The Wrong Em-PHA-sis on the Wrong Syl-LA-ble

In my Freshman class, we have just started reading Romeo & Juliet, every student's favorite thing we do all year....if by favorite you mean a form rigorous and repeated torture...Anywho, I do my best to inject as much passion and excitement into the play as is humanly possible to make it at least a loud form of torture, if nothing else.

Well, at one point we started talking about what it meant to be a star-crossed lover and I said, "there was nothing they could do! They were FATED to love each other!" 

Three or four students immediately started giggling and I knew in that instant I was experiencing another of what I like to call a "Lesson in Lingo." Basically, as I get older and more and more removed from being a high school student myself, I become more and more out of touch with the new slang words and then get mocked by sassy-pants 14 year-olds. It's awesome.

So anyway, these kids are giggling and I realize it's not going to stop so I ask, "what did I say?" 

They giggle louder.

"Seriously, what did I say?" 

"You said, FADED!" 

"Faded? I said FATED"

"It sounds like faded....snicker, snicker, snicker..."

"Well what the crap does "faded" mean?"

The students looked around at each other hesitantly.

"It means you are high."

"What the crap? Really? You are my only class to say that all day....hmmm....what does that say about you?"

The giggle some more and I roll my eyes.

Punks.