freser.html - In young people's slang (especially in the US): def, 'hip', 'cool', new and
exciting . Etymology: A
sense shift which is perhaps influenced by the pun with cool; as a word of approbation in young people's slang it has its roots in rap talk and ultimately in the street
language of hip hop. History and Usage: This is a usage which only began to appear in
print in the second half of the eighties, as part of the crop of new slang expressions popularized by the spread of hip-hop
culture . A
number of rappers used the word in their pseudonyms, and a US sitcom which was centred on hip hop and shown on
UK television as well had as its title The Fresh Prince of Bel
Air . Run DMC, the rap group, told it to the audience straighter than most. The other groups at the Fresh Festival, a compendium of rappers and break dancers,
had visited Hollywood. Chicago Tribune 7 July 1985 (Final edition), section 3, p.
5 According to Freddy, street talkers and rappers long ago abandoned bad for such alternatives as fresh, def and chillin'. Los Angeles Times 29 Aug. 1988, section 6, p. 2
