Date: Fri, 10 Nov 1995 13:54:06 EST

From: mai MAINGR01[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UKCC.UKY.EDU

Subject: Re: Gnarly Gnews!



However, it is not surprising that even some native speakers of this

dialect (?) do not know its origin and therefore reanalyze it to have

either a different silent letter in spelling (k) or none at all.



I have followed this discussion with interest, since I have encountered

this word frequently and hardly had a clue as to what it meant except

through its context. Now I too can utter the all too cool expression,



"Gnarly, dude!" :-)



BTW, the people using this expression in Lexington, Ky are pool players,

rock musicians and "young dudes" who "chill". I have heard this from

white kids mostly. I also heard a young black man use the word "corn"

and saw it written with a backwards K on a t-shirt yesterday.

I presume the meaning is cannabis. Can anyone verify this?



Mark Ingram, who became gnarly the old fashioned way

maingr01[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ukcc.uky.edu