![]() ![]() Nasty has a long list of synonyms from awful and dirty to obnoxious and vulgar. The sexist use of nasty with girl has been around since at least the 1700s, but by the early 2000s, some women reappropriated the insult, positively describing a nasty girl as “excellent” or “very attractive.” ![]() Its exact origin is unknown, though it may be related to the Dutch word nestig (“foul, dirty”). Nasty is a Middle English word that first originated in 1350–1400. And although nasty can also be used to describe an unpleasant person or thing, nasty girl has become slang for an “ill-tempered, sexually adventurous, or self-empowered young woman.” In general, nasty can also be defined as something “offensive, objectionable, vicious, spiteful, or ugly.” It can also mean a nasty habit, as well as something hard to deal with or dangerous. Nasty is something that’s “physically filthy” or “disgustingly unclean.” The adjective can also refer to anything that’s “offensive to taste or smell nauseating.” For example: After he left his lunchbox in his backpack for a week, what his mom found inside was simply nasty. By the 1980s, it spread, as teens used gnarly to mean both “excellent” and “disgusting.” What does nasty mean? The slang version of gnarly can be traced back to the 1970s, when surfers used it to describe a dangerous wave. Gnarl is a back formation from gnarled, which was recorded in 1595–1605 as a variant of knurled (a knur is a “a knotty or hard protuberance or growth, as on a tree”). Gnarly was first recorded in 1820–30 and originates from gnarl and -y. C ooland excellent are both synonyms for gnarly when used this way. For example: The biker did some gnarly tricks on that sick mountain biking trail. In that same vein, g narly, nasty, and sick are all three slang terms that can be used to describe something so cool that it’s epic. When words morph into slang, it’s common for those that are negative to take on a positive meaning: think bad, twisted, wicked, etc. However, many are familiar with gnarly for its more colloquial meaning: “distasteful distressing offensive gross.” For example: The new boss quickly built up a bad reputation for his gnarly attitude, and nobody wanted to work with him. Or, Although she knew they were calling for snow, she didn’t realize just how gnarly the weather was going to be during the drive home. Gnarly is an adjective, and when referring to trees, it means “gnarled or covered with gnarls bent twisted” or “having a rugged, weather-beaten appearance.” For example: She couldn’t help but laugh when her friend made fun of her gnarly feet before the pedicure. So although they aren’t always synonyms, the three terms can be interchanged on occasion. This gets tricky because in addition to having various definitions, each word can be used as slang, and their meanings can all overlap. But what if they’re chatting about their housekeeping woes, and a gnarly living room or nasty kitchen? ( Not cool, dude!) Does that make the words gnarly, sick, and nasty synonyms? If you hang out around surfers long enough, chances are you’ll overhear them talking about a gnarly wave or a sick run.
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