliveonce,butifyouworkitright,onceisenough.”AdvertisementToday’syoungpurveyorsofYOLOdoindeedappeartobetryingtoworkitright,thoughwhatthatmeansisupfordebate.Eble’sstudentsillustrateitstypicaluse,asacarefreetagtoexplainanimpulsivechoice:“Youwanttoparkillegallyinthisspot?YOLO!”“ShouldIbuytheseshoesorpayrent?YOLO!”Thewordhasalsofoundfavorasaverb,asinthisYelpreviewofaJerseyCitypizzeria:“AllthetimesIcomehomeafteranightofYOLO-ing,Icraveadelishslicetosoakuptheboozeandsobermeup.”Butasthetermhascirculatedoverthepastseveralmonths,aYOLObacklashhassetin.JasonSalcedo,ahighschoolseniorfromStuart,Fla.,recentlybloggedthatYOLOisnow“usedbyteensonlyasanabsolutejustificationtododangerousorharmfulthings.”Ashepointedout,thosewhouseitmightnotappreciatethatyouonlydieonce,too.AdvertisementEvenasteenagersargueoverthemeritsofYOLO-ing,theirparentsandteachersremainlargelyoblivious.Slangservesapowerfulfunctionformarkingan“in-group,”associologistssay,andit’seasytoseehowYOLOwouldbepreciselythetypeoftermthatitsuserswouldwanttokeeptothemselves,awayfromelders.OneelderwhohastakennoticeisDavidMcCulloughJr.,anEnglishteacheratWellesleyHighSchool(andsonofthePulitzerPrize-winninghistorian).“Now,beforeyoudashoffandgetyourYOLOtattoo,”hesaidinhiscausticcommencementaddressfortheschoolinJune,“letmepointouttheillogicofthattrendylittleexpression—becauseyoucanandshouldlivenotmerelyonce,buteverydayofyourlife.RatherthanYouOnlyLiveOnce,itshouldbeYouLiveOnlyOnce...butbecauseYLOOdoesn’thavethesamering,weshruganddecideitdoesn’tmatter.”(McCullough’sobjectiontotheplacementof“only”intheexpressionisanoldone,buteventhegreatusagewriterHenryFowlerthoughtitwasfollytoinsistonplacing“only”nearesttothepartofthesentenceitqualifies,ridiculing“themodernprecisianswhohavemorezealthandiscretion.”Noone,uponhearing“youonlyliveonce,”wouldwouldinterpretittomeanthatlivingistheonlythingyoudoonce—justas“Ionlyhaveeyesforyou”wouldneverbeunderstoodtomeanthat“eyesforyou”aretheonlythingIhave.)Ifthere’sanythingthatsignalsthedeathknellofYOLO,itisthatKatieCourichasnowlatchedontoit.Inadvanceofhersyndicatedtalkshow,“Katie,”whichdebutsnextmonth,Courichasannouncedthattheshowwillhavearegularfeaturecalled“What’sYourYOLO?”,encouragingviewerstomakevideosdescribingthingstheywanttodobeforetheydie.AfterCouric’suseofthetermwasreported,thewriterGregCampbelltweakedheronTwitter:“Ruleofthumb:When@KatieCouricstartsusinginternetacronyms,they’vejumpedthesharkmonthsago.”AdvertisementIt’struethatifCouricandothersofheragegroupstartYOLO-ing,makingthetermsynonymouswithcrossingitemsoffone’s“bucketlist,”anygenerationalcachetitmighthavewillbelost.Butitwouldbesomehowfittingifanexpressionencapsulatingthejoysandperilsofyouthfulindiscretionburnsoutjustasquicklyasitblossomed.BenZimmeristheexecutiveproducerofVisualThesaurus.comandVocabulary.com.Hecanbereachedatbenzimmer.com/contact.BlackNewsHourpresentedbyTheBostonGlobe RunbyBlackjournalistsatTheBostonGlobe,“BlackNewsHour,”anewradioprogram,deliversreliablenewsthatconnectswithourcommunityandexpandsondeeperissuesimpactingourcity.BostonGlobevideo