A young college freshman slumps over her keyboard, glaring at the computer screen before her. Her irritated eyes burn and begin to gush salty tears as she re-reads her Professor’s infinite amounts of notes regarding her upcoming final examination. Sweat trickles from her hairline, and rolls down her cheeks as she realizes that her procrastination to study could severely damage her grade. With this in mind, she struggles the rest of the day, leading into the late-evening hours, attempting to memorize an entire semester’s worth of material. Finally, as the sun begins to rise through her dorm-room window, she reaches over and turns off her computer. She flops backwards in her chair, closes her eyes, and whispers in a weary voice, “I give up, I’m completely fried.” Other college students, including myself, incorporate the slang word fried into his or her speech to encompass all the emotions associated with feeling mentally and/or physically exhausted from any activity. This simple and broad definition relates to a published idiomatic definition, several published slang definitions, along with the published origin/development definition of the word fried. My definition contains aspects of all three types of published definitions and therefore should be admitted into Standard American English.

      My first impression of the word fried originates from the idiomatic definition found in Webster’s College Dictionary. This particular dictionary lists the definition of the word fried as, “cooked by frying” (Webster’s 533). Frying or fry is then defined as, “to cook in fat or oil usually over direct heat” (Webster’s 537). Though these two definitions refer to cooking methods for food, I relate this unambiguous act to my slang definition of the word fried: all emotions associated with being mentally and physically exhausted. Food prior to frying appears full-bodied, light, and natural. After the cooking process, the food appears smaller, darker, and in a completely different form. This also represents the feelings one associates with feeling fried. Before any strenuous or continuous activity, one is in a natural, active state. However, after such an activity, one is worn-out mentally and physically, like the appearance of fried food after the activity of cooking. Though the idiomatic definition and my definition directly differ, the imagery of fried food reflects one’s exhausted state of feeling fried.

      My second impression of the word fried relates directly to the slang definitions found in Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang, Dictionary of Jargon, and New Dictionary of American Slang. All three dictionaries share one common definition, similar to my own definition involving the feeling of exhaustion. According to Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang, the word fried means, “[1980’s +] (US) very tired, worn out” (449). Similarly, the New Dictionary of American Slang proposes that the word fried, used as an adjective, means, “teenagers confused; muddled; exhausted” (148). Lastly, the Dictionary of Jargon defines the word fried as “said of people, meaning exhausted, especially referring to those who refuse to stop working no matter how tired they are” (238). All three dictionaries provide a simple and similar meaning to the word fried, directly referring to my definition.

      Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang Terms and New Dictionary of American Slang share yet another common definition: the act of being drunk. The second listed definition as indicated by Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang, states that the word fried means, “[1920’s] very drunk; thus fried to the gills, extremely drunk” (449). Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang also identifies the definition of fried as, “[1960’s] extremely intoxicated by a drug, usually cannabis” (449).  Like Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang, the second definition listed in the New Dictionary of American Slang also refers to the word fried as, “drunk” (148). Both definitions refer to an altered state of mind induced by either alcohol or drugs. Though my slang definition lacks any reference to alcohol or drugs, the continuous usage or abuse of such substances induces feelings of exhaustion, much like how any other activity could induce exhaustion.

       The final contribution to my slang definition results from the origin/development of the word fried, found in The Oxford English Dictionary. As indicated by The Oxford English Dictionary, the first listed definition of fried means, “cooked by frying” (3: 192). This definition, also listed in Webster’s College Dictionary, reverts back to the times of Old English, around 1362 (OED 3: 192). In Old English, the definition of the word fried appears as, “Bote hit weore fresch flesch or elles fisch i-frizet” (OED 3: 192). Nearly two hundred and fifty years later, fried appeared in conversation much like present day, as the example, “Cut in on both sides like a fried fish,” illustrates (OED 3: 192). This unambiguous definition still remains the first listing of most idiomatic dictionaries of today. The slang version of the word fried, however, emerged more than five hundred years after the idiomatic definition of fried appeared. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the first slang definition of fried as meaning, “Drunk” (3: 192). This slang definition began in 1926 and continues to present day. A 1954 example of this slang usage states that, “After a gay reunion…I retired to be slightly fried, blissfully happy” (OED 3: 192). The connotations of the word fried listed in The Oxford English Dictionary, both referring to the act of cooking and the act of being drunk, restate the same connotations listed in Webster’s College Dictionary, Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang, Dictionary of Jargon, and New Dictionary of American Slang.

      All emotions one associates with feeling mentally and/or physically exhausted from any activity depict the significance of the slang word fried. Other words like: spent, fatigued, or weary present synonyms as an alternative, but lack the effective imagery the word fried possesses. The vivid image of un-cooked and natural food after frying resembles one’s exhausted mental and/or physical state of feeling fried. The act of drinking and/or using drugs may also inflict feelings of exhaustion, as Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang, Dictionary of Jargon, New Dictionary of American Slang, and The Oxford English Dictionary indicate. My broad definition applies to a large sphere of definitions found in several publications with my own interpretations, thereby deserving a spot within Standard American English.