Okay, 'sick' is a good thing now? An etymology(ish) question.

[Joe_Cool]

*Originally posted by gwar *
**I first heard the word “sick” being used as slang on the 1987 skateboarding video put out by Powell and Peralta entitled “The Search for Animal Chin.” A skater did some cool trick or whatever, and a hardcore skateboarder onlooker said, “that’s sick”. We thought it was hilarious, and I have heard it used ever since, though mainly among skaters/surfers/snowboarders/druggies and the like.

It is my observation that the word not so much means “cool”, but carries a connotation more extreme than just that. It is used to describe something that is unbelievable, unprecedented, or just plain mind-blowing.

**

I think you nailed it here (both the connotation and the source). My friend, in addition to being the only mohawked weightlifer I knew, was also a hardcore skater. In fact, now that you mention it, I think he had that tape. I haven’t heard that name in about 10 years.

[TheLoadedDog]

“Sick” is very popular with teenagers here in Sydney, especially Asian and Lebanese kids. A few people in their 20s and 30s use it too.

If something is good, it’s “sick”, but if it’s really good, then it’s “fully sick”.