by McKayla Holson, Editorial Editor
It’s probably a dumb thing to be bothered by, but I just can’t stand having to use “OK.”
The AP Stylebook, basically a journalist’s bible, has an entry for the use of the word. It just says “OK, OK’d, OK’ing, Oks- Do not use okay.” Is that not weird? And so incredibly uncomfortable to look at?
Arika Okrent, in her metalfloss.com article “What’s the real origin of ‘OK’,” says the word came about in 1839. Okrent lists a number of possible origins of the word, but she quotes a section of a book by Allan Metcalf as being “the truth.” According to Okrent, Metcalf said the word was “born as a lame joke perpetrated by a newspaper editor in 1839.” Okrent says Metcalf’s statement is based off of research done by Allen Walker Read, a Columbia professor. Read published his research in journal articles in 1963 and 1964.
The “lame joke” is from the Boston Morning Post editor in 1839. Okrent said the editor published a humorous article about the Anti-Bell Ringing Society. The joke is: “The ‘Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells,’ is one of the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via Providence, he of the Journal, and his train-band, would have his ‘contribution box,’ et ceteras, o.k.—all correct—and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward.”
Okrent says most abbreviations didn’t stick, but OK probably stuck around because Martin Van Buren, whose nickname was “Old Kinderhook,” used “vote for OK!” as a campaign slogan.
Old Kinderhook lost, it’s just unfortunate the abbreviation wasn’t lost with it.
His joke is that “o.k.” stands for “all correct.” Okrent says this stems from a trend of the time of using misspellings or alternate spellings to create abbreviations. She gives “no go” as an example. Its abbreviation was k.g. for “know go.”
It’s fitting that it started as a joke. Because it still is a joke to me.
Grammarly.com says the spelling “okay” came around a few years after the abbreviation came into creation, so I guess something good came from it.
I spoke with my friend about this and she said OK is more of a conversation ender, but she’s still not one hundred percent comfortable with okay.
I agree that OK is a conversation ender. It’s just so blunt and aggressive, it screams at you. I’m more comfortable with the use of okay. Okay is soft, gentle and is more like what I would typically use the word for.
I sound pretty hateful of OK, but it just seems so rude to type. Like I said previously, it’s just so aggressive. It’s bold and in your face.
While I don’t like it, I will still be using OK for the near future. But only for educational purposes. Afterall, I have to do what my professor prefers. If I work somewhere that requires OK instead of okay, I will use OK, but personal use will just be okay.