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meaning - Is the word "epic" being used correctly these days?


You know what I mean. The word "epic" has been overused for quite some time now.


I was recently referred to Wiktionary as a trusted source, and I see this example in use:



(colloquial) Extending beyond the usual or ordinary; extraordinary, momentous, great.


The after-prom party was epic.



I can't help but think that this was written by someone who is personally guilty of abusing the word themselves. I see this definition on Dictionary.com:



heroic; majestic; impressively great: the epic events of the war.



Is it fair to say that the word's meaning is being very much stretched in the first example, and in the way you would commonly hear it lately? (That pizza was epic!, I had an epic hangover.)


I would love to tell people as a matter of fact that the word doesn't mean what they think it means due to my personal annoyance with its overuse, but I don't know if I have a leg to stand on.


Has this usage always been technically correct? How about appropriate? If I am mistaken, I will forever hold my peace.



Answer



This usage of epic wouldn’t have been correct fifty years ago, but it is correct now. Meanings shift and change; that’s how language works, and especially quickly in the case of popular slang. Dictionaries aim to describe not prescribe the language, so inevitably they lag behind the latest changes.


So if you tell people “it doesn’t mean what you think it means”, that’s inaccurate — and also inconsistent, unless you’d also criticise someone saying “That pizza was fantastic!” or “I had an awful hangover.” (The pizza was real, not a fantasy! The hangover was probably not filled with awe!)


Why not just tell them that they’re overusing the word epic, and that it’s getting irritating? This is more accurate about what the problem is — overuse of great! or super! would be just as annoying, although there’s no question of their meaning — and more honest about the fact that this is a stylistic judgement, not a question of grammatical (in)correctness.


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