A few months ago, we published a wire service story about why the slang word cool is still in wide use. You can read the story by Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press here or here. The story traces the history of cool, including its switch to insider slang in 1940s jazz circles.
World Wide Words and Mavens’ Word of the Day also have entries on cool. The Mavens site discusses why cool is still in use while groovy isn’t.
This article was originally posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a subsidiary of The McClatchy Co.; is posted here to provide continuity; and is copyright © 2011 The News & Observer Publishing Company, which reserves the right to remove this post.