An initial 4A N2...?

[Dave Wilton]

> Are 'cool' 'pot' 'grass' slang?  Though they may be "associated with a
> particular social grouping," they aren't used only by those
> groups.  These terms are widely used but aren't exactly "standard."
> What about a term like 'threads' for clothing?  Examples of why it's
> so hard to define 'slang'.

Which is precisely why I used the terms "associated with" and "vaguely
defined group" regarding slang. The groups that use jargon are more
precisely defined and organized (e.g., medical profession, police, Civil War
reenactors, model railroaders), as opposed to say "drug culture" which
encompasses crackhouse junkies, vice cops, Colombian drug lords, college
students, and yuppie Wall Street stockbrokers.

I would argue that "cool" has moved into standard American English. It's
informal, but ubiquitous. Similarly, I would put "pot" into standard English
nowadays. "Grass" is more problematic; I would still call that one slang.

Another problem with defining "slang" is ephemerality. While most slang
terms are ephemeral, some (like "grass" and "threads") hang around for
decades. Slang is characterized by ephemerality, but it is not defined or
categorized by it. The same could probably be said for social groups and
slang usage.