Fitting slang

Seen a particularly attractive fellow applicant? Well you’ve got to be careful: describing them as ‘fit’ is positively discouraged. This week, a leader in the school industry has suggested we should stop using the word ‘fit’ to denote attractiveness, but it’s prompted some interesting discussion of the history of the term and of slang in general. We can all have a giggle about historical slang from the OED, but slang’s a serious academic topic. Back in the 1970s, scholars worried about definitions and the usefulness of the term to linguists as a whole – and the debate was still raging in 2010. One of the most interesting websites in the field is that of the famous Jonathan Green, who was an underground journalist in swinging London, and now takes his lexicography very seriously – watch out though, it’s not suitable for all the family, as he does not shy away from sexual slang. It’s a complex topic for Linguistics and English Language and Literature students to consider!