WILDING NOUN (PEOPLE AND SOCIETY)

In US teenagers' slang: the activity of going on a wild rampage in a group through the streets, often involving mugging or otherwise attacking innocent bystanders. Etymology: Apparently a reference to a rap version of the pop song Wild Thing, which the original gang had been chanting. This might be an example of a new word created entirely by misunderstanding; it is not clear whether the teenagers concerned were already using the word in their own street slang to mean 'going on a spree', or whether they only started doing so after newspaper reports of the original case expressed interest in the word that journalists thought the accused had been saying (when in fact he had only been muttering 'wild thing'). History and Usage: The activity of wilding (which, whatever its name, had occurred in US cities before) came to public notice as a result of a series of reports of gang violence culminating in the assault, rape, and attempted murder of a young woman in New York's Central Park in April 1989. The gang consisted of more than thirty youngsters, mostly of school age, who went on a two-hour rampage during which they attacked joggers, shoppers, and other passers-by. The case was widely reported and may have provoked a number of similar incidents which occurred soon afterwards. There has been little response by the city government to the wide-spread concern over wilding in general...The police should begin to gather intelligence on wilding attacks, identify the schools and subways where they are most likely to occur and beef up their presence there. New York Times 13 Jan. 1990, p. 27 See also steaming