(Apologies in advance, but my gut reaction to the thread topic was that old line: “Let’s not, and say we did!”)

Will you have to explain this usage every time? Do you believe others are likely to pick up on it?

Which gets me to wondering: is “secret” or “private” language a subset of slang, or something else? Martha, Grant, what do you think?

To answer dilettante, a “secret” or “private” language can be slang but doesn’t have to be. For example, some kind of pig Latin or dog Latin wouldn’t be slang unless the content of that talk was also slangy: if it was in a lower register, if it was used by a low status group, if it was the kind of content that wouldn’t be heard in the mouths of royalty and senators, etc.

I’ve got 20 bucks that says “I’m digital with that” won’t last, but then I’ve seen too many new words and new meanings fail so I’m betting with inside information.

“Hi-def” must be falling into the same class as “nano”. I guess “space age” is too old-fashioned.