Retarded

[James Harbeck]

Oh, I'm quite used to hearing "retarded" to mean "stupid,"
"annoying," etc., of objects and situations more often, in fact, than
of people. Certain people I know use it; most don't. Those who do are
most likely to use it for events, situations, etc., or of groups or
organizations. "That party was so retarded." "I can't believe you
waited a half an hour for the bus. That's retarded." "This moving
company was really retarded." etc. At least in the circles I've found
myself in, using "retarded" to refer to a specific person has, ISTM,
even more of a junior-high-school sound to it than using it to refer
to situations, groups, or objects, likely because of the more direct
imputation of unintelligence. But this is all my own impressions and
can't be relied on _too_ much. At most take this as confirmation that
I'm used to hearing it for other than individual humans, even ones in
their thirties. (I don't really use it myself, because it does sound
a bit childish to me. I prefer "stupid.")

James Harbeck.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org