Students in J.E.B. Stuart High School's journalism course discuss the use of and issues surrounding "Sept. 11 slang."

Their bedrooms are "ground zero." Translation? A total mess.
A mean teacher? He's "such a terrorist."
A student is disciplined? "It was total jihad."
Petty concerns? "That's so Sept. 10." And out-of-style clothes? "Is that a burqa?"

It's just six months since Sept. 11, but that's enough time for the vocabulary of one of the country's most frightening days to become slang for teenagers of all backgrounds, comic relief in school hallways and hangouts.

It's like, 'Your Mama, Osama,' as an insult. If you're weird, people might call you 'Taliban' or ask if you have anthrax".

Language has always been as malleable and erratic as the day's headlines, and young people have always been some of the most innovative and playful in linking world events to their daily vernacular.

Teenagers breeze through such expressions as "He's as hard to find as bin Laden," or "emo" to describe people who are very emotional about Sept. 11. Girls might say a boy is "firefighter cute" instead of the more common "hottie."

"We're able to make jokes and aren't as overly sensitive as before," said Jonathan Raviv, a senior school student. "You don't want to offend anyone. But sometimes it's a little insensitive, and that's the nature of the joke."

However, teachers worry that such slang could cross the line between funny and offensive. "When you have adolescent bravado and nothing can hurt you, underneath that is really a tremendous fear that everything can hurt you," said Alan Lipman, executive director of the Center at Georgetown for the Study of Violence. "They are trying to joke around, which takes the air out of it."

Slang has always bubbled to the surface during crisis points. Some fades quickly, but some becomes a part of the national lexicon. And young people are comfortable being sassy sooner than adults are--think "going postal" or "nuke 'em."

(Agencies)