Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides some online excerpts about the history of the word "fly" meaning something good in the United States.
This post also provides some comments about contemporary use in the United States of the word "fly" meaning something good.
The content of this post is presented for linguistics and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-partial-timeline-for-positive.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "A Partial Timeline For Positive Meanings For The Word "Fly" In African American Culture".
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EXCERPTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE WORD "FLY" MEANING SOMETHING GOOD
Excerpt #1
From From http://www.word-detective.com/page/163/?3S9tVfvFI4TamAWNg4DADA&ved=0CB8QFjAC&usg=AFQjCNEBYbKDRQ7Pe3qZ236ksc_V4Fs6Lw&wpmp_switcher=desktop
..."The adjective “fly” first appeared in slang with this sense of “sharp” or “in the know” in the early 19th century (“The rattling cove is fly; the coachman knows what we are about,” 1811); later in the century it also came to mean “dexterous, nimble” (“We’ll knap a fogle with fingers fly,” 1839). The “in the know” usage, which was originally largely confined to the criminal underworld, percolated out into general slang in the mid-19th century with the meaning of “smart, fashionable” and eventually “excellent, cool, attractive.” This sense took root in African-American slang in the mid-20th century, and was very common in rap and hip-hop culture starting in the 1980s or so.
Just where this use of “fly” as an adjective came from is a bit of a mystery. Most authorities regard it as most likely connected in some way to the verb “to fly” (from the Old English “fleogan,” from an Indo-European root meaning “to float or fly”), but no one has ever come up with a plausible explanation of the connection. (The noun “fly” originally meant simply “insect with wings,” and was applied to any insect that could fly, such as the butterfly.)
There are, of course, several theories about the origin of the adjective “fly.” Perhaps the simplest ties the “clever, in the know, not easily fooled” sense to the common fly, always vigilant and almost impossible to catch off-guard. The fact that this slang “fly” originated in the underworld, where scams and ruses were the rule and to let one’s guard down could be fatal, gives this theory some plausibility. Another theory, offered by the eminent slang etymologist Eric Partridge, suggests that this “fly” is actually a form of “fledge,” which we use to mean “mature” (as in “full-fledged”), but originally referred to a young bird that had grown enough feathers to fly. Since “fledge” is rooted in “fly” itself, we’re still in the ballpark with the verb “to fly” with that theory. Another theory suggests that “fly” was originally “fla,” a short form of “flash,” used in the 18th and 19th century as slang meaning “clever, in the know” (from “flash” meaning “intense light,” in this case a metaphor for intelligence)."
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.etymonline.com/word/fly#:~:text=slang%2C%20%22clever%2C%20alert%2C,a%20revival%20or%20a%20reinvention.
"fly (adj.)
-snip-
The words "hip" and "cool" are quite similar in meaning to "clever, alert, and wide awake".
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Excerpt #3
From https://www.flavorwire.com/302915/contemporary-slang-words-that-might-be-older-than-you-think Contemporary Slang Words That Might Be Older Than You Think
By Emily Temple, June 24, 2012
"It’s a known fact that the English language is constantly
evolving, and words can take on new and different meanings from month to month,
not to mention year to year or even century to century. Recently, we stumbled
across this great thread at MetaFilter https://ask.metafilter.com/215556/Yea-verily-wast-he-tricked-oute-withe-many-fineries discussing current-sounding phrases that have been around for much longer than
we think, so we did a little digging of our own to see which of our most
everyday, contemporary slang words are actually rebranded anachronisms from the
good old days.
[…]
Fly — Though this term is already a little passé*, it does go back way further than we ever
thought. One MetaFilter user clocked it in the O. Henry story “The Moment of
Victory,” written before 1910: “”Hello, Willie!’ says Myra. “What are you doing
to yourself in the glass?” “I’m trying to look fly,” says Willie. “Well, you
never could be fly,” says Myra, with her special laugh…”
-snip-
Here’s a definition for the word “passé”
From https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/passe#:~:text=From%20the%20French%20passer%2C%20%22to,out%20of%20touch%20with%20trends.
"From the French passer, "to pass," passé came into English use in the
18th century, and its accented "é" is still used in the 21st century.
Pronounced "pass-AY," the adjective passé is a classier way to call
something outdated, unfashionable, and so out of touch with trends."
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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE CONTEMPORARY USE IN THE USA OF THE WORD "FLY" (meaning something good)
Excerpt #1
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Fly
1. [top definition]
"fly
To be fly is to be cool, and amazing and awesome.
Indigo Wallis and Anna Spaul are extremely FLY"
by ahaaa1412 November 26, 2011
**
2. "fly
cool, in style
He was drivin some fly ass car
by Anonymous June 16, 2002
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/8w35rd/do_people_still_use_fly/
1. Posted byu/atoririn, 2018
"Do people still use 'fly'?
A couple of days ago I started watching The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air (with subtitles because some characters' dialects are really hard to
understand). Since the series is already somewhat old I was wondering how
up-to-date some expressions are. For example, do people still use 'fly' (in
e.g. that party was so fly) and if so, people of what generation would use it?
Would saying it make me seem like an old person trying too hard to be young? :D
**
2.
Native Speaker, 2018
"It’s out of date to the extent that it was used in the new
Jumanji movie as a clue that something was very out of date..."
**
3. Khrysanthos, 2018
"It's very 90's for sure, it's not really something I hear
until I watch 90's media like Fresh Prince (good show btw). If you wanted to
say something similar, 'lit' could be used in the exact same way, and it's
relatively modern."
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Excerpt #3
From https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/58838/what-is-the-meaning-of-i-am-so-fly
"I often hear teenagers saying things like "I am so
fly".
This term is confusing to me.
Does it mean funny? Or dumb? I do'nt know."
-edited Jul 3 '15, ColleenV
asked Jun 8 '15, Trevor Clarke
**
2. "It is slang, and means just about the same thing as 'cool'
or 'awesome'."
– Vlammuh Jun 8 '15
**
3. "This is a slang term that I've heard in the late 80's/early
90's and it means "good looking" or "really good." I
believe it was prevalent throughout that time period among the young in the
U.S. at least, but is not so much anymore.
Anytime I hear this I think late 80's/early 90's American rap/hip-hop music. This could vary widely by region and not sure if this applies outside the U.S."
-answered Jun 8 '15, LawrenceC
**
4. "In US hip hop slang, both "competent / skilled"
and "sexy".
The "Fly Girls" were the dancers on "In
Living Color" in the early 90's, but the term is much older.
Since the word is used with this meaning as part of the title of the 1971 film "Super Fly", it must come from the late 1960's at the latest, and could easily predate that."
-answered Jun 30 '15, Kirt
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Excerpt #4
From https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/134276
"Question about English (US)
What does He is pretty fly mean?"
**
English (US)
" "Fly" means cool in this case. "He's pretty
fly: He's pretty cool."
3.
English (US)
"I hear it said every now and then, but yes, it is old slang.
It is said in some areas more than others. Usually when people say it now, they
are trying to be funny by using slang from a long time ago."
-snip-
"Pretty cool" in that sentence probably refers to the 1998 record by the White American Punk/Pop music group entitled "Pretty Cool (For A White Guy)".
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