“Forever” Remains a Long Time

Today, my daughter put on a Taylor Swift CD (“Fearless”) and listened to a song (I think it was “Hey Stephen”), saying, “I haven’t heard this song in forever.”

That got me thinking.

I know there is a usage for forever that means “a really long time,” but I wasn’t sure if it was slang or acceptable usage.

In my dictionary, it says this usage of the word goes back to 1858. Dictionary.com says it’s informal.

Next, I wanted to know if slang and informal were synonymous. The definition of slang: “an informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced, or facetious figures of speech.”

So, use this version of forever at your peril, but remember the true definition: “for a limitless time.”

Until next time! Use the right words!

leebarnathan.com

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