Raymond Santos
Lawson
English 100
14 October 2012 I Do It for the Ratchets “Ugh, she so ratchet,” a common phrase when hitting the club or scrolling through any social media site. No, they’re not referring to the mechanical tool or the beloved Transformers character, their inferring to the new slang term that has established itself within a generation’s vocabulary. But how exactly does an everyday term such as ratchet become so twisted to the point where it’s new meaning no longer resembles it’s old one? As it once was mainly known as a mechanical tool used to repair clocks and roller coasters, it now has a entirely different definition. Although words may have an established meaning, as time goes by, that meaning may change, …show more content…

Ratchets also proudly dye their hair countless times, experimenting with different styles and looks. Another one of their psychical characteristics is the amount of makeup they use. Their make-up is usually so caked on, you would think they worked at a bakery. A ratchet’s overall appearance is not attractive. With their overly tight clothing and neon colored hairdo, you’d think that for someone who focuses so much on their looks would look a bit more decent.
Making Connections But how is a mechanical tool linked to this vile beast? Looking at an actual picture of the tool, there is no resemblance to the modern day ratchet. The definition from the Oxford English Dictionary may be the driving force behind the new age definition. Ratchets may have some sort of connection to the definition, ‘a hunting dog’ . With such hair and personality, it is hard for a ratchet to find work, especially in today’s rough economy. To make ends meet to feed the countless number of children their ‘baby-daddys’ left them with or simply to maintain their weave, they need some sort of income. This is where the ‘hunting dog’ definition comes in. The ratchets are essentially gold diggers, constantly looking for a new ‘boo’ and also a new neon colored do. Perhaps this is how this word, no, this culture came to be. As time goes on, so do the meanings of words. Usually, there is some sort of context clue to these words the younger