B-word broadens further; "knocking" beers

[Jonathan Lighter]

On last night's _Bridezillas_ (We-TV) a 19-year-old bride-to-be at her rehearsal dinner said, with enthusiasm,"I'm gettin' married tomorrow and tonight I'm celebratin', bitch!!"
 
So "bitch" can now be used as roughly equivalent to "man" or "dude," so what?  As top investigator for HDAS, I heard a pair of male college students (or "college men" as they used to be called) addressing each other casually as "bitch" a few years back, though too late for notice in HDAS 1.  Noteworthy now is that the blushing bride was addressing a _guy_!  (Like when gals call gals "guys," but different!)
 
At the same dinner. the groom's forty-plus mom advised him to "Go to the kitchen and knock a beer. Knock a beer."  Trail-blazing HDAS has that from 1931 (not to be confused with synonymous "knock back"), but all of its earlier exx. are from AAVE. 
 
These dramatic events took place in Dec., 2007 among workin'-class white people near Melbourne, Fla.
 
JL




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