The Beastie Boys' Mike D finally gives an authoritative definition of "illin" on Colbert

By Steven Hyden | January 13, 2012 | 4:25pm

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Stephen Colbert invited Mike D of the Beastie Boys on The Colbert Report last night in order to clear the air on a recent controversy—we're using that word very loosely here—regarding the recent use of the word "illin" in the New York Times crossword puzzle. Blogger Julieanne Smolinksi objected to the clue for the word given by editor Will Shortz, arguing that "wack, in hip-hop" and "illin" "are not the same things at all." And according to Mike D, a man who has been licensed to ill since 1986, Smolinski is correct, at least part of the time anyway While "ill" can mean "wack," it can also mean the opposite of wack or, in the case of the Beastie Boys' own "Time To Get Ill," "an exhortation to abandon one's inhibitions as opposed to acting badly." Check out the clip below. [via Pitchfork]

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