Date:    Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:42:43 -0500
<br>From:    Gerald Cohen  gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UMR.EDU 
<br>Subject: Re: "Cool beans!"
<br>
<br> X-From_: felle001[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]maroon.tc.umn.edu  Sun Mar 29 21:54:22 1998
<br> Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 21:54:18 -0600 (CST)
<br> From: Anna M Fellegy  felle001[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]maroon.tc.umn.edu 
<br> To: Gerald Cohen  gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu 
<br> Subject: Re: "Cool beans!"
<br> MIME-Version: 1.0
<br> 
<br> I have heard "cool beans" since the late 70s in Minnesota but never in
<br> response to the question "how are you." Here it means "great" or "that's
<br> cool." For instance:
<br> 
<br> Statement: The Gophers won the NIT.
<br> Response: Cool beans!
<br> 
<br> No clue as to the origin, however.
<br> 
<br> Anna Fellegy
<br> Dept. of English
<br> University of Minnesota
<br> 
<br> On Sun, 29 Mar 1998, Gerald Cohen wrote:
<br> 
<br>      I was recently asked about a teenage slang expression that I had never
<br>   previously heard: "Cool beans!" Several of my students are familiar with it
<br>   and agree it's been around for at least 8 years.  They regard it as a
<br>   synonym of "Cool!"
<br>  
<br>      I don't find this expression in RHHDAS, but it appears in Tom Dalzell's
<br>   _Flappers 2 Rappers_, (subtitle): _American Youth Slang_, p.178:  "The
<br>   1970s and 1980s... COOL BEANS!--I'm doing great! [Then in italics] This
<br>   expression was always used as a response to the question, "How are you?"
<br>   regardless of the form in which the question was asked."
<br>  
<br>       Does anyone have any idea about the origin of this expression? In
<br>   particular, why "beans"?
<br>  
<br>   --Gerald Cohen
<br>  
<br>  
<br>  
<br>  
<br>  
<br>   gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu
<br>  
<br> 
<br>   My thanks to Ms. Fellegy for this response.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu
<br>