{"id":5192,"date":"2022-07-25T18:37:43","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T18:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=5192"},"modified":"2022-07-25T18:37:43","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T18:37:43","slug":"dtn-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/dtn-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"DTN \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you like sharing secrets? Are you someone that is just full of gossip and drama, but do not want the information spreading beyond your core group of friends? Maybe you have a secret that you want to share, but don\u2019t want it to get out?<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, perhaps you and your friend were up to no good but want to keep it under wraps. That\u2019s when you would use the phrase \u201cDTN\u201d or, \u201cDon\u2019t tell nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u201cDTN\u201d means \u201cDon\u2019t tell nobody\u201d. This is a slang phrase that would be used by someone who has information about other people, or secrets that either they heard from someone else or about their own life. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is used colloquially, oftentimes between people who are close, but holds a stronger connotation than simply saying \u201cdon\u2019t tell anyone\u201d or \u201cit\u2019s a secret.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is a double negative, however, in this instance, the double negative does not result in a cancellation of the negative statement.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cnot\u201d in \u201cdon\u2019t\u201d and the \u201cno\u201d in \u201cnobody\u201d do not cancel each other out, but instead, they emphasize the negative of the expression- emphasis on the sentiment that what was shared should not be distributed to others.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What does dtn mean on TikTok\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LC9zakBAi5g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIf we decide to go over there and mess with him, dnt\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTechnically I am only 20, but I really want to get in the club. Check out my fake id, dnt\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI overheard the boss talking with HR about a new hire, dnt Kathy they are being replaced\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything that happens while we are in Vegas is dnt only\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a secret way to get in, but its dnt, so you are out of luck\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a reason that most things around here are dnt bro\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going boosting but it\u2019s all dnt, so I can\u2019t help you with the details\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the phrase \u201cdon\u2019t tell nobody\u201d or \u201cDNT\u201d is in African American Vernacular English, also known as AAVE. AAVE arose out of creole in the southern United States, combining the syntax of many West African languages and English, the dominant language of the free people in the newly formed United States. After Emancipation, AAVE spread as African Americans were now freed from enslavement in southern plantations.<\/p>\n<p>Since the 1800s, AAVE has been an ever-evolving form of the English language with its own rules and grammar. In AAVE, double negatives are considered a form of emphasis, therefore making \u201cDon\u2019t tell nobody\u201d a more emphasized version of \u201cdon\u2019t tell anyone.\u201d It very likely became a more popular phrase in the 1920s, as the study of AAVE started to expand in academics.<\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to DTN<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cDon\u2019t tell anyone.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s a secret.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cKeep this to yourself.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThis is between you and me.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cI don\u2019t want anyone to know this.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cYou didn\u2019t hear this from me.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThey said not to tell anyone\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases opposite to DTN<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThis isn\u2019t a secret\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAs widely known\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cEverybody knows\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s not new news\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThis is something we all know\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWe\u2019ve been known\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is The Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>DTN or don\u2019t tell anybody<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Incorrectly Say DTN<\/h2>\n<p>Some ways that people may say this incorrectly is if they use another negative throughout the sentence, hindering understanding. Another way might be if someone uses it with an application of traditional English grammar rules- using double negatives as a form of cancellation. This would result in confusion as people may not understand that it is intended to be highlighting part of the intent of the phrase, rather than a cancellation of the negatives.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase DTN<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>I am going to let you in on the secret, but its strictly dnt after I tell you.<\/li>\n<li>If we do this, everything that follows is strictly dtn.<\/li>\n<li>Hey, I got something from the store earlier, but its dtn okay?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Do you like sharing secrets? Are you someone that is just full of gossip and drama, but do not want the information spreading beyond your core group of friends? Maybe you have a secret that you want to share, but don\u2019t want it to get out? In some cases, perhaps you and your friend were [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5192"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5781,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5192\/revisions\/5781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}