Mood

Language is fluid and always changing. It doesn't take much time for something new to be introduced that eventually worms its way into everyone's understanding. One example, which I just learned the other day, is the use of the term "mood" in a conversation. Let's set up the scene.

I work at Menards as a carryout and so as I was walking my way outside after bringing in some carts, two other employees from the Building Materials department stopped me saying, "Hey Tommy, you're an English Major, come over here and help us out." Naturally curious, I walked over to see what's up. They started by asking me what mood is defined as: a noun, an adjective, etc. I claimed that "mood" is a noun because it is a thing that people feel. What type of mood turns into an adjective or descriptor, at least in my opinion. I inquired further about this topic and what brought it up, which the two humans responded with this scenario:

"I've been texting this girl lately and so I sent her a video of me at work saying 'it's a slow day so I may as well watch some fantasy football' which she responds with 'mood.'"

So the issue here was that this Menards human had no idea what mood meant in this context. Was she saying that she was in a mood? Or was there something wrong with the video? The three of us couldn't figure it out until we asked a younger person than us. They informed us of how "mood" is short for saying "I'm in the same mood." For example, if you see an image of a bubble bath and you're in the mood for a bubble bath you would say "mood" to signify that you could go for a bubble bath.

I'm not sure how long this use of the word "mood" has been around, but I find it fascinating on the lengths we will go to shorten an already short phrase into something even shorter. Are we being lazy? Is it really that difficult to extend the phrase out a little bit? Will the future consist of three word sentences with three words being the maximum that you can use? These are the questions that are running through my head now.