It’s lit!

ニューヨークの地下鉄で働いた窃盗などの罪で100回以上も検挙歴のある男が釈放されたそうです。

民主党による”Bail Reform”のお陰ということなのですが・・・。


A New York City man who’s now been arrested 139 times thanked Democrats for guaranteeing his immediate release despite repeatedly swiping hundreds of dollars from unsuspecting subway commuters since the state’s new bail reform law went into effect Jan. 1.

Charles Barry, 56, has been arrested six times since the start of this year. He’s been released each time without having to post bail under New York’s new bail reform law since his alleged offenses were nonviolent, the New York Daily News reported. In the past, Barry’s served several stints in state prison and has a lengthy record, including six felonies, 87 misdemeanors and 21 missed court hearings, the newspaper reported, citing court records.

“Bail reform, it’s lit!” Barry yelled to reporters Thursday outside the NYPD Transit District 1 headquarters in the Columbus Circle station before officers transported him to Manhattan Central Booking. “It’s the Democrats! The Democrats know me and the Republicans fear me. You can’t touch me! I can’t be stopped!”
(Danielle Wallace. NYC subway thief thanks Democrats after his 139th arrest, release: 'Bail reform, it’s lit!'. Fox News. February 16, 2020.)


男は釈放時に、


It’s lit!


と言い放ったようですが、この”lit”というのは、動詞”light”の過去分詞形です。

といっても、用法としてはインフォーマルなもので、


Lit has been used as slang for over a century, but it used to be slang for "drunk." Now, "lit" has taken on a new slang meaning describing something that is "exciting or excellent."
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)


と解説されています。

酔っ払った、という意味で使われていたのは100年以上も前のことでしたが、その後、意味合いは、”exciting”、”excellent”へと変わりました。

酔って気分が昂揚するのは自然なことなので、”lit”のこうした意味変容は理にかなっていると思われます。