Hooking Up
Hooking Up
4-2-09
Standing in a school hallway is a type of language lesson for the patient and ever-attentive teacher. I hear all kinds of new phrases that are curious and interesting. Often I must go directly to my students to understand their vernacular; to decipher the code.
So what does it mean to “go out”? Is that dating someone? Back in my day, going out meant that two people went on dates together usually on the weekend and everyone else knew that they were “an item”. The dates were not formal but there was an actual getting in the car and going somewhere.
I wondered about middle school students (to be honest, half of my life is spent wondering about middle school students).
Today this term has morphed and mutated far from the original definition. Going out is a causal alliance with a person. “We go out” usually means that the two enjoy a flirtation which can be as simple as a comment in the hallway between classes or a text message that confirms mutual interest.
In middle-school speak, going out is not literal. Going out is just a state of mind, a figure of speech and perhaps longing. The couple may never have gotten to a place where they enjoy a movie or a football game together. Merely the slimmest interest shown qualifies for going out together. Sometimes it’s just a shared peanut butter sandwich.
Ramp it up a notch.
How about “hooking up”? What does that mean? Research on the meaning of phrases is an ever-evolving door! I am careful not to misspeak! I don’t want to state that two people are hooking up when I probably meant they are just pen pals (or would that be e-pals if there is still such a thing?).
Students today are hooking up. You may want to ask yourself if you are hooking up or maybe that’s just too scary a thought!
For this research I went to the college level and asked the experts. What does it mean to hook up? Is that a serious committed relationship or a casual one night fling? What is a hook up? Can you hook up and then unhook? Is there an obligation, expectation, duty or loyalty within the hooking up? What does it mean? As usual, they rolled their eyes and suffered my questions patiently.
There is no clear answer! The term on college campuses can mean a loose little fling that is bound by no expectation or future commitment. It can mean a gentle flirtation and attention paid to each other and not necessarily in person but by texting and twittering. Hooking up can mean a distant memory of a limited liaison as in, yeah we hooked up last year, or it can mean that there has been a relationship, probably physical, but it never really developed into friendship or love.
Whatever the meaning, it is wise, dear reader, to use this term carefully and consider the audience. English teachers can tell you that every written piece has a task, audience and purpose and within this context many ideas may be misconstrued. Be aware that your hook up be someone else’s flirtation. And so it goes.
