Sunday, March 27, 2011

LOTW 3/27


This week's lingo: "Typical!"
Typically the word typical isn't used on the reg. I mean, you may use it to describe your daily routine etc. in a random instance, but don't otherwise have a reason constantly use it. However, I would argue that the word typical is absolutely appropriate in most situations. Though I can't exactly explain why, I will provide you with some examples and hope that it becomes clear.

Example: You go to the hottest party of the year and end up losing your ID, additionally, you lose track of your friends, accidentally scrape your arm and realize you aren't wearing contacts so you can't really tell who anyone is. You retell the story of your epic fail of an evening to a close friend: "It was the worst night of my life, typical!"
Why this works: If your goal in telling that story was self-pity, the addition of typical will only further secure the patheticness of your evening because it implies that you have the worst night of your life on the reg and they only get worse. In short, the addition of typical in certain situations can secure all the pity you will ever need from your friends.

Example: You are on a mission to secure the necessary signatures from your evil professors to withdrawal from the hardest class you have ever taken in your life, and unfortunately this form is due today. Needless to say you are quite distracted and walking rather quickly, perhaps too quickly to notice the vast amount of concrete stairs that lay before you. In short, you wipe out on them, just missing the devastating effects of a scraped knee. You look around for any witnesses, desperately hoping that there aren't any. There was and he asks you if you are ok, you smile and say "Oh Typical!"
Why it works: This use of typical will lead your fellow conversationalists to believe that you are clumsy all the time and therefore used to wiping out in public places. They may even commend you for your ability to not become embarrassed in the most embarrassing of situations. Without your inclusion of typical they would likely be overly concerned and try to care for you when you don't have time to be cared for because in reality all you need to do is secure those signatures!

Example: You meet someone new. Within minutes of meeting they let you know about their skills with the popular IPhone game, Words With Friends and guarantee that they can beat you. You accept their challenge, "You're challenging me? Oh typical!" You proceed to beat them, not once, but multiple times. When they chat you angry things such as "I hate you!" "You scored HOW many points?" etc you can continue to respond "Typical" or some variation.
Why it works: The use of typical presents your opponent with an understated sense of confidence. You will seriously surprise them with you beat them, because they will have no idea what is coming as your original conversation only implied that you are often challenged, not often wrongly underestimated. 

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