Retarded - good

[Ben Zimmer]

On Sat, Dec 10, 2011 at 6:59 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
> 4. According to http://slangcity.com/songs/1_2_step.htm, Missy Elliot's [sic: Elliott's]
> lyrics of "1, 2 Step" have the word "retarded" meaning "great" [...]

"1, 2 Step" was by Ciara, featuring Missy Elliott, and the "retarded"
line ("So retarded, top charted, ever since the day I started") is
sung by Ciara. That song came out in 2004 -- a year before that, the
song "Let's Get Retarded" was first released on the Black Eyed Peas
album "Elephunk." When it was released as a single, it was changed to
the far more marketable "Let's Get It Started."

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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