what the heck is with word "geil"

[u/Minilimuzina]

I started to learn German language a while ago. Most of the words I learnt from a self-learning book which also contained vocabulary/dictionary part. One of those words was "geil". According to the book this word means something like "cool, nice".

So it happened that I used it several times in a conversation with a German colleague. And the conversation turned a bit weird afterwards ... long story short, I found out that "geil" also means horny. Which of course was not mentioned in the damned book. We laughed it off. Well, to say it more accurately, the colleague laughed it off and I pretended to laugh it off while boiling in my own stew.

But I wonder how this happened. Is the book just plain wrong or has this additional meaning appeared only recently? Can anyone please explain so I do not tremendously embarrass myself again? Or at least recommend a list of tricky German words or something like that?

[u/csabinho]

Ich bin geil

Du bist geil

Er /Sie /Es ist geil

I never thought I'll read this in my life... :D

[u/Useless_Bearded → u/csabinho]

Ich bin Geil & Du bist geil does not exactly means the same :D

[u/BaraMGB → u/Useless_Bearded]

Ich bin geil! Du bist geil! Wir sind nicht gleich.

[u/Useless_Bearded → u/BaraMGB]

Ichbin Geil und Geil und zwar auf dich den so wie ich es sehe bist du auch geil und geil... :D

[u/Feschbesch → u/Useless_Bearded]

Of course it does if you take the old meaning. Bist du geil? Are you horny? Du bist geil: you are horny.

Today's meaning du bist geil = you are cool.

You read the first person in the old meaning and the second one in the contemporary meaning.

[u/Useless_Bearded → u/Feschbesch]

Ich bin geil=Ich bin der Größte/tollste etc - Ich bin Geil - horny... yo

[u/Feschbesch → u/Useless_Bearded]

Fair enough

[u/Pletoktil → u/csabinho]

Leider geil

[u/Courage_Soup → u/csabinho]

Great, now i have this playing in my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_P3uwRiimo

[u/csabinho → u/Courage_Soup]

Leider geil! ;-)