question for all you city-slickers

What the fuck does "oh, snap" mean?

I've heard it on NPR and read it in the NY Times. No one out here in the hinterlands says "oh, snap."

You city folks need to be careful about using slang in your stories, particularly if you're writing for a national audience. People who aren't familiar with the current lexicon in urban circles might not know what the fuck you're saying.

EDIT: the Urban Dictionary entry for this
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oh+snap
didn't make it that much clearer to me, as the NPR and NYT writers seemed to have used it differently.

 

oh shit

 

Damn.

 

We operate under the assumption that these people do not read.

 

It means the person using the term should be beaten with a blunt instrument.

 

Of course, we could run a hick-to-urban glossary every day on A-2.

 

That would definitely help my goat-ropin' ass. I went to college with y'all high-tone folk, but I've been out in flyover land for many a moon.

 

but there wouldn't be any room for the People items or the corrections

 

You mean Dayum: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dayum

 

It means: I am a lame writer trying to be cool/hip.

 

Actually, "snap" is making something of a comeback. It was popular in the mid-'70s and I hadn't heard it in about 25 years until recently.

 

;D ;D ;D Got a kick out of that post.

If it's made it to NPR and the Times, it's well past its prime.