MODED, CORRODED AND EXPLODED

In reference to the slang term moated (“L.A. Speak,” by Kathleen Moloney, Palm Latitudes, April 26): Back in ‘77, when my daughter and her best friend were in the fifth grade, they started referring to various people as molded. Concerned for their well-being and not yet aware of the special language skills they were developing “on the yard,” I asked what sort of mold these unfortunate people were growing--and got that disgusted “Oh, Mother!” look. These people were molded, moldated, victimized by the Great Moldini and, if all else failed, felt the mold.

A year passed, and the two girls shifted gears: Now they were mode-ing people left and right. And they modated and modefied them, and when all else failed, they moded, corroded and exploded them to a standstill. So much for the Great Moldini!

In the ‘90s, it’s comforting to know that some things never change. The spelling may differ, and the inflections may vary, but in the long haul the stuff you learn on the yard, no matter where that yard may be, stays pretty much the same. You might even say it is the one thing that never gets outmoded.

CHLOE ROSS

Los Angeles