Do you remember the sound of dial-up? The clickety-clack of chunky keys under your fingertips while a green rectangle cursor blinked at you from a black screen? Has your music collection spanned multiple formats from vinyl to cassette to CD to MP3 before streaming? Do you recall fondly not having concern about cost of living pressure (which we would never refer to as jocularly as cossi livs, btw)?
Perhaps you’re nostalgic for a time you could converse in English and understand the meaning or context of every word without googling it? And you remember that sweet, sweet time not so long ago, when if you didn’t know someone, you just didn’t know. Not everything resulted in search. Don’t get me started on microfiche…
If you answered yes to all or most of those, we’ve got you.
Gen Z slang is an ever-renewing, sometimes confusing, and often amusing evolution of language that can often leave you stumped. As we welcome the new kids on the block (got you singing The Right Stuff in your head, haven’t we?) into the workforce, we’ve compiled a small list of words and phrases that will save you from being cheugy. Yes, it’s a word. It means old-fashioned, out of date, or trying to be cool, but just not… And because young people tend to be the arbiters of cool, I now have several pairs of skinny jeans gathering dust while I trot about in unflattering wide-leg numbers that emphasise my lack of height, with added insult of a high-waist that sits somewhere nowhere near where my waist used to be.
We’re never too old to learn new things, so, study up and be cool unc!
Aura
Let’s start off easy. Here’s a word we know, and the new meaning does not stray that far from its original definition, which is the energy that something or someone gives off, like an air of mystery or a cool aloofness. Gen Z have adopted aura itself as a compliment. If you have aura, there’s no need to explain what you have an aura of. That’s the statement. You are cool, you are it.
As an added bonus, you can lose or gain aura points.
Examples:
- You use the term “PowerPoint presentation” instead of calling it a slide deck: -1000 aura points.
- You outstayed and outslayed at office drinks, turning up fresh as a daisy in the AM: +9999 aura points.
If you have aura, you are not mid.
Bet
With so much internet to watch, Gen Z have no time for superfluous verbiage. Short for you bet, you betcha or the ridiculously over-syllabled, you better believe it, bet is used as an affirmation, replacing other such suitable terms as ok, sure, no doubt, absolutely, I am down with that, or even I’ll be there.
Is it used with any other term, you ask? Or does this phrase exist on its own, unadorned, except for a conversation-ending period? Bet.
As someone who has uttered the phrase, you’re darn tootin’ more than once, I can embrace this time-saving innovation.
Canon Event
I guess this is the modern-day what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In essence, a canon event is a life event that builds character, through it being painful, difficult or all levels of cringe. The upshot is that it’s a key experience you need to go through for your personal development.
Further research unveils that it originated from the movie Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse. I am not across the Spider-Verse myself, so I would never have guessed it offered such profundities.
Cap
Lie. Often used to emphasis a statement to denounce any possibility of untruth in the form of no cap.
Example:
I have about a hundred things to finish before I log off today. No cap.
Cook
This one, is multi-faceted. To cook means that you are doing something particularly well or executed something perfectly.
Let’s just say you gave a presentation, on Teams. Your mic was on, your camera angled perfectly, giving the appearance of only one chin, lighting on point, and you remembered to remove the tropical island background. You shared your screen, first go, resisting the urge to say, I’m just going to share my screen… can everyone see my screen? During the preso, clap and heart emojis floated up the window. You timed out perfectly, ending one minute before you exhausted your allocated time, thus avoiding telling your team that you would gift them four minutes back in their day. You might say, somebody cooked.
Let them cook, is a variation of this. It simply means to allow space and opportunity for person to focus on what they are good at without interfering.
Crash Out
In a bygone era, to crash out meant to get some hard-earned ZZZZZZZZZZZs, as in, “I’m beat, mind if I crash out on your couch?” Current day crashing out is not quite so somnolent, as it means you might promptly lose all self-control and raise the roof with your ire. This can also translate to a situation where you wittingly put yourself in a situation or adopt a behaviour that is likely to have a return or karmic consequence.
Delulu
In this instance, the letters “sional” have been replaced with a cute repetition of the preceding syllable. Delusional sounds far too harsh and clinical, anyway. It is often used in reference to having a vivid fantasy that you are not quite willing to let reality replace, giving birth to the phrase Delulu is the Solulu.
fr
If you are seeing fr or an even more emphatic frfr pop up in short form text messaging and are spending too much time wondering what the fr the f and the r stand for, I got you. It simply means for real. You’re welcome.
Finna
I’m finna explain this to you simply. This term is short for “fixing to,” meaning about to do something. It is derived from AAVE (African American Vernacular English) and sounds much more melodic than gonna.
GOAT
If someone calls you the GOAT, be chuffed. You have been crowned the Greatest Of All Time. It is a bold statement to make, yes, but we are currently handing out GOAT statuses like there’s a runout sale. I feel like Kanye might be somewhat responsible for diminishing the magnitude of of all time but here we are.
Glazing
Would plain doughnuts be as appealing if they weren’t smothered with mirror-finish, sugary icing? I think not. Glazing means to praise or compliment someone disproportionate to their merit, or to the point where, ok that’s enough now.
Hits Different
When something hits different you feel it in a significant or distinct way, or you feel more intensely about something than you expected.
A simple use for this phrase: “I remember when Friday night drinks were a standard, but Thursday knock-offs hits different.”
Highkey
This means what you think it means. The opposite of low key, which we’ve been using in its intended form for eons. It is used to convey something that is obvious, or that you feel bigly or authentically.
I highkey rate it, it makes sense. You’ve got to hand it to the kids, they know how to evolve our language
It’s Giving
You would use it’s giving when you want to describe the impression or vibe you’re feeling from a particular moment or situation. It is often accompanied by a singular term, rather than an overly descriptive sentence.
Walk into the office on December first and your HR team has hung tinsel from every allowable fixture – it’s giving festive.
A work colleague shows up to the office in a pressed shirt and tie – it’s giving interview.
I Am Seated / I am Sat.
You receive an invitation for an organisation-wide meeting that will discuss the issue you and your colleagues have been back and forthing about for months. Furtive above-screen glances abound across the open-plan floor. You Teams chat your work mate. I am seated.
This means you are ready. Prepared and waiting for what is about to unfold. It could relate to some drama, or something someone is really excited about.
In a Chokehold
There was a recent upswell for the phrase I’m obsessed! to describe even the most mundane of things that I have to admire. This intensity and zest for life can only be seen as positive. An extension of this is when something has you in a chokehold. You cannot let it go. You are completely enthralled, gripped, riveted – but who needs those perfectly good words?
IYKYK
Look, if you know you know.
L
If someone comments a simple L, or even Big L, it’s not good. L stands for loss. Which stands for fail.
Mid
Mid is a term that describes something that’s, eh. Mediocre. Average. Not great, nor memorable. It’s subtle.
Some of these terms, when used in their primary iterations, are so non-offensive. But I tell you, when a Gen Zer described my music taste as mid, it cut deep.
Mother
The woman who gave you life, who raised you. Yes. OR a woman who is iconic.
Mother can refer to a role model, a trailblazer and is very complimentary. But, I think you may need to be under a certain age for it to land.
Out of Pocket
Recently I chipped in for a gift with a group.
Cue group chats and unending notifications about what, who would collect and budgets. Given it was an assembly of people of different ages and stages, I added one comment: “Please put your account details in the chat before you make a purchase, there’s no need to be out of pocket.”
Because to me, out of pocket meant underfunded.
Cue confusion. New out of pocket is used to describe an action or comment that may be uncalled for, ridiculous unhinged or taken too far.
So now I can see that my comment was, perhaps, out of pocket.
Spitting Facts
You’re in the meeting. You’re laying out what the project needs to deliver on time and on budget. You’re setting some deadlines and keeping key people accountable. It may not be what people want to hear, but good on you for spitting facts. No cap.
Shook
This is pretty easy. Or is it?
Shook is the past tense form of the verb shake, but shaken is the past participle of the verb shake. Therefore, if something shook me up yesterday, then I would be shaken. Right? Wrong.
I was shook, apart from Word trying to correct my grammar as I write this, denotes that you were shocked or taken aback.
To further convolute the conjugation, you will often hear I was shooketh. But, in a strange plot twist, we’re of the wrong generation for that also.
Period / Periodt
Period is used as a singular point at the end of a sentence. It can be used to convey emphasis or end a conversation. You may hear a chorus of period when a person spits facts about a certain subject or issue that others agree upon. Or, it is the end of a discussion, period.
Periodt is the exact same but is a variation that derives from AAVE and has found its way into the cultural lexicon, and methinks is more emphatic.
TFW
Used in social media captions or comments tfw is an abbreviation of That Feeling When.
You know, tfw it’s Friday afternoon before a long weekend.
Take a Seat / Take Several Seats
A rather more amiable version of pipe down!, take a seat invites you to politely exit the conversation with your dignity still intact. Take several seats, however, advises you in no uncertain terms to bow out, learn a lesson and come back a better version of yourself.
Understood the Assignment
If someone hands you their phone and asks you to take a picture of the group and you miraculously capture the lighting, angle, pose and background that they hoped would match the aesthetic of their social media grid, well done. You understood the assignment. This is high praise, indeed. You did well and maybe even surpassed expectations.
Unserious
Exactly what you think it means, but its usage can be a glib dismissal of your opinion as frivolous or redundant. Unserious is meant to be good-humoured rather than harsh, but it can sting if your views were meant to be received as, well, serious.
W
If an L is a loss, you guessed it, W is a big win. Want me to extrapolate that data? Sure, I don’t mind intersecting traditional office-parlance with slang FTW. That’s For The Win.
💀 – Skull Emoji
Let’s not limit ourselves to the qwerty of the keyboard, emojis speak volumes. While we’ve all mastered a well-placed 😂 (cry-laugh), this is a language all on its own. The skull emoji can be interchanged with a ⚰️ (coffin) or a 🪦 (tombstone), you will see 💀 or 💀 💀 💀 or combinations of all of these death-themed emojis to convey that something is so funny, so spot on, or so ridiculous that it has killed you. Some may even punctuate with actual words like, I’m dead or deceased. This single glyph can vary in context, so you will need some nous when it comes to determine whether it is funny, shocking, accurate or ridiculous.
👀 – Eyes Emoji
This emoji is also layered. It can be used to signify that your curiosity is piqued, as a statement of surprise or a quietly judgy side-eye.
There are considerably more of these wonderful turns of phrase, however if you need to decipher skibidi, snatched or yeet in the workplace, then someone needs to take several seats.
And another hot tip, perhaps use this more as a glossary of terms, rather than a how-to guide. Unless you have infinite amounts of rizz (short for charisma, of course), your attempts seriously deplete your tally of aura points.