Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite

How and why did the word tight come to be appropriated in this sense, for example as in, "That car is tight, cuh!" ? I mean, one easily extrapolates from the "normal" definition to understand why slang would appropriate tight to mean "close" — as in "Nah, we cool cuz we tight like that" — but this other sense is significantly opaque to me.

share|improve this question
Tight jeans are cool? – Thursagen Jul 5 '11 at 1:02
1  
Possibly musically? - if someone is playing tight then their performance is extremely accurate and 'together' – osknows Jul 5 '11 at 1:14
Interesting.... this was posed to me today and something I never considered. It was suggested to me from a friend that it was sexual.... and is in fact why you find me here. I'd never heard that. I'm not sure there is always a basis of reasoning with slang. It's just something someone or group said that some thought was cool and it took off. Id like to stick with that, because I had never thought of it like that before... but thanks for confirming :( – user13330 Sep 24 '11 at 5:50

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote

From thefreedictionary.com:

15 Marked by full control over elements or subordinates; firm: tight management; a tight orchestral performance.

In music it usually means all members of an ensemble are playing together with rhythmic and harmonic precision. I think it's not much of a stretch to work from that meaning to the sense of something being remarkable or "slick".

share|improve this answer
There's also to run a tight ship, which superficially alludes to the strict control exercised by the captain, but in practice is often used to call attention to how well organised and functional everything is as a result. – FumbleFingers Jul 5 '11 at 2:03
up vote 3 down vote

Based on cultural proximity, I'm relatively certain that the usage in question came from music. However, I'm going to go ahead and suggest that some implied sexuality has brought the term down the ranks.

share|improve this answer
1  
Doesn't have to be sexual. Consider a tight body—in the sense of fitness rather than need of massage. – Jon Purdy Jul 5 '11 at 4:04
Definitely was sexual in my neighborhood. – zenbike Jul 5 '11 at 19:06

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.