Wack

/wæk/ adjective

Definition

Something that is bad, inferior, or of poor quality; also slang for uncool, crazy, or messed up.

Etymology

Origin uncertain, possibly from onomatopoeia or shortening of 'whack.' The slang usage became popular in 1980s hip-hop culture to mean 'bad' or 'uncool,' which is the opposite of what 'whack' might suggest.

Kelly Says

The funny thing about 'wack' is that it's an invented word that hip-hop popularized—linguistic scholars studied how this one slang term from a subculture became mainstream vocabulary in the 1980s-90s, showing how music shapes language!

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