Historically, brat carried negative connotations, describing children who were unruly or spoiled. However, as societal views on self-expression and nonconformity shifted, the term began to acquire a more positive spin, especially within music and fashion circles. (Quoted)
This post was written by Kel on Aussie Idioms – Today the changing meaning of BRAT and naughty Children and a Brat Pack.
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OZWORD OF THE DAY: “Brat”I keep running into ‘brat’ as the trendiest word of the moment. The hyper-hip online Urban Dictionary seems to define it in negative terms. According to the Urban Dictionary being a ‘brat’ means being ‘submissive.’ That doesn’t sound like a good thing, does it? Here’s what their definition says (and, yes, this is supposed to be a English sentence)— ‘brat’ means ‘A submissive that likes to push their dom’s buttons on purpose hoping that they’ll punish them.’ Clearly that is a definition that itself requires a bit of defining. Apparently a ‘dom’ is a ‘dominant’ partner, and ‘punish’ in that definition means ‘to have sex.’ But it still sounds as though (for Gen Z and other infants) this is a good thing to be, since the word is now ubiquitous. Dictionary.com takes a totally different line from the Urban Dictionary and says that: ‘In modern pop culture, the word brat refers to someone who is confidently rebellious, unapologetically bold, and playfully defiant. This new definition celebrates individuality and a carefree attitude, often with a hint of sass and a love for fun. Being labelled “a brat” or “bratty” in this context is more of a compliment, recognizing a person’s ability to challenge norms and express themselves freely without concern for conventional expectations.’ So, for them a ‘brat’ is not submissive but bold and defiant. Perhaps that’s why we find the latest hip bits of slang so confusing—even the people using them are not settled on what they mean. Of course, there is real word ‘brat’ that has been part of English since around 1513, originally just meaning ‘a child.’ Although the great Dr Johnson in his monumental dictionary said it was a ‘contemptuous’ name for a child. And in more recent memory ‘brat’ has come to mean ‘a child who behaves badly.’ And then the Collins Dictionary adds that a ‘brat pack’ is ‘a group of young people especially actors or writers, who are popular or successful at the moment.’ It seems to people of my generation an odd word to use—how do you get from an annoying, irritating, badly behaved child to mean popular or successful? The cognitive leap there seems enormous. Dictionary.comoffers this explanation: ‘Historically, brat carried negative connotations, describing children who were unruly or spoiled. However, as societal views on self-expression and nonconformity shifted, the term began to acquire a more positive spin, especially within music and fashion circles.’ And according to the Merriam-Webster you don’t have to be a child to be a ‘brat’—just immature. Tonight I will be a panelist on ‘The Sunday Showdown’ on Sky News (7pm AEDT)contact Kel at ozwords.com.auunsubscribe
