word usage - To give someone the 411


"To give someone the 411" is short for information but is this phrase common in the US and/or in Britain and is it still up to date or outdated?



Answer



The urban dictionary has a definition for it, which is probably a good barometer for its utility in AmE slang. I'm from the western USA, and it doesn't strike me as outdated. It is, however, becoming more and more trite after movies like Clueless ("Here's the 411 on Mr. Hall") made it synonymous with the Valley Girl dialectic of Angelinos.


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