What do you think of when you hear the word dude? The Big Lebowski? Surfers? Maybe even just one of your friends. Or maybe it’s yourself! But do you ever think about a man in a top hat wearing skinny pants pretending to be an Englishman from 1883? That’s how the term dude was first used.
Other dudes popped up too. Hipsters. Fakers. Lightweights. Cool guys. Surfers. Regular guys. Uptight people. Sloppy people. People. And now it can just be a saying. It’s funny how language changes. Watch Arika Okrent and Sean O’Neill explain the evolution of dude below.