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Comment by acqq | Hacker News Reader

I even know where your environment got that belief. Blame MTV, since 2004:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp_My_Ride

A lot of non-natives then miss that the meaning of the word is not about an "upgrade" but about:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procuring_(prostitution)

which was on MTV glorified as the part of the "Afro-American" "pop culture" which is also... not a really nicest approach. But... it was supposed to be a "fashion." And relativised as "the thing of certain culture." Postmodernism and all that. And therefore....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_gustibus_non_est_disputandu...

...and "acceptable" for MTV.

Edit: also, 2008:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/msnbc-reporter-begrudging_n_8...

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It’s slang. English dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive. It is valid and common for English words to take on multiple meanings regardless of their origin, and for slang to be recognized use. Given that everyone here understands what was being said, I find it hard to say the usage was improper English.

Informal, yes. Unprofessional, yes. Offensive, potentially. Incorrect English, no.

> I find it hard to say the usage was improper English.

And who here said it "was improper English" specifically, in these words?

It is dismissive to say that natives "miss the meaning". They do not. Pimp has multiple usages, as do a lot of words. It is very easy in English to create new nouns/verbs or new usages of existing ones and happens all the time.

As usual, the context is crucial for figuring out which usage it is.

> Pimp has multiple usages

...checking the American dictionary (descriptive, not prescriptive):

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pimp

noun: "a criminal who is associated with, usually exerts control over, and lives off the earnings of one or more prostitutes"

"transitive verb: to make use of often dishonorably for one's own gain or benefit"

"intransitive verb: to work as a pimp"

And yes, I know that there's also MTV. And a "pimp-gate" related to Clinton's daughter and a journalist, as per my other comment here.

Dictionaries are not end all authoritative sources. They often do not keep up with slang. As a native English speaker I can say that "pimp" has both that usage and the usage coined from "pimp my ride". I don't have hard numbers on that usage of pimp, but I believe that it's entered the public lexicon at least for my generation. I don't think anyone my age would be confused by that usage.

You are technically correct, and also wrong at the same time by insisting that the way people actually use words in real life is "wrong" because the dictionary says so. If people use "pimp" in that manner, then it is correct.

From the same source:

> We get a lot of hate mail from people who think slang doesn’t belong in the dictionary. Comments on our definition for OMG include “I am a high school English teacher and heard that this was added to the dictionary and hoped that I heard incorrectly.” and “The human race is heading somewhere very sad.” These people are barking up the wrong tree: We follow language and delight in tracking its changes.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/slang-and-the-...

and

> Some “new” words are already in the dictionary. New words like hashtag and selfie get a lot of attention, but many of the new words we add are new meanings of words that are already staples in our language: think of the recent meanings of mouse and cookie that have nothing to do with rodents or baked goods.

>What about words that don’t make it into the dictionary? They’re still real words!

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/how-does-a-wor...

And execute means killing the helpless. Does that mean those who execute plans are either cold blooded killers or it is a slanderous comparison of them to such?

Trying to be offended by taking the worst possible meaning as presumed most relevant is unproductive at best even when both parties are trying to polish the same communications. More likely counterproductive to the goal of seeming better.

I both know what a pimp is and that that show probably made the expression famous. (In Germany there was even "Pimp my Fahrrad") However, I was not aware that this is not generally used in day-to-day language by native speakers.

> In Germany there was even "Pimp my Fahrrad"

It exactly confirms how that expression became popular there. A direct false association with "improving" "the look of the vehicles." (das Fahrrad == a bicycle)

Well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVCh6Xp_VD8

Also, very funny, from the Wikipedia page of the show:

"Viacom, the owner of the Pimp My Ride franchise, has made legal threats against a number of small business owners over the use of the words Pimp My... in business names. Businesses using the names Pimp My Pet and Pimp My Snack have been threatened with legal action for an alleged breach of a trademark owned by Viacom. The website Pimp My Snack is now known as Pimp That Snack."

And more from the "pimp-gate": https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4274500&pa...

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