As a typical lawyer, each day seemingly mirrors the one before. Either I’m poring through stacks of boilerplate to think of crafty ways to argue my assigned side of a case or I’m responding to email. On most days, there is dull silence broken only by the occasional hum of a fax being received and secretaries receiving calls on their cell phones. But, today, as I attempted to work (and bill my clients for it), I heard a colleague utter the word “gnarly.” As one formerly from the East Coast and currently residing in Caribbean, it’s been many years since I’ve heard someone use “gnarly” naturally in a sentence. In fact, upon further reflection, I feel rather confident that I have never personally witnessed someone say “gnarly” without either (a) making fun of the word, or (b) quoting someone who said it. As far as I can clearly recall, the last time “gnarly” was spoken in a seemingly normal context was during episodes of “Saved by the Bell” or, perhaps, in the movie “Point Break.” Those contexts most certainly involved surfing and depicting the lifestyle of Southern California.

Yet, the most disturbing aspect of hearing my colleague say gnarly is not that it was spoken. Instead, I was bothered more by the fact that she is originally from the New England region, nearing 40 years old, and felt comfortable in saying gnarly as if it were commonplace. After hearing “gnarly” that morning, I later stopped by another colleague’s office. He is from California and claims to go surfing in the morning at Hull Bay (which is here in St. Thomas, USVI) before coming into the office. While chatting, he suddenly throws a “gnarly” into our conversation. Although his voice and stature as a surfer gave some credence to his use of the word, I still had trouble dealing with the influx of 80s surfing lingo into our austere office setting. So, I questioned him. I asked how he would like hearing some of the older partners start to talk about their “gnarly” weekend or whether he thought it would be appropriate for Tennesseans to start to invoke “gnarly” as a way of expressing their approval. His position was that “gnarly” was appropriate only for people who grew up in Southern California and surfed. My counter-position is that the word should be retired and, even to the extent that he had the right qualifications to say “gnarly,” he was not presently in California.

In true legal form, I think my argument against the proliferation of “gnarly” can be best supported by examples. Envision my home state of Tennessee -- where there are no oceans, no viable subculture movements comparable to surfing, and oftentimes ranging forms of the Southern accent. People say “y’all,” “fixin,” and “ain’t.” It’s natural and, in most cases, simply incorporated into conversation without pause. This type of regional slang is usually deemed appropriate and goes unquestioned. However, if the random gun-toting, thick-accented Vol fan were to suddenly shout out “gnarly” while watching football, do you have any doubt that all people within earshot would promptly shudder in disgust? Such a reaction is likely ubiquitous for all non-surfer, non-Californians. Indeed, imagine the potentially devastating reactions of a nationwide adoption of “gnarly.” Scores of New Yorkers, Chicagoans, Texans, and Puerto Ricans who suddenly embraced this new slang as their own would face incomprehensible ridicule and humiliation. Indeed, each person who repeatedly dropped a “g”-bomb into their conversation would likely be forced into exile.

Surprisingly, “gnarly” is actually a defined term in Webster’s dictionary¹. One would hope that the fact that “gnarly” has been defined, and is now more legitimatized, has led to the decline of surfing lingo references in movies and television. But, based on my recent observations, the formalization of the word may actually lead to elite portions of society adopting the new word. My hypothesis is bolstered by the fact that “gnarly” is used in 11 reported court decisions in numerous jurisdictions. Indeed, it is a part of our American jurisprudence and will live forever as precedent. For example, in a 2005 opinion, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois, pointed to the “gnarly minutiae of hypothetical tax returns.”² Similarly, in a 2004 North Carolina opinion, the court stated in passing: “the facts of the instant case appear to raise gnarly questions concerning Young's status as a ‘seaman.’”³ In fact, when scanning the list of cases, the scariest part is the states in which the courts are located: Minnesota, Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Illinois, and North Carolina. Strikingly, California is absent from the list.

Therefore, based on my research, it seems clear that we face an erosion of geographic boundaries that have shielded us from the worst regional slang. Soon, if the trend continues, it may even be okay for everyone to embrace “gnarly” slang formerly offlimits to “dem.”

[1] gnarly: used as a generalized term of approval or disparagement

[2] In re Innis, 331 B.R. 784, 788 (Bkrtcy.C.D.Ill.,2005)

[3] Young v. Hair 2004 WL 3310534, *5 (E.D.N.C.,2004)