Cheugy, the Four Levels
A look on the clock, not a look gone bad
The trap with cheugy is calling everything expired. It is not "bad," it is timed wrong. A look moves through four states, and only the last two are actually cheugy. Here is the scale.
The Four Levels
- Fresh - the thing is new, it has not peaked. Not cheugy, just early.
- Peak - it is the one right now, everyone is on it. Still not cheugy.
- Just-past - the peak was last year. This is where it starts to tip.
- Fully expired - it is over, the person is still on it. That is the cheugy.
Why It Is Not "Bad"
A cheugy look is not a mistake. It is a trend that did its thing and left the room, and the person is still standing in the doorway. The read is the line between just-past and fully expired - you can be slightly behind without being cheugy, but the moment you are fully behind, the word lands.
Feel the Line
In the cheugy meter a look lands and you place it on the four levels. Read just-past off from fully expired and you have learned the whole word.