How To Succeed At Business

When I was in my teens, I recall having a conversation about the word 'sick' with one of my closest friends. My friend (let's call him Brian) was at the mall with his girlfriend when a salesperson approached him about a t-shirt he was holding. "You gotta buy that," the salesman said, "we only have a few left and that design is sick." Brian, confused and frazzled, turned and asked the salesman to repeat what he'd said, slowly as to catch all of it. 


"Dude, it's a sick shirt." 


I wasn't there for the tirade that followed, but I believed every bit of it. I could picture Brian's face, already twisted from his hatred of salespeople, locked in vernacular agony. The cliched 'pin' had dropped and found it's final resting place squarely between the feet of the 'with it' and the 'without.' "Sick? Can you believe that?" He recalled to me later. "Can you imagine using the word sick to describe something you like? It makes no sense." And, to be perfectly honest, he was right: At the time it made absolutely no sense to me, but I quickly chalked it up to being out of the loop. My hometown was behind the times on everything. We were all still wearing Airwalks when the rest of the world moved on to New Balance; still rocking those fun-loving, family approved MC Hammer pants when Hammer was signing up with Death Row records. I wasn't impressed by what the salesman said, but I wasn't surprised that I had no idea how 'sick' became synonymous with 'awesome.' 


Even now, ten years later (we were really behind), I still don't get it, but I do marvel at the evolutionary process of Words.


Simply put: Etymology is wicked sweet.        



Take the word 'Pagan' for example:

How to Succeed in Business without being a Pagan, was published in 1974 by Glen Hale Bump. For the lowly price of $1.50, Mr. Bump posed an alternative to the 'traditional methods of business' by offering up a Christian's take on the subject. What were those methods he was rivaling against? Let's find out!

If Mr. Bump were alive and publishing books in the 14th century, his book would be referring to 'Country folk,' as Pagan comes from the Latin paganus meaning: "Villager, rustic, civilian." Waaaaaaay before that the Roman's were using the term paganus to refer to incompetent soldiers, and sometime after that the Christians took that word to mean incompetent soldiers for Christ. In 1959 a motorcycle gang, crime syndicate began calling themselves "Pagans Motorcycle Club" and under the leadership of John 'Satan' Marron their treachery spread throughout New York & Pennsylvania. They were lovingly referred to from there on out as 'The Pagans'.    


Webster's defines Pagan (n) -  one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person. Pagan is also known to mean 'heathen' because of Heathen represents someone who lacks civility. At one time Vikings were considered Heathens then, in turn, considered Pagans. 


So, obviously, Mr. Bump's original aim was something like:

How To Succeed in Business without being an Incompetent, Motorcycle-clad, Hedonistic Viking who seeks to remain outside local boundaries and live like a Country Bumpkin.




I'm not sure how well the book sold, but I do know we have a copy of it in our store for $2.00. And, if you're not into Bump's approach, you can always check out mine.  

"Blood Sacrifices? Pretty sick, Bro."

Do you fall to your knees over the evolution of any words? 
If so, do tell.