Apparently “book” means “cool” now. This according to a glossary of British youth speak that I found at The Chocolate Interrobang.
While the entire lexicon is fun to immerse myself in, the entry for Book stood out to me:
book — cool. The first option given in predictive text when trying to type ‘c-o-o-l’.
So here we have not only a new definition for an old word, which relates to writing, but also a new usage created by a propensity for texting.
I myself don’t have much experience with texting (on my cell phone plan I have to pay per text message), but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate this impact the practice is having on the culture at large.
Not all “text-speak” would be an improvement to the language at large — I will continue to cringe when someone speaks aloud “L-O-L” or “lol,” among others. But this is a new technology-produced definition I gladly embrace — remembering that I have a preexisting penchant for books.
That is so book! I’ll have to remember this one, and try it out in verbal communication.
