Slang Files · 🙄 Dismissals & burns

G33Z3R Slang Files · 19921999

When did "whatever" become a dismissal?

Whatever

Means
I don't care, and I'm done talking about it
Came from
Ordinary English, weaponized by Valley kids and then by Clueless
Peak
1995–1998; often with the W hand sign
Still around?
Yes, and still ends arguments

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The file

A perfectly ordinary word that the '90s turned into the last word. Said flat, with a shrug, sometimes with the thumb-and-forefinger W, it closed any conversation a teenager didn't want to have.

Parents hated it more than any swear, which is exactly why it worked.

Sources: Wiktionary — Whatever

Who did you say "Whatever" to? Tell us where and when.

The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of Whatever.

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