The Urban Dictionary defines it as "an exclamation connoting elation over a success or personal triumph of some kind, which was coined by the actor Seth Green, in 1992, in a Wendy's commercial - after which it spiraled off into existence becoming one of the more hackneyed expressions of the 90s."
Hackneyed or not, it was hip, it was fresh, and I was using it:
- "Our middle school speech team just won State! Cha-ching!"
- "Mom's letting me have a slumber party Friday night. Cha-ching!"
- "My dad paid me five bucks to mow the yard today. Cha-ching!"
Imagine my enthusiasm: skinny little middle schooler, sporting retainers and turtlenecks, the shortest in her class and the peppiest, too. I clung to pop culture like a hungry dog to meat. Without cable TV or a subscription to YM magazine, I was always late to the game, but eager to play.
Another person late to the pop culture game? My father.
Another person just as enthusiastic when he catches wind of the hip new trends? Same guy.
This is what leads me to cringe to this day every time I hear, "Cha-ching!" Whether the words or just the sound (it can be a doggone cash register at the deli even!), when I hear that sound, I am taken back to every girl's nightmare: her dad pumping his fist and using the current slang in front of - not only her friends - but THE BOY SHE LIKES.
I was never kissed on the lips in middle school unless a Coke bottle deemed it so. I blame this on my father. Cause on every romantic hay ride, during every slow song at a middle school dance, and every couples skate at the roller rink, I knew my corny dad was lurking in the shadows, fist at the ready, slang at the tip of his teeth.
What about you? Did you have a "cool dad" or at least one that deemed himself to be so? Please tell me I'm not alone.
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