At present, "lowkey" is urban slang, a colloquialism, though online and print dictionaries index and define the term. Precedent favors the hyphenated variant "low-key" for the modifier functions versus the one-word compound. "lowkey" or "low-key" are otherwise adjective cases, coined 1907, say, modifiers of nouns and noun phrases, //low-key nuisance,// //low-key joy,// //low-key colors,// //low-key breached trusts and promises of unreliable hacks,"// etc. "Low key," etc., alludes to a music note of a lower key register than, say, a middle key register, generally only somber tones.
And "kinda" is an as yet colloquialism for "kind of," the adverb phrase coined 1775. sorta is also a recent colloquialism from the 1790 adverb coin "sort of." Where from? Perhaps these and other, similar colloquialisms come from 1770 - 1820s Slave Narratives and Depression era Works Project Administration Freed-Slave Narrative accounts that otherwise out-of-work writers collected for income purposes. These and similar are in widespread colloquial uses, includes prose where apt and inoffensive or nonconsciously or deliberately offensive.
"I'm," I _am_, auxiliary verb to be am takes a main verb, there, "pissed"; hence, "lowkey" and "kinda" are serial adverb term cases in standard predicate syntax position, realizes, too, that adverbs may be somewhat location independent.
Other syntax and diction descriptive grammar discretions include:
//I is lowkey kinda pissed."// (Further verb colloquialism.) //I ain't lowkey kinda pissed."// (Further verb colloquialism and litotes.) //"I'm pissed, lowkey, kinda."// //"I'm pissed, kinda lowkey."// //"Kinda lowkey, I'm pissed."// //"Kinda, I'm lowkey pissed."// //I am low-key, kind of annoyed."// //I am somewhat, sort of upset."//
Aside from a direct declaration of a problematic emotional state, told, that is, such as the above intimate a close and personal narrative distance, though of first person's natural default closeness, and easily spoiled closeness in inept hands; plus, that expression evokes potential dramatic movement and contributes to possible tension entrainment, setup, delay, or relief. Not solely emotion, rather, that expression also considers stream-of-consciousness, narrative distance, and drama craft functions.
posted
The several forms for "low key" allude to a lower register music note generally though colloquially mean of a low intensity: low-key spy Mata Hari (adj); went around town low key (adv).
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I think the interesting question is meaning. "Lowkey angry" could mean "kind of angry". But in this tweet, that would be redundant. It's more useful if it means a lack of emotion or attachment to the feeling. That could be a real contribution to our language, right?
I already used it that way once this week. ("I'm lowkey jealous.")
It was a tweet (subtweet?), from a teen in northern California, which is the stereotypic epicenter for this kind of change. Also, the i in "I'm" was lower case. But has hundreds of previous uses, at least back to 2104.
Right, lowkey became an adverb.
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Attendant to new word coins is new or expansion of extant meaning. The other of two "low-key" adjective connotations is "having or producing dark tones only with little contrast" (Webster's).
"dark" is a word with cognitive code considerations, that it is taken for granted to mean other than a matter of shadow and light's features, sometimes means an emotional mood, and, as "dogwhistle," furthers social divide concerns about associations among black and white and gray shades and evil and good and human complexions. The more neutral connotation of "dark" that means "possessing a depth and richness" (ibid) contradicts those associations, and accords the "low-key" congruent connotations.
"Low-key" to mean "a lack of emotion or attachment to the feeling" misses that the sum of the term's meaning is deep and rich and of low intensity. Perhaps the deep rumbles of distant thunderclap rolls felt is low key, or likewise distant earthquakes, the rumbles from trains' vibrations heard from a nearby graveyard, heavy trucks' rumbles from nearby highways, removed though of an emotional effect, pleasant, unpleasant, or both or otherwise; a muted color palette, like paint chips for wall colors (eggshell white, beige, pastel very light blue, etc.); a dingy and wintertime forest blur background of a foreshortened field of view; low-texture tactile sensations, like newsprint, planed wood, room temperature, smooth fabrics; and other low-key sensations. Emotions and other abstract intangibles associated with those are expressed through such "objective correlatives":
"The tangible manifestation of an intangible, created and used by the author to help the reader grasp the intangible concept. Most literature is about emotions or ideals — things that you cannot see or touch. So the objective correlative becomes a focus, a tangible surrogate. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the painting becomes the objective correlative of Dorian Gray’s soul — it shows the invisible rot. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester’s child is the objective correlative of her sinful passions.
"An important characteristic of objective correlatives is that they are usually vested with attributes which tilt the reader toward the emotion the author wants him to feel in relation to the intangible being staged. (T. S. Eliot) ['Hamlet and His Problems'; original coin: Arthur Schopenhauer, 'On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason', 1813: 'Matter is therefore only the objective correlative of the pure understanding.']" ("Being a Glossary of Terms Useful in Critiquing Science Fiction," edited by Clarion workshops' David Smith, SFWA hosted.)
Similar is Edward Bullough's "concept of psychical distance : that which 'appears to lie between our own self and its affections' in aesthetic experience." In which he describes a pea-soup sea fog as a pleasant thrill, despite the dangers to maritime travelers. ("Psychical Distance as a factor in Art and an Aesthetic Principle"), also known as psychic distance and narrative distance.
How lowkey means emotional detachment holds, to me, a self-denial congruent opposite meaning potential (irony). A circumstance upsets, and the upset person denies the upset. That is a type of irony common to Millennials: self-denial of this Digital age's manifold complexities and attendant, at times low-key, doubts, confusions, fears, and angers expressed through sarcasm and situational irony, and apt.
For example, a Millennial wears a t-shirt with a print of Dorian Gray's portrait to express modern life is rotted, yet the intent rebounds to the wearer is rotted, too. That is a sorta low-key passive-aggressive sarcasm visual statement and an observable situational irony. The term "i'm," lowercase I, used for casual text messages and social media twaddle fodder, is also a situational irony: diminishes, demotes the self due to technology use's convenient habits.
Not that low-key caustic sarcasm and situational irony are unique to Millennials, only that their targets and methods are distinct from other generations'.
Figurative language uses want the wholeness of a term's meanings. New coins do, too. However, many new coins also innovate contrary meaning(s). The word mundane demonstrates. Prior to circa 1990, the term meant the earthly, mortal realm, as opposed to the metaphysical realm, further subdivided to spiritual and paranormal realms, and some overlaps among the several. Anymore, the term also means dull, banal, boring, everyday, common, routine, etc.
The mundane realm is anything but dull, though X-generation and Millennials would differ if they're bored by an absence of convenient and immediate self-gratification activity. That coin caught on and anymore predominates, much due to regular confused misuses and exclusive preference for the affected-sense later-day contrary connotation. Fulsome, apt uses span the gamut; that is, cover both contrary connotations and of an implied or direct relationship to metaphysical realms. Weekday mass rites are as mundane as church can be. (Sarcasm and situational irony there, too.)
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