Words We Hate: A'ight

Sitting around at the office the other night, some other man walked in wearing pressed jeans, a clean white T-shirt, and a blue blazer. He took a seat next to our meeting, and started going on and on about something or another, we were discussing important business (who is covering the tab), so we didn't bother to care. However, about 15 minutes in we heard him on the phone, where he uttered the following phrase: "A'ight, A'ight, hold on, I'll get you in a minute."

The three of us who were closest to him simultaneously turned around to stare at this man. This sharp dressed man did not really just say that. Surely we misheard him, so we shrugged it off and went back to arguing. 5 minutes later, someone joined him to ask if he was ready. His reply started again with "A'ight...". Okay, once is just poor hearing, but twice and we were sure that's what he was saying. This sharply dressed man, who has the gall to walk into our meeting, just used "A'ight".

Look, we realize that it is derived from the vernacular of American English and is used in dialects or by slang. Still, if you are dressed to impress, do not use this word. It is stupid sounding, and used out of the generally accepted context of "street slang", just makes you look uneducated. You could walk into the bar passing out Benjamin Franklins to everyone, but if you used "A'ight" we can guarantee that you will not be able to keep fine company in this place for any length of time. So, please, there is a time and place to say "A'ight". If you even own a blazer, that time is never, and the place nowhere.