Meaning Of The Word Sick

Similar to the word wicked in the 70’s--as in “those bell bottoms are wicked!”-- but concocted by millennial teenagers, the word “sick” describes things that are interesting and impressive. The term sick carries varied connotations, often leading many people to substitute the words “intense,” “cool,” “crazy,” and “gnarly.” These people lack an understanding of modern nuances teens have assigned to the word. Only when the word is put into multiple contexts can we derive it’s true meaning and create a strong definition. Creating a strong definition of sick by comparing and contrasting it with four other words will promote correct usage in everyday language. “Intense” is a word one could use to describe the snow flurried scene where Bambi’s mother is mercilessly gunned down, but no one would ever call it sick. Intense has neutral connotations, for it is largely based on the magnitude of a feeling, not the type of feeling. On the other hand, sick has (oddly enough) positive connotations and is representative of a specific feeling. This feeling is not the intense anger of a high school student as he or she slams down their textbook and exits the class. Intense can be used to express sadness, fear
Unfortunately sick is often displaced by crazy. It is sick when the rapper LL Cool J makes a rhyme saying “Those guys at the skate park are pretty damn dumb, I could count their GPA on my thumb.” The crazy part comes when a skater at the concert streaks across stage. Crazy is erratic and unbelievable, like a seventy five year old mine exploding in the local WW2 museum. It is associated with the impression that it makes on the person watching. Sick acknowledges with a nod of the head, a slight curling of the mouth, and a raise of an eyebrow. Subdued compared to crazy, sick events are unique but not