
By guest author and Generation Z native Freddie Hodgkinson (born 2005)
Generations all have their own contributions to the English language: some stick and some don’t. Generation X-ers (born between 1965 and 1980) may remember the words ‘gnarly,’ or ‘wicked’, which are seriously dated today imo, but also ‘awesome’, which has become a normal part of our contemporary lexicon. In spite of the fleeting nature of many of these terms, generational slang is a window into both comprehending and interacting with an age demographic.
Generation Z, those born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, can be hard for other tribes to follow. Being the social media generation, many terms and phrases can seem random and incoherent, because trends evolve, fast! The rapid pace of change increases the likelihood of being perceived as ‘cringe’, a word all too familiar to parents of teenage children! So, to avoid another sarcastic eyeroll from your teenager, and perhaps to increase your comprehension of internet trends, here’s my helpful A(te) to Z(oomer) of Gen Z for Gen Xers, boomers and anyone else who’s mystified.
- Ate – describing one’s perceived ability to pull something off or complete it well.
- Example: ‘she/he ate’ (in reference to a performance or fashion choice)
- Bet – a term of affirmation or agreement.
- Example: ‘Do you want to go out on Friday?’, ‘Bet’.
- Cap – used to infer someone is lying.
- Example: ‘She said she met Chappell Roan, but I think she’s capping.’
- Drip – something cool or fashionable, usually used in reference to clothing.
- Example: ‘Bro has some fire drip today.’
- Extra – overly dramatic or excessive, can be used on people or inanimate objects.
- Example: ‘His décor is so extra! I can’t believe he has so many pictures.’
- Fire – something trendy, in style or generally good.
- Example: ‘This song is fire!’
- Gas – something is exciting or otherwise good, can also be used to imply someone is excited or feeling good.
- Example: ‘You must be gassed, that was an incredible performance!’, ‘That performance was gas.’
- Hits different – used when an activity is more enjoyable than usual.
- Example: ‘This song just hits different now.’
- It’s giving – used when something encapsulates a certain theme or style, when used without a theme, implies that something is generally good.
- Example: ‘That top. It’s giving 70s vibes.’
- JOMO – antonym of the millennial term ‘FOMO (fear of missing out)’, ‘Joy of missing out’.
- Example: ‘I quit social media and it’s giving me JOMO.’
- Karen – adjective to describe someone obnoxious or self-entitled.
- Example: ‘I can’t believe she shouted at that waiter, she’s such a Karen!’
- Lowkey – to maintain a sense of ambivalence to something you are in fact excited about, antonym: Highkey.
- Example: ‘This week has been lowkey great.’
- Mid – shortened version of mediocre, something forgettable or generally average.
- Example: ‘That TV show was so mid’.
- No Cap – antonym of cap, used to imply someone is telling the truth.
- Example: ‘No cap, I totally saw Chappell Roan last week.’
- OK boomer – an insult used to imply someone is old or out of touch.
- Example: ‘I still quite like 80s music.’, ‘OK boomer’.
- Pookie – term of endearment.
- Example: ‘Don’t worry about it pookie.’
- Queen – term of praise or compliment.
- Example: ‘Did you see what she did yesterday? Absolute Queen.’
- Rizz – shortened version of charisma, usually refers to flirting ability.
- Example: ‘He got her number in five minutes, legendary rizz.’
- Skill issue – refers to someone’s inability to do something, can also be used sarcastically for humour.
- Example: ‘He couldn’t do the whole run, skill issue.’
- Tea – refers to drama or secret information, to spill tea refers to sharing gossip.
- Example: ‘I just found out the craziest thing!’, ‘Spill the tea, sis’.
- Unc – used similarly to OK boomer, shortened version of uncle, used to mock those who are out of touch or old.
- Example: ‘I think I threw my back out earlier today’, ‘unc.’
- Vibing/vibe – to enjoy something or have a positive feeling about it.
- Example: ‘That song is a vibe, I am vibing to it.’
- W – pronounced ‘dub’, short for win, refers to success or positive outcomes. Antonym: L (short for loss)
- Example: ‘I got the job, big W’.
- Yap/yapping – to talk too much, drone on.
- Example: ‘He’s such a yapper, I couldn’t get a word in for 10 minutes!’
- Zoomer – Member of generation Z, can be used to describe something as belonging to that cohort.
- Example: ‘This is such zoomer humour.’
Hopefully, with this short guide to some everyday Gen Z slang, you should avoid any skill issues when yapping with zoomers, your interactions hitting different and ending in Ws, instead of ‘OK boomer’ or ‘unc’.
At least some terms from generational slang like this are likely to become part of our mainstream language in the future. This is because, as generations age, they take their slang with them, making it a part of workplace-acceptable vocabulary. This isn’t a new phenomenon either. The term ‘ok’ (as in, ‘ok, boomer’), actually originated from a 19th century fad in Boston, Massachusetts. Newspapers utilised abbreviations and misspellings as a humorous addition to editions. ‘Ok’, is a badly spelled abbreviation of ‘All correct’, in a similar vein to newer slang like ‘boi’ (a misspelling of boy) or ‘yas’ (yes). The term ‘ok’ caught on, and 150 years later, it’s a mainstay of our lexicon.
So watch out for Gen Z slang as it starts to penetrate our workplaces and day to day lives! Which terms do you think have staying power? I hate to say that I have heard my Gen X mum using ‘spill the tea,’ ‘extra’ and ‘lowkey’ – it’s a bit cringe for now but I think I’ll have to get used to it…
Photo credit: Lesli Whitecotton via Unsplash