Why do snowboarders say, “shred the gnar” as opposed to “well done” or “that was awesome”?Īll communities have their own slang words and expressions and extreme sports are no different. Originally, the word has Proto-Germanic and Dutch roots and meant the same thing.įrom there, it evolved and was eventually picked up by the surfing and snowboarding communities who used it in reference to “cutting” through snow or waves. To “shred” is to ride waves aggressively and expertly, not unlike shredding the neck of a guitar, which refers to fast soloing with exceptional speed à la Eddie Van Halen.Īs a verb, the word “shred” comes to us from the Old English word “screadian”, which means to “peel” or “cut”, much like how we still use the word when referring to shredding a piece of paper. The Bard wasn’t as far removed from Jeff Spicoli as you thought, and he would have probably loved to see how this word had evolved. While it’s easy to think of him as a stuffy elitist who spoke perfect English, he was actually a creative revolutionary who came from the lower classes and spoke with a strong accent unlike what many people think of as modern “Shakespearean”. Shakespeare was a great proponent of language evolution and actually invented many of the words that we use today. And now it’s used by surfers, skaters, and boarders to describe epic tricks. In that sense, the word “gnar” can be traced back to a Shakespearean description of knotted wood growths borrowed from a Middle English word with German roots. The word “gnarl” is believed to stem from “knar”, a Middle English word that referenced the actual knots in wood. Shakespeare’s reference is to the word “gnarl”, suggesting, in the above passage, that the “oke” or “oak” had lots of knotty growths. Thou rather with thy sharpe and sulpherous bolt Shakespeare used the word “gnarled” back in the early 17th century, as in the following extract from Measure for Measure: Its origins can also be traced back much further than the heyday of surfing. It’s often used when describing dangerous waves and awesome skills, but its use varies. The word “gnarly” was popularized as a slang term by surf culture. Gnar is short for “gnarly”, which, when used as slang, means something challenging or unattractive, as well as something that is very good. It comes from the word “gnarly”, which also become popular during the 1980s thanks to surfing culture and films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The exact origin of this term is unknown, but it seems to have been popularized during the 1980s. In snowboarding, you “shred the gnar” when you expertly ride through difficult or challenging terrain. It’s an impressive move that draws praise from onlookers. Shred the gnar means to excel with a specific challenge.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |