Today’s English language isn’t what it used to be

Words are my business. In half a century as a professional writer, I’ve used dozens of them to communicate. Maybe even a hundred. But increasingly, it seems, I’m struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of the English language.

My confusion probably began shortly after the birth of the computer age, when people started using words such as byte, Ethernet and motherboard.

By the time I learned the difference between FireWire and floppy disc, younger generations were texting in secret codes using only initials. That form of communication wasn’t really new, of course. ASAP, SWAK and LSMFT had been around for a long time.

But now they were sending messages consisting almost entirely of acronyms. So I needed to refer to an online texting dictionary to translate messages from my grandchildren.

I’m still not sure whether LOL means “laughing out loud” or “lots of luck.”

But I’ve learned that ROFL meant “rolling on the floor laughing,” TL;DR stood for “too long; didn’t read” and TFW translated to “that feeling when.” (If you’re texting to, say, your grandmother, don’t confuse that last one with WTF, which means something entirely different.)

My latest struggle is to understand words I thought I always knew, but that now have been altered or “repurposed.” Dope. Drop. Gaslighting. Ghosting. Throwing shade. Dragging someone.

“Woke” used be an innocent word that merely had to do with getting out of bed in the morning, but now it has become so contentious it eventually may have to be referred to as “the W-word.” “Karen” isn’t just a woman’s name anymore, it’s an indictment.

Then there’s “hack,” which has a variety of traditional meanings; it could refer to cutting something, a mediocre writer, a saw or even a taxi. But now, apparently, it’s another word for “tips,” or “hint.”

When I accessed an internet news site the other day, for example, I came across an article headlined, “100 life hacks for everyday situations you’ll wish you knew sooner — Wait till you get into the top 10, your mind will simply explode!” it promised.

Although I can’t see much value in having my mind explode, I scrolled through the top 10, which included:

■ Eat Cheetos with chopsticks to keep your fingers from getting all orange.

■ Use your car’s seat heater to keep a pizza warm while you drive it home.

■ Slip the tines of a fork between the layers of an Oreo cookie to dip it into your milk.

If all this information hasn’t made your mind simply explode by now, I hope it at least will be helpful for you and maybe even had you ROFL.

And that it wasn’t TL;DR.