‘Public Use’ Goes Valley Girl; Now Means ‘Public Whatever’

Abstract

Anyone who has dealt with people in their teens lately (at least since the movie Clueless put Valley Girl phraseology into the national consciousness) is familiar with the typical response to any sort of adult directive: “What… ever!” Who would have thought that the U.S. Supreme Court would decide that is now the answer to the constitutional question: “What is a public use?”