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I write a lot about how words change their meanings over time, sometimes so rapidly that one generation thinks of them as completely the opposite of what the understanding was just a couple decades before. Sometimes it’s a matter of slang that was cool back in the day being now considered incredibly dated and corny… “cool” itself being one of those rare exceptions that has kept its–well, cool–for longer than I’ve been alive, at least, while “groovy” has been relegated mostly to ironic use. It’s also interesting to note that certain trends keep cropping up where synonyms for something being good are… bad? This evolves, but the latest iteration would be referring to something as “sick” when you mean it’s actually awesome.
Speaking of which, awesome and awful… or should I say “awefull” as in “full of awe” as in “awe inspiring” — but now that word which might well have been referring to something good now means it’s terrible. Instead only being partly awe is good. Never go full awe.
But I started down this track yet again as I think about Billy the goat, because back in the day there was slang regarding sports games where people would (rightly or wrongly) pin the glory or blame on a single individual for the outcome. Catch the touchdown pass, you’re the hero — fumble it, you’re the goat. Likely that came from the term “scapegoat” but I’d have to look into it further… the point is, you didn’t want to be the goat. Hell, in Spanish-language slang it’s downright insulting to call someone a “cabron” — which Rosa has done, thankfully where Chuck couldn’t hear.
Except now there’s goat and there’s GOAT, right? This confused the hell out of me at first, especially with people those online who considered caps lock as cruise control for cool. MUHAMMED ALI = GOAT!! goes the forum post and I thought “Whaaat? Muhammed Ali was one of the best boxers ever… also boxing isn’t usually a team sport… what’s with the hate?”
Well, now I know that GOAT in this case is supposed to be G.O.A.T. — an acronym standing for “Greatest of all Time.” We’ll not nitpick about which words should and shouldn’t be included in acronyms. Acronyms are made so people can just rattle them off as short bursts of easily muttered code, like the ETA on that AWOL OIC before this LZ is FUBAR.
So is Billy a goat or a G.O.A.T.? I know what his own opinion is, for sure.
One thought on “Are you the hero or the goat?”
ConcordBob
Interestingly, the scapegoat had it better physically. See Leviticus 16. There were two goats chosen. Lots were cast, and one goat was slain as a sin offering. For the other goat, the high priest laid his hands on the goat and confessed the sins of the nation. The goat bore the sins of the nation, and someone led the goat out into the wilderness, to symbolize removal of the sin. This 2nd goat escaped, and was the scape goat.