Dude: Difference between revisions

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Dude''}}

{{wiktionary|dude}}

{{other uses}}

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{{Short description|American slang for an individual}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2012}}

'''''Dude''''' is [[Regional vocabularies of American English|American slang]] for an individual, typically [[male]].<ref name=webster/> From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely [[fashionable]] manner (a [[dandy]]) or a conspicuous citified person who was visiting a rural ___location, a "city slicker". In the 1960s, dude evolved to mean any male person, a meaning that slipped into mainstream American slang in the 1970s. Current slang retains at least some use of all three of these common meanings.<ref name="unisex1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/slang.htm |title=Slang |author1=Winona Bullard |author2=Shirley Johnson |author3=Jerkeshea Morris |author4=Kelly Fox |author5=Cassie Howell |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204062100/http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/slang.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref>

'''"Dude''' is a [[slang]] term usually referring to young men. Contrary, a "dude" is a slang word for a camel's penis. Scott F. Kiesling, a linguist from the [[University of Pittsburgh]], states in a [[2003]] scholarly paper published in ''[[American Speech]]'' that "the term is used mainly in situations in which a speaker takes a stance of solidarity or camaraderie, but crucially in a nonchalant, not-too-enthusiastic manner . The reason young men use this term is precisely that dude indexes this stance of cool solidarity and independance. Such a stance is especially valuable for young men as they navigate cultural discourses of young masculinity, which simultaneously demand masculine solidarity, strict heterosexuality, and non-conformity."

==History==

In the 1960s and 1970s, the term "dude" was a popular part of black slang (not to be confused with [[Ebonics]]) that was used by both males and females in referring to a male or males. The term was used in some black "ghetto" or "street" novels of that era. "Dude" was frequently used by black characters in 1970s TV shows, which included "Good Times" and "Sanford and Son." In many 1970s black films, the term was often used; for example, in the film "Blacula," the title character was referred to as "the big dude."

[[File:Berry-wall-king-dudes.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Evander Berry Wall]], a New York socialite, was dubbed "King of the Dudes". He is pictured (1888) in the ''[[New York Journal-American|New York American]]'' newspaper at the time of the "battle of the Dudes".<ref name="Bryk">{{cite news|url=http://www.nysun.com/on-the-town/king-of-the-dudes/15834/|title=King of the Dudes|last=Bryk|first=William|date=June 22, 2005|work=[[The New York Sun]]|access-date=2008-11-11|archive-date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017121237/http://www.nysun.com/on-the-town/king-of-the-dudes/15834/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Jeffers, Harry Paul (2005). ''Diamond Jim Brady: Prince of the Gilded Age'', p.45. John Wiley and Sons. {{ISBN|0-471-39102-6}}</ref>]]

The etymology of the term "dude" is obscure.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dude | title=Definition | publisher=Merriam-Webster | accessdate=5 January 2025}}</ref> "Dude" may have derived from the 18th-century word "doodle", as in "Yankee Doodle Dandy".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2013/11/05/dude_etymology_of_the_word_is_traced_to_doodle_as_in_yankee_doodle_dandy.html|title=Mystery Solved: The Etymology of Dude|last=Okrent|first=Arika|date=2013-11-05|work=Slate|access-date=2017-10-24|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|archive-date=October 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015060642/http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2013/11/05/dude_etymology_of_the_word_is_traced_to_doodle_as_in_yankee_doodle_dandy.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the popular press of the 1880s and 1890s, "dude" was a new word for "[[dandy]]"—an "extremely well-dressed male", a man who assigned particular importance to his appearance. The [[café society]] and [[Bright young things|Bright Young Things]] of the late 1800s and early 1900s were populated with dudes. Young men of leisure vied to display their wardrobes. The best known of this type is probably [[Evander Berry Wall]], who was dubbed "King of the Dudes" in 1880s New York and maintained a reputation for [[wikt:sartorial|sartorial]] splendor all his life. This meaning of the word, though rarely consciously known today, remains occasionally in some American slang, as in the phrase "all duded up" for getting dressed in fancy clothes.<ref>{{citation |contribution=duded up |title=McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs |year=2002 |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. |url=http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/duded+up |access-date=10 October 2012 |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204073038/http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/duded+up |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Origins==

There is no definitive origin of the word ''dude''. There is recent scholarship that explains the origin of the word as Irish. The Compact [[Oxford Dictionary]] suggests it comes from a German [[dialect]] word meaning 'fool'. The ''Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang'' cites an 1877 reference in an unpublished private letter of the painter and sculptor known for Western themes, [[Frederick Remington]]: "Don't send me any more women or any more dudes," he told a correspondent who was sending him sketches. "Dude" first appeared in print in 1878. The word made the rounds of [[New York City]] slang of ''ca'' [[1883]], referring to a fastidiously sharp dresser, affecting sophistication. This is what the late [[18th century]] [[United Kingdom|British]] would have referred to as a "[[dandy]]", which brings us to the compelling theory that "dude" was actually derived from the "Doodle" of the song "[[Yankee Doodle]]".

[[File:1883 - origin of dude - Chicago Tribune - 25 Feb 1883.jpg|thumb|upright|Among the first published descriptions defining "dude"; ''Chicago Tribune'', 25 February 1883]]The word was used to refer to American Easterners, specifically referring to a man with "store-bought clothes".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xah2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT103|title=Eagle County Characters: Historic Tales of a Colorado Mountain Valley|first=Kathy|last=Heicher|date=June 4, 2013|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781614239505|via=Google Books|access-date=September 23, 2020|archive-date=March 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314054120/https://books.google.com/books?id=Xah2CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT103#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The word was used by cowboys to unfavorably refer to the city dwellers.<ref>{{cite web|title=h2g2 - The Word 'Dude' - Edited Entry|url=http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A193853|website=h2g2.com|access-date=2015-07-26|first=Not Panicking|last=Ltd|date=October 29, 1999|archive-date=April 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427215001/http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A193853|url-status=live}}</ref>

:Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony.

:Stuck a feather in his cap, and called it "macaroni"

A variation of this was a "well-dressed man who is unfamiliar with life outside a large city". In ''The Home and Farm Manual'' (1883), author Jonathan Periam used the term "dude" several times to denote an ill-bred and ignorant but ostentatious man from the city.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

:Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle Dandy

:Mind the music and the step, and with the girls be handy

The implication of an individual who is unfamiliar with the demands of life outside of urban settings gave rise to the definition of dude as a "city slicker", or "an Easterner in the [American] West".<ref name=webster>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dude |title=''Dude'', Def. 2 – The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |access-date=8 May 2007 |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308181328/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dude |url-status=live }}</ref> Thus "dude" was used to describe the wealthy men of the [[manifest destiny|expansion of the United States]] during the 19th century by ranch-and-homestead-bound settlers of the [[American frontier|American Old West]]. This use is reflected in the ''dude ranch'', a [[guest ranch]] catering to urbanites seeking more rural experiences. Dude ranches began to appear in the American West in the early 20th century, for wealthy Easterners who came to experience the "[[cowboy]] life". The implicit contrast is with those persons accustomed to a given frontier, agricultural, mining, or other rural setting. This usage of "dude" was still in use in the 1950s in America, as a word for a tourist—of either sex—who attempts to dress like the local culture but fails.<ref name=oldunisex>{{cite journal|jstor=453362|title=The meanings and etymologies of dude|journal=American Speech|author=Robert Knoll|year=1952|volume=27|issue=1|pages=20–22|doi=10.2307/453362}}</ref> An inverse of these uses of "dude" would be the term "[[redneck]]," a contemporary American colloquialism referring to poor farmers and uneducated persons, which itself became pejorative, and is also still in use.<ref>Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ''Dictionary of American Slang'' (1975) p. 424.</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/redneck "Redneck"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521000851/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/redneck? |date=May 21, 2013 }}. ''Dictionary.com''.</ref><ref>Barbara Ann Kipfer and Robert L. Chapman, ''American Slang'' (2008), p. 404.</ref>

The song was actually written by the [[United Kingdom|British]] as an insult to the [[colonist]]s during the [[French and Indian war]]&mdash;the British soldiers have been decked out in their royal uniforms, and the colonists, or yankees, in rags and coonskin caps. So "[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]" was a mocking take on colonial lack of sophistication. A "[[macaroni (fashion)|macaroni]]" was a British slang term for [[France|French]] or [[Italy|Italian]] attire, thus a man who had travelled to Paris or Rome, and adopted their style, affecting a high level of sophistication, was the definitive [[dandy]]. Yankee Doodle is so unsophisticated that when he sticks the feather in his cap and calls it "[[macaroni (fashion)|macaroni]]", he believes he is being fashionable. The [[United Kingdom|British]] popularized the song during the [[Revolutionary War]], but the colonists in their victory eventually embraced the song as their own, showing pride in their lack of affected sophistication (See Dr. Audra Himes [http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/yankee.html analysis at YourDictionary]).

As the word gained popularity and reached the coasts of the U.S. and traveled between borders, variations of the slang began to pop up such as the female versions of ''dudette'' and ''dudines''; however, they were short lived due to dude also gaining a neutral gender connotation and some linguists see the female versions as more artificial slang. The slang eventually had gradual decline in usage until the early to mid 20th century when other subcultures of the U.S. began using it more frequently while again deriving it from the type of dress and eventually using it as a descriptor for common male and sometimes female companions. Eventually, lower class schools with a greater mix of subcultures allowed the word to spread to almost all cultures and eventually up the class ladders to become common use in the U.S. By the late 20th to early 21st century, dude had gained the ability to be used in the form of expression, whether that be disappointment, excitement, or loving and it also widened to be able to refer to any general person no matter race, sex, or [[culture]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hill|first=Richard A.|date=1994|title=You've Come a Long Way, Dude: A History|jstor=455525|journal=American Speech|volume=69|issue=3|pages=321–327|doi=10.2307/455525}}</ref>

The vogue word of [[1883]], was quickly applied to dressed-up city slickers, especially Easterners vacationing in the West, who affected elaborate '[[Wild West]]' get-ups as paying visitors at a "[[dude ranch]]." The ''dude'' in "dude ranch" was a figure of mockery; an urban Easterner affecting the look and lifestyle of the Western [[cowboy]], but only on a temporary basis (i.e.: during his [[vacation]]). This ''dude'' is a tourist, lacking authenticity, and not deserving of respect. How this term of mockery eventually came into use by 'surfer dudes' is unclear. Did the surfers adopt this term of mockery, just as the colonial dandies had, turning it into a sincere term of respect for each other? Or was it transformed by actual cowboys, and then later adopted by the surfers?

The term was also used as a "job description", such as "bush hook dude" as a position on a railroad in the 1880s. For an example, see the [[Stampede Pass#Stampede Tunnel|Stampede Tunnel]].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Interestingly, as ''dude'' has once again entered the [[pop culture|pop]] lexicon over the last three decades it has taken the form of mockery, irony, and finally, nearly complete acceptance. In its current usage, ''dude'' has crossed the gender barrier (and is now used as a term of affection among certain couples who have adopted it as an acknowledgement of equality), and indeed it is easier to describe whom the term does not apply to, than who it does.

In the early 1960s, dude became prominent in [[Surf culture|surfer culture]] as a synonym of ''guy'' or ''fella''. The female equivalent was "dudette" or "dudess", but these have both fallen into disuse and "dude" is now also used as a [[unisex]] term. This more general meaning of "dude" started creeping into the mainstream in the mid-1970s. "Dude", particularly in surfer and "[[Bro (subculture)|bro]]" culture,{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} is{{when|date=December 2015}} generally used informally to address someone ("Dude, I'm glad you finally called") or refer to another person ("I've seen that dude around here before").<ref>{{cite web|title=Examples of Slang |first=Cassie |last=Howell |url=http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/slang.htm |access-date=10 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204062100/http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/slang.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref>

Also, most recently the phrase "The Dude" has appeared, in reference to really cool people, others call them "The Dude" as in "Man, you're The Dude".

One of the first known references to the word in American film was in the 1969 movie ''[[Easy Rider]]'' where Wyatt (portrayed by [[Peter Fonda]]) explains to his cellmate lawyer (portrayed by [[Jack Nicholson]]) the definition of "dude": "Dude means nice guy; Dude means regular sort of person." [[Mark Farner]] of [[Grand Funk Railroad]] claims that drummer [[Don Brewer]] popularized the word dude with the song "[[We're an American Band (song)|We're an American Band]]" which was released in 1973.<ref>{{YouTube|id=asgfNYp2kqY|title=Guitarist gave Drummer SOLE CREDIT On 70s Hit He Helped CREATE-Cost Him Millions}}</ref> The usage of the word to mean a "[[Cool (aesthetic)|cool]] person" was further popularized in American films of the 1980s and 1990s such as ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'', ''[[Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'', ''[[Wayne's World (film)|Wayne's World]]'', and ''[[Clerks (1994 film)|Clerks]]''.<ref name="good">{{cite news|last1=Peters|first1=Mark|title=The History of the "Dude"|url=https://www.good.is/articles/the-history-of-the-dude|access-date=27 January 2017|publisher=GOOD Worldwide, Inc.|date=25 April 2010|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202063257/https://www.good.is/articles/the-history-of-the-dude|url-status=live}}</ref>

[http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/dude?view=uk The Oxford Dictionary's Definition]

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The 1998 film ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'' featured [[Jeff Bridges]] as "The Dude", described as a "lazy deadbeat". The character was largely inspired by activist and producer [[Jeff Dowd]] who has been called "Dude" since childhood.<ref name="npr">{{cite news|last1=Raz|first1=Guy|title=The Dude: A Little Lebowski, Alive in All of Us|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90725993|access-date=27 January 2017|work=All Things Considered|publisher=National Public Radio|date=25 May 2008|archive-date=September 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905120345/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90725993|url-status=live}}</ref> The film's central character inspired the creation of [[Dudeism]], a [[new religious movement|neoreligion]].<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|last1=Ehrlich|first1=Richard|title=The man who founded a religion based on 'The Big Lebowski'|url=http://travel.cnn.com/bangkok/life/doctrine-chiang-mais-church-latter-day-dude-explained-206793/|access-date=27 January 2017|work=CNN Travel|publisher=CNN|date=20 March 2013|archive-date=March 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324030503/http://travel.cnn.com/bangkok/life/doctrine-chiang-mais-church-latter-day-dude-explained-206793/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Crossing the Gender Barrier==

Though ''dude'' had been applied to women as early as the mid-70's, its use came to a tipping point somewhere in the mid-80's. Attempts to establish ''dudette'' as the feminine form failed (the original term for a fine-looking woman among Hawaiian surfers, ''[[wahine]]'', never established itself either) and it is now a fact that ''dude'', at least in the prescriptive sense, can refer to both men and women. Perhaps the first mainstream display of this usage appeared in the movie ''[[Less Than Zero]]'', in which there is a scene where a young woman defiantly tells her mother, "No way, dude!". Indeed, even American Heritage Dictionary recognizes this in its [http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/D0414600.html dude definition 3.b.], that "dudes" are "Persons of either sex". According to Jesse Sheidlower, the North American editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, it is a topic (of walking distinctions) of interest amongst linguists and lexicographers whether ''dude'' in the descriptive ("that dude"), rather than the prescriptive ("hey dude") sense can be applied to both men and women (See [http://www.vagablogging.net/archives/001542.shtml The Sexual Transmigration of Dude]). The latter is generally a non-specific exclamation which can be directed at, but not precisely applied to any certain person. The former is rarely applied to a woman; in fact doing so is sometimes a derogatory expression of a woman's over-masculinity ("she's quite a dude").

In 2008, [[Bud Light]] aired an [[advertising campaign]] in which the dialogue consists entirely of different inflections of "Dude!" and does not mention the product by name. It was a followup to their near-identical and more widely noted "[[Whassup?]]" campaign.<ref>{{cite web |last=Swansburg |first=John |title=Dude! How great are those new Bud Light ads? |work=Slate |date=28 January 2008 |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2182846/pagenum/all/#page_start |access-date=10 March 2008 |archive-date=March 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313182320/http://www.slate.com/id/2182846/pagenum/all/#page_start |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="good" />

==A riff on "dude"==

Depending on one's tone and [[body language]], ''dude'' can mean a wide array of things:

*''Hey! Look over here!'' or ''Wow!'' (with great emphasis or excitement; "DUDE")

*''Shame on you!'' (Elongated and soft, often while shaking head; "Duuuuude")

*''Are you ok?'' or ''Are you there?'' (Short, interrogative "Dude?")

*''That is very cool!'' (Long, exclamatory, with particular emphasis on the long O sound; "Doood" [printed here phonetically])

*''Oh my God.'' (Slightly elongated, with moderate emphasis)

*''Woah... you are really pretty'' (while looking at a girl)

*Cool Person (Saying "The Dude")

*''Dude, wassup?'' (greeting)

On July 23, 2019, [[Boris Johnson]] used the word "dude" as an [[acronym]] for his [[2019 Conservative Party leadership election|Conservative Party leadership campaign]] platform. In his leadership speech he explained it: Deliver Brexit – Unite the country – Defeat [[Jeremy Corbyn]] – Energize the country.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-49084446/boris-johnson-dude-we-are-going-to-energise-the-country |title=Dude! We are going to energise the country |work=BBC News |access-date=2019-12-12 |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723230039/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-49084446/boris-johnson-dude-we-are-going-to-energise-the-country |url-status=live }}</ref>

This use of the term with body language was probably best demonstrated in the [[1998]] [[film|movie]] ''[[BASEketball]]'' where the two lead characters have an entire argument consisting entirely of the word "dude" with various inflections.

==References==

Coop: Dude, I'm not gonna cave in! End of story, dude!

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==

Remer: Duuude?? (inquisitive)

{{Wiktionary}}

* [http://www.pitt.edu/~kiesling/dude/dude.html Dude] – By [[Scott Kiesling|Kiesling, Scott F.]], Published in ''American Speech'', Vol. 79, No. 3, Fall 2004, pp.&nbsp;281–305

* [http://observer.com/2003/07/dude-wheres-my-dude-dudelicious-dissection-from-sontag-to-spicoli/ Dude, Where's My Dude?] – Dudelicious Dissection, From Sontag to Spicoli, ''[[The New York Observer]]''

* [http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010621 Words@random:] "dude"

* [http://dudespaper.com/dude-university/material-for-the-study-of-dude-part-1 Material for the Study of Dude] – The etymological origin of the word "dude" by Barry Popik, David Shulman, and Gerald Cohen. Originally published in ''Comments on Etymology'', October 1993, Vol. 23, No. 1

* {{cite journal|title=You've Come a Long Way, Dude: A History|last=Hill|first=Richard A.|journal=[[American Speech]]|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|volume=69|issue=3|date=Autumn 1994|pages=321–327|doi=10.2307/455525|jstor=455525}}

* {{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/dude-transcends/309528/|title=A Brief History of ''Dude''|last=Gould|first=J. J.|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 2013|access-date=May 21, 2017}}

[[Category:19th-century fashion]]

Coop: Dude! (firm)

[[Category:20th-century fashion]]

[[Category:Slang terms for men]]

Remer: Dude!! (indignant)

[[Category:Stereotypes of urban people]]

[[Category:American slang]]

Coop: Dude. (down-to-earth)

Remer: Dude! (argumentative)

Coop: DUDE! (even more argumentative)

Remer: Duude!! (firmly and contentiously)

[Coop opens his mouth but says nothing. Remer continues firmly]

Remer: Dude. (in a more peaceful tone, seeking an end to hostilities)

Coop: [speechless, mouths around for something to say]

I guess you got a point there. All right all right, look.

Maybe I was wrong. From now on... we're full partners.

Remer: Really?

==''Dude'' in pop culture==

The term ''dude'' became prominent in [[surfer]] culture in the early [[1960s|'60s]], but it wasn't until the mid-[[1970s|'70s]] that it started creeping into the mainstream. The following is an attempt to list the major [[pop culture]] events that have contributed to the spread of this remarkable word, in chronological order.

*[[1898]] - ''[[Some Dudes Can Fight]]'', an early silent film in which a [[Bowery]] young man starts a fight with another gentleman[http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/AbbrView.aspx?s=1&Movie=32239][http://imdb.com/title/tt0228882/]

*[[1933]] - ''[[The Dude Bandit]]'', a western in which Tod 'Ace' Carter [[Hoot Gibson]] defeats the evil moneylender Al Burton [[Hooper Atchley]].

*[[1959]] - ''[[Rio Bravo]]'', a western in which a sheriff [[John Wayne]] and deputies, including a drunk (named Dude) [[Dean Martin]], defeat the bad guys.

*[[1962]] - ''[[The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance]]'', western in which [[Lee Marvin]] uses the term repeatedly, especially toward [[Jimmy Stewart]].

*[[1966]] - ''[[The Endless Summer]]'', a documentary featuring the bohemian lifestyle of the surfer, including a soundtrack featuring the [[The Sandals]].

*[[1969]] - ''[[Easy Rider]]'', [[Peter Fonda]]'s character defines 'dude' as "nice guy" and "regular sort of person".

*[[1972]] - "All the Young Dudes", a hit single performed by [[Mott the Hoople]], written by [[David Bowie]].

*[[1972]] - In British rock band [[T. Rex (band)|T-Rex]]'s "Rabbit Fighter" ("I saw a dude unscrewed and badly burned.")

*[[1973]] - ''Dude'', a musical play by [[Galt MacDermot]].

*[[1978]] - ''[[Big Wednesday]]'', a film drama depicting the surfer life in the '60s and '70s.

*[[1982]] - ''[[Fast Times at Ridgemont High]]'', a wildly successful teen comedy/drama featuring [[Sean Penn]] as Jeff Spicoli, the quintessential surfer dude. A sarcastic, but warm treatment, this film is largely responsible for the first wave of the mainstreaming of 'dude'.

*[[1980s]] - Dude enters the mainstream via multiple surfer dude spoofs in film. It spreads rapidly with skateboard culture which is a direct descendant of surf culture, but is not restricted by geography. Sometime mid-decade ''dude'' crosses the gender barrier. Dude also appears frequently in the popular [[animated television series]] [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]].

*[[1985]] - ''[[Less Than Zero]]'' (written by [[Brett Easton Ellis]]) is first to use the overused phrase, "No way, dude!", and the first mainstream display of ''dude'' having crossed the gender barrier. In a noteworthy scene a young woman tells her mother, "No way, dude."

* [[1987]] - "[[Dude (Looks Like a Lady)]]" by [[Aerosmith]] tops the charts. The [[Punk subculture|punk]] [[Western (genre)|western]] film ''[[Dudes (movie)|Dudes]] is released.

*[[1989]] - On February 17, 1989 ''[[Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'', introduced [[Keanu Reeves]] and [[Alex Winter]] as Ted Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esq., two righteous band dudes, bringing ''dude'' to an even wider audience. Ted uses the word "dude" 10 times in the first 15 minutes, and doesn't ever let up. The next day on February 18 the first segment of the "[[Wayne's World]]" skit aired on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.

*[[1989]] - "Hey, Dude" airs on Nickelodeon and runs for 3 years. The cast of this teenage sitcom set on a dude ranch included Christine Taylor.

*[[1990]] - "Don't Call Me Dude", a song by the thrash metal band [[Scatterbrain]] is released. <!-- Sample lyric: DON'T CALL ME DUDE! (guitar riff) DON'T CALL ME DUDE! (guitar riff) HEY DUDE, DON'T CALL ME DUDE! -->

*[[1991]] - [[Bryan Adams]] and his band are credited as the "Dudes of Leisure" on [[Waking up the Neighbours]] and all subsequent albums.

*[[1993]] - [[Adam Sandler]]'s comedy album "They're All Gonna Laugh at You" features the track "Buddy", where several characters have a conversation comprised almost entirely of the words, "Buddy", "Homie", and "Dude."

*[[1997]] - ''[[Good Burger]]'' features a [[Less Than Jake]] song entitled, "We're All Dudes." The chorus declares, "I'm a dude, he's a dude, she's a dude, we're all dudes, hey!" The animated series [[South Park]] also debuted on [[Comedy Central]] in August of that year featuring grade school kids who incorporate a mixture of foul language and the word "Dude" in their everyday conversation. Also, the [[Backyard Sports series]], which debuted this year, features one character (Achmed Khan) who says dude often.

*[[1998]] - ''[[BASEketball]]'', featuring [[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]], as two young men who at one point in the film have an argument where every word is "dude" and the inflection gives meaning.

*[[1998]] - ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'', featuring [[Jeff Bridges]] as "The Dude (or His Dudeness, or Duder, or, you know, El Duderino, if the speaker is not into the whole brevity thing)," an aging hippie/beach bum turns "Dude" into a way of life and a philosophy.

*[[2000]] - ''[[Dude, Where's My Car?]]'', features [[Ashton Kutcher]] and [[Seann William Scott]], as two young men or "dudes" who lose their car.

*[[2001]] - American [[sociologist]] [[Laura Schuft]] is nicknamed ''the DuDe''.

*[[2002]] - In the popular [[teen drama]], ''[[Degrassi: The Next Generation]]'', the character Gavin "Spinner" Mason uses the term constantly which is often pointed out by his peers in many episodes.

*[[2003]] - ''[[Dude, Where's My Country?]]'' by [[Michael Moore]], was published. The title was a takeoff of the above movie ''[[Dude, Where's My Car?]]''.

*[[2004]] - ''[[Lost (TV series)|Lost]]'', a television series where one of the main characters, [[Hugo "Hurley" Reyes]] frequently uses the word "dude" in conversation with everyone.

*[[2004]] - ''[[Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle]]''. The 2 main characters frequently use this word throughout the movie.

*[[2005]] - ''[[Supernatural (TV series)]]'', a television series, where Dean Winchester, one of the two main characters, consistently uses the word "dude" in everyday conversation.

*[[2005]] - ''[[The Island (2005 film)|The Island]]''. The two male friends of Lincoln say they heard the word dude not knowing what it means and repeating many times.

==See also==

*[[:wikt:bro|bro]]

*[[:wikt:man|man]]

*[[:wikt:guy|guy]]

*[[Homie]]

*[[:wikt:buddy|buddy]]

*[[:wikt:dawg|dawg]]

*[[wikt:chief|chief]]

*[[wikt:boss|boss]]

*[[:wikt:mate|mate]]

==External links==

* [http://www.pitt.edu/~kiesling/dude/dude.html Dude] - A paper submitted to American Speech.

* [http://www.vagablogging.net/archives/001542.shtml Dude, Where's My Dude?] - Dudelicious Dissection, From Sontag to Spicoli

*[http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010621 Words@random:] "dude"

*[http://printculture.com/?itemid=833 "Dude,"] an essay by M Massino.

[[Category:Men]]

[[Category:Slang]]