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“What they talkin’ ’bout? They ain’t talkin’ ’bout nothin'”
I’m sure Kendrick Lamar wasn’t talking about kids these days with their absurd internet lingo when he rapped this bar on “peekaboo,” the ninth track off his latest West Coast record GNX. Still, the bar is so fitting, huh?
When you think about some of the words that have dominated the internet over the last twelve months—”aura,” “brat,” “chat,” “demure,” “goon,” “rizz”—it sounds like gibberish. “What are they talking about?” You might ask. “They’re talking about nothing,” you or someone close to you might conclude. And while that might be true, netizens are actually saying something, even though it may not be coherent or intelligible or profound.
Thankfully, you don’t have to try to understand these words and phrases on your own—whether that’s through context clues or overhearing your kids/siblings speak. Let us put you on game with some definitions for 15 of the best internet slang that was all over our feeds and timelines in 2024.
Happy New Year!
You ever just wanna tell someone to stop talking? Maybe they’re telling you an outlandish story or giving you a ridiculous take, and you don’t wanna hear it anymore. Simple: tell them to just put the fries in the bag, bro.
The phrase started popping up in 2022, with a Facebook user memeing about high school friends catching up after years of not seeing each other.
“Wow, it’s been so long! I haven’t seen you since high school.”
“Yeah, OK. Just put the fries in the bag, bro.”
Originally, it was an insult, a means of creating an inferior-superior dynamic between the speakers. The person receiving the phrase would typically be someone with no future, no prospects, relegated to the fast-food industry either because of a lack of ambition or a lack of training. After all, the last thing you want when driving through a McDonald’s is to kiki with the cashier.
In 2024, though, “put the fries in the bag” has taken on a ruder meaning. The sentiment is the same, but the context is cutthroat. All over Instagram and TikTok are skits of people using the phrase, telling their friends to stop the cap about being a basketball prodigy (when the reality is they’re only good in NBA 2K) or quit complaining about everything all the time. It hurts, but sometimes, you just gotta tell people that you don’t wanna hear no BS.
Just put the fries in the bag, bro. I got places to be. — Levi Winslow
We all probably know what this means by now, but for the uninitiated, “gyat” (sometimes spelled “gyatt”) refers to that ass, them checks, that donk.
What’s funny about “gyat” is that it started with an entirely different meaning. In 2018, the English pop-rock band The 1975 released a song titled “Give Yourself a Try.” The track, featured on their record A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, was the first instance of “gyat” being abbreviated. So, for the first few years, that’s what the word referred to: a pop-rock English song.
Innocuous enough, right?
Well, things changed in 2021 when Twitch streamer YourRAGE began using the word “gyat” in tweets and on streams to refer to a girl’s ass. I assume you know what the word—which is an acronym—stands for, but I’ll spell it out:
“Girl your ass thicc.”
In 2024, you can see internet personalities—whether TikTokers or streamers—using “gyat” to talk about an attractive woman’s butt. Kai Cenat has said it, various members of FaZe Clan have used it, and creators in all corners of the internet have uttered—or screamed—it when some girl with nice glutes walks by. It’s basically a cat-call, a way to objectify and sexualize a woman’s body.
Unfortunately, cat-calling is still a thing, modernized for the digital age. Still, a nice ass is a nice ass, and if it’s thicc, well…she got a “gyat.” — Levi Winslow
Fanum Tax is one of those phrases that’s synonymous with a person: Fanum.
If you don’t know, Roberto “Fanum” Escanio is a member of the AMP crew, the same collective that Duke Dennis and Kai Cenat are a part of. The phrase comes from Fanum’s penchant for “taxing” (i.e. taking a share) of his friends’ food. It doesn’t matter what it is: Chipotle, Taco Bell, cookies, treats—if he’s around and hungry, anything edible will get Fanum Taxed. It’s an inevitability.
While you can’t not think of Fanum when saying the phrase, the internet has since co-opted it for its own purposes. The meaning is still the same, but now, in 2024, anyone can “Fanum Tax” anyone for just about anything—though the connection to food is quite important for the phrasing’s usage.
You got something delicious to drink and I’m thirsty? Fanum Taxed.
You got something good to eat and I’m hungry? Fanum Taxed.
You got something sticky to smoke and I wanna toke? Fanum Taxed.
Anything that can be mooched off of in any way can get “Fanum Taxed,” and that’s what you see kids on the Internet and in school cafeterias doing. Sheesh, those are some high taxes, and the returns are good. — Levi Winslow
Remember the good old Y/N fanfiction you read on Wattpad, Tumblr, and Ao3? A chance love-at-first-sight with Jeon Jungkook during a BTS concert where you are reading a book because you don’t know their music? Your eyes meet, Jungkook is immediately captivated by you, calls for you after the show, and spends months pursuing you.
The word “delulu,” which is short for delusional, originated in the K-Pop fandom in 2014. Initially deemed an insult to describe parasocial fantasies revolving around celebrities and influencers, the word has been redefined by Gen-Z since 2022 on TikTok and other social media platforms to represent a more hopeful mindset. It refers to having unrealistic beliefs. Do you think your cheating, gaslighting, deprecative ex is now a changed man just because he got you flowers that one time on your birthday? Then you’re “delulu,” which means you are completely blinded by your delusional aspirations that are quite different from the reality of things.
To counter the negative connotations of “delulu,” Gen-Z came up with the word “solulu,” referring to finding creative and alternative solutions to the problems. The two words are often used together to imply that if you strongly believe in your goals and aspirations, you might be able to achieve them. Being delusional is the best solution is Gen-Z’s way of reaffirming one’s self-confidence and faith in one’s abilities. — Debadrita Sur
OK, hear me out.
You might think “goon” refers to, like, a hitta or a shoota. Someone who’ll ride or die for you or someone who engages in casual acts of violence. It’s often attached to Black and Brown people as a derogatory sentiment, a means to belittle and demean folks from presumed “poorer” backgrounds. It’s rude.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Actually, in the internet age, where porn can be perceived just about anywhere—from actual porn sites to sexualized video game characters—”goon” has taken on an entirely new meaning. Yeah, you can say that someone is a “goon” or a “thug” or whatever other synonym you have. But, when I say “goon,” I’m talking about unbridled, unrestrained masturbation.
Hear me out.
“Goon” can—and frequently does—refer to the act of constant, nonstop masturbation, of losing your brain and your day to self-pleasure with the explicit purpose of not finishing. It’s a more extreme form of edging yourself.
And this is what netizens young and old use to call themselves: “gooners” and “goonettes” “gooning out” all day and all night. No thoughts, just porn. You’ll especially see comments like this in Instagram thirst traps, where commenters will say they’re “gooning” to the poster’s photo dump. Kids will tell each other to stop “gooning” or “being a gooner,” possibly without knowing the full context. But between us squirrel friends, we know they know.
Be careful when using this word in a casual setting; explaining it can be both hilarious and embarrassing. Take it from me. I explained it to coworkers. In the office. With the boss present. It was a very weird chat. — Levi Winslow
Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year for 2023 was the Gen-Z variant of the word charisma. “Rizz” refers to one’s charm, natural style, attractiveness, and ability to find a romantic or sexual partner. It emerged the winner against words like “Swiftie” and “prompt.”
Twitch streamer Kai Cenat essentially popularized this word in 2022 by offering people advice on how to have “rizz” and approach women. Now extremely popular on social media and a part of daily jargon, “rizz” is the exact opposite of “cringe.” A person with “rizz” is effortlessly attractive, both hot and cool with an affable, flirtatious personality and attracts interest like a moth to a flame. Anime characters like Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen, pop culture figures like Star Wars‘ Han Solo, or actors like Pedro Pascal can be seen as people with “mad rizz.” Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, much to the chagrin of fans, said he has “no rizz whatsoever…limited rizz” during a Buzzfeed interview where he said he did not require his alleged non-existent “rizz” since he was happily “locked up” in a relationship with Zendaya. He got “rizz,” though. How can he not? He’s Spider-Man and one of the better ones. — Debadrita Sur
As someone who is often repulsed or annoyed by, often without concrete reason, seemingly innocuous habits or scenarios, “ick” has found a firm place in my everyday vocabulary beyond its history as an onomatopoeic. It’s the perfect descriptor for when someone turns you off, romantically or platonically, and its ease of use popularized it online immediately.
What gives me the “ick”? Thank you so much for asking! Men in flip-flops. Adults who call stomach pain a “tummy ache.” Having a head cold as an adult. When my husband uses the waist strap on his backpack. The list goes on and on. Even Millie Bobbie Brown gets the ick!
For those who say it’s inconsequential slang popularized by the gworls, you’re half right! The Cambridge Dictionary added “the ick” to its lexicon in July 2024, so it’s here to stay.
And if you don’t like it? Well, you probably have the “ick.” — Brighid Tully
“Yap” is not a new term, nor is it too difficult to understand.
An excessive talker is a “yapper.” The art of being able to talk a lot (and sometimes oversharing) is “yapping.” The word was originally used to describe a small dog in the 1600s, according to Yahoo News. It then became a verb to describe a shrill, high-pitched dog’s bark. By the 1800s, it referred to human chatter and was popularly used in Nas and Jay-Z raps in the 1990s. The word has gained newfound popularity on TikTok. It seems quite “meta” (another slang for self-referential) as people who talk on TikTok about “yapping” are essentially “yapping” about “yapping.”
“Yap” became a popular Gen-Z term in mid-2023 to poke fun at talkative folks and make light of their opinions. “Yapping” can often refer to meaningless, mindless chatter and is different from talking as the latter is often considered more substantial. People, especially women, who love talking have also reclaimed the moniker and the gender stereotype and used it to emphasize the necessity of “yapping sessions” that are therapeutic in nature and execution. In pop culture, Donkey from Shrek would be a certified “yapper” (who also has insane “rizz”). EastVillageGuy probably summed it all up really well in a tweet that read, “Strep throat is a yapper’s equivalent to tearing an ACL.” — Debadrita Sur
No word had a bigger moment this summer than “brat.” Popularized by Charli XCX’s sixth studio album by the same name, “Brat Summer” took over our lives—and, at one point, a Presidential campaign. “Brat” is more than just a slang word, though: It’s a movement, an aesthetic, and, for the indoctrinated, a bright-green lifestyle.
There was a period of time this year when you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the word, seeing its official font or colorway, or uttering it yourself. Named Collins’ 2024 Word of the Year, “brat” officially means “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.” It’s about wearing your messiness on your sleeve, embracing your individuality, and being carefree in your self-expression. It’s a perfect snapshot of the zeitgeist of 2024, and much like someone who is “brat,” it has no boundaries.
Following Charli XCX’s endorsement, Vice President Kamala Harris adopted the aesthetic in campaign materials, catapulting “brat” from its life on the internet into global conversations on major (very serious, very adult) news networks. “I aspire to be brat” echoes in my head to this day.
As with all cultural phenomena, the word’s popularity waned with the emergence of “demure fall.” Its impact, however, is forever. And that kind of iconography? That’s “brat.” — Brighid Tully
TBH, “brain rot” is why we even have this list in the first place.
Named Oxford’s word of the year this year, “brain rot” is exactly what it sounds like: that organ in our skulls is decaying for one reason or another.
I mean, it’s always rotting, our brain, just like our bodies are always decaying. After all, with age comes death, and every second inches us closer to the end. But “brain rot” is a bit more specific and a bit less macabre than that.
Put simply, “brain rot” refers to the overconsumption of nothing entertainment. Think doomscrolling Instagram or TikTok, getting no real value out of the constant feed of content aside from quick dopamine hits. For your brain to rot, you’re essentially serving it slop from sun up to sun down. There’s nothing artistic, nothing intellectual about what you’re consuming; you’re just consuming, mindlessly, without thinking much about what you’re consuming. This brain-off viewing is what’s contributing to your brain rot.
In 2024, it’s a bit more extreme, as “brain rot” is almost a state of being nowadays. Like, you can have entire brain-rotted conversations with other brain-rotted individuals. What does that look and sound like, though? Well…
“Is there a skibidi rizz reason why mewing aura is in Ohio? Is it sigma?”
“IDK, bro, I just got Fanum Taxed by a goonette with a hawk tuah.”
“-50000 sigma points. Get your rizz up, not your jizz up, lil skibidi.”
If none of that makes any sense, congratulations! You don’t have brain rot. However, if you understand some of or all of it, then I’m afraid it’s terminal. Basically, “brain rot” is why kids these days speak the way they do. I think it’s hilarious; language is always evolving, so it’s fun learning the evolution.
This, though, hits a bit different.— Levi Winslow
Vibes = out. Aura = in.
If you think you have that je ne sais quoi, you’re probably talking about “aura.” It’s not entirely dissimilar to “rizz,” but “aura” is more intangible; it’s an energy that’s essential to analyzing potential partners, romantic or platonic.
Not everybody has equal “aura,” and those higher-level beings certainly knew their worth—well, on TikTok, at least. Videos of our “aura overlords” exercising their power onto “level 1 crooks’”(a.k.a. “rizzless morons”) spread on the platform earlier this year. Soundtracked by some good ol’ Midwest emo, users uploaded clips of them bumping into “aura-less minions,” and—with just a fraction of their unbelievable “aura”—kissing them on the foreheads, making them faint in Roblox, or hypnotizing their targets à la Naruto.
Turns out, you can also lose “aura points” as well. Naturally, TikTok had a field day letting us know just what was at stake. Accidentally screaming the wrong lyric at a party—which happens to be Drake’s God’s Plan? -1000 aura. Throwing your football shirt to the crowd, only to have it thrown back? -100,000,000 aura. Having your incredibly trendy, incredibly baggy jeans pathetically fall down your legs at airport security? Well, that’s an aura loss too great for numbers or words. — Alex Rigotti
If you’ve spent any time online this year, you’ve probably seen someone scream “stop glazing” at someone who called Drake the GOAT for the fifth time that day. Welcome to the era of “glaze,” the internet’s go-to word for hyping someone up so excessively it starts to feel like a little too much.
Whether it’s showering someone with compliments or defending your favorite celebrity like they pay your rent, “glazing” perfectly captures the hilarity (and occasional cringe) of over-the-top adoration. It’s sharp, it’s funny, and—let’s be honest—it’s relatable. Who hasn’t gone a little too hard hyping up their favorite stuff? I’ve spoken way too much about my obsession with Dune: Part Two this year, and I’ll continue to glaze the hell out of that exquisite piece of art. All in all, it’s a fun and lighthearted way to call out our tendency to overpraise while letting us laugh about it at the same time. I mean, glazed doughnuts taste good for a reason, right? (Hint: it’s the sugary glaze on top, the same way we glaze folks.) — Jacob Kramer
Alright, chat, let’s chat about…chat.
That’s an over-the-top sentence, but it perfectly encapsulates what “chat” is: it’s you—the reader, the audience, the receiver of information. You are “chat.”
This word is synonymous with Twitch, as every streamer refers to their chat box as “chat” and their community as “chatters.” However, while you can assume that it’s super niche because its roots are in internet culture, “chat” has transcended the internet into real life. Anyone can be “chat.” Your group of friends, the collective of people you share memes with on Discord or Instagram, your family (if you wanna call them that)—all of them are “chat.”
“Chat” is broken off of the phrase, “Chat is this real,” which is a question internet personality IShowSpeed frequently asked his viewers whenever he was confronted with something he couldn’t determine the veracity of. It was spawned in 2023, but now, in 2024, the “is this real” part has been dropped, and “chat” has been left behind. What you get is a very simple, very internet way of referring to large quantities of people you’re talking to, whether that’s online (like your comments section) or IRL (such as your friend groups).
So, tell me, who is your “chat”? — Levi Winslow
Following a bombastic “brat summer,” Gen-Z rang in a “demure fall.”
“Demure” became a trend on TikTok after creator Jools Lebron’s video in August went viral where she demonstrated a hairstyle and makeup look appropriate for work that she called “very demure, very mindful.” With more than 130,000 videos under the tag on TikTok, the word means “affectedly modest, reserved, or serious,” according to the dictionary.
But in the TikTok world, “demure” has several connotations. It is also accompanied by the word “mindful” and usually refers to someone who is very respectful and effortless. After Charli XCX called Kamala Harris “brat”, videos emerged of her laughing on the campaign trail while looking clean and stylish, earning her the title of being “demure and mindful.” In pop culture, while Harley Quinn may be considered “brat,” Rory Gilmore is the living definition of being “demure and mindful.”
A far cry from “brat,” nothing is more “demure” than a beige cashmere shawl, chic work clothes, an early arrival to the airport, a “clean girl” makeup look, looking presentable, being very Bridgerton-coded. It’s meant to be a satire on what “etiquette” might look like and has prompted hilarious and creative videos from TikTokers, including eating a doughnut, pouring wine, or lazing around in bed in a “demure” way! — Debadrita Sur
2024 has given us too many reasons to lose our sh*t. Donald Trump was voted in (again!), the world continues to crumble before our eyes, and nobody seems to care. So, what do we do when we can’t take it anymore?
We “crash out.”
“Crashing out” is the term for going absolutely apesh*t. It’s the two words that caption hundreds of TikTokers losing it: studying while weeping violently, grounded siblings flipping tables, or simply finding out your ex’s profile picture was the very same photo you took. And while some angelic users might proclaim they’re retired “crashouts,” let’s be real: we’re here for the mess.
What’s beautiful about “crashing out” is that it’s a genderless, timeless emotion. Screaming matches on reality shows like Baddies Midwest are no longer breakdowns; they’re “crashouts.” Iron Man going ballistic for being blindsided about his parents’ assassination? That’s a “crash out,” baby. Luigi Mangione murdering the CEO of United Healthcare because of his own shitty experiences with the American healthcare system? That’s probably the most revolutionary “crash out” in recent history, and the most relatable one, at that. We all “crash out,” even if we think we don’t. Existence is terrible. “Crashing out” keeps us sane. — Alex Rigotti
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“What they talkin’ ’bout? They ain’t talkin’ ’bout nothin'”
I’m sure Kendrick Lamar wasn’t talking about kids these days with their absurd internet lingo when he rapped this bar on “peekaboo,” the ninth track off his latest West Coast record GNX. Still, the bar is so fitting, huh?
When you think about some of the words that have dominated the internet over the last twelve months—”aura,” “brat,” “chat,” “demure,” “goon,” “rizz”—it sounds like gibberish. “What are they talking about?” You might ask. “They’re talking about nothing,” you or someone close to you might conclude. And while that might be true, netizens are actually saying something, even though it may not be coherent or intelligible or profound.
Thankfully, you don’t have to try to understand these words and phrases on your own—whether that’s through context clues or overhearing your kids/siblings speak. Let us put you on game with some definitions for 15 of the best internet slang that was all over our feeds and timelines in 2024.
Happy New Year!
You ever just wanna tell someone to stop talking? Maybe they’re telling you an outlandish story or giving you a ridiculous take, and you don’t wanna hear it anymore. Simple: tell them to just put the fries in the bag, bro.
The phrase started popping up in 2022, with a Facebook user memeing about high school friends catching up after years of not seeing each other.
“Wow, it’s been so long! I haven’t seen you since high school.”
“Yeah, OK. Just put the fries in the bag, bro.”
Originally, it was an insult, a means of creating an inferior-superior dynamic between the speakers. The person receiving the phrase would typically be someone with no future, no prospects, relegated to the fast-food industry either because of a lack of ambition or a lack of training. After all, the last thing you want when driving through a McDonald’s is to kiki with the cashier.
In 2024, though, “put the fries in the bag” has taken on a ruder meaning. The sentiment is the same, but the context is cutthroat. All over Instagram and TikTok are skits of people using the phrase, telling their friends to stop the cap about being a basketball prodigy (when the reality is they’re only good in NBA 2K) or quit complaining about everything all the time. It hurts, but sometimes, you just gotta tell people that you don’t wanna hear no BS.
Just put the fries in the bag, bro. I got places to be. — Levi Winslow
We all probably know what this means by now, but for the uninitiated, “gyat” (sometimes spelled “gyatt”) refers to that ass, them checks, that donk.
What’s funny about “gyat” is that it started with an entirely different meaning. In 2018, the English pop-rock band The 1975 released a song titled “Give Yourself a Try.” The track, featured on their record A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, was the first instance of “gyat” being abbreviated. So, for the first few years, that’s what the word referred to: a pop-rock English song.
Innocuous enough, right?
Well, things changed in 2021 when Twitch streamer YourRAGE began using the word “gyat” in tweets and on streams to refer to a girl’s ass. I assume you know what the word—which is an acronym—stands for, but I’ll spell it out:
“Girl your ass thicc.”
In 2024, you can see internet personalities—whether TikTokers or streamers—using “gyat” to talk about an attractive woman’s butt. Kai Cenat has said it, various members of FaZe Clan have used it, and creators in all corners of the internet have uttered—or screamed—it when some girl with nice glutes walks by. It’s basically a cat-call, a way to objectify and sexualize a woman’s body.
Unfortunately, cat-calling is still a thing, modernized for the digital age. Still, a nice ass is a nice ass, and if it’s thicc, well…she got a “gyat.” — Levi Winslow
Fanum Tax is one of those phrases that’s synonymous with a person: Fanum.
If you don’t know, Roberto “Fanum” Escanio is a member of the AMP crew, the same collective that Duke Dennis and Kai Cenat are a part of. The phrase comes from Fanum’s penchant for “taxing” (i.e. taking a share) of his friends’ food. It doesn’t matter what it is: Chipotle, Taco Bell, cookies, treats—if he’s around and hungry, anything edible will get Fanum Taxed. It’s an inevitability.
While you can’t not think of Fanum when saying the phrase, the internet has since co-opted it for its own purposes. The meaning is still the same, but now, in 2024, anyone can “Fanum Tax” anyone for just about anything—though the connection to food is quite important for the phrasing’s usage.
You got something delicious to drink and I’m thirsty? Fanum Taxed.
You got something good to eat and I’m hungry? Fanum Taxed.
You got something sticky to smoke and I wanna toke? Fanum Taxed.
Anything that can be mooched off of in any way can get “Fanum Taxed,” and that’s what you see kids on the Internet and in school cafeterias doing. Sheesh, those are some high taxes, and the returns are good. — Levi Winslow
Remember the good old Y/N fanfiction you read on Wattpad, Tumblr, and Ao3? A chance love-at-first-sight with Jeon Jungkook during a BTS concert where you are reading a book because you don’t know their music? Your eyes meet, Jungkook is immediately captivated by you, calls for you after the show, and spends months pursuing you.
The word “delulu,” which is short for delusional, originated in the K-Pop fandom in 2014. Initially deemed an insult to describe parasocial fantasies revolving around celebrities and influencers, the word has been redefined by Gen-Z since 2022 on TikTok and other social media platforms to represent a more hopeful mindset. It refers to having unrealistic beliefs. Do you think your cheating, gaslighting, deprecative ex is now a changed man just because he got you flowers that one time on your birthday? Then you’re “delulu,” which means you are completely blinded by your delusional aspirations that are quite different from the reality of things.
To counter the negative connotations of “delulu,” Gen-Z came up with the word “solulu,” referring to finding creative and alternative solutions to the problems. The two words are often used together to imply that if you strongly believe in your goals and aspirations, you might be able to achieve them. Being delusional is the best solution is Gen-Z’s way of reaffirming one’s self-confidence and faith in one’s abilities. — Debadrita Sur
OK, hear me out.
You might think “goon” refers to, like, a hitta or a shoota. Someone who’ll ride or die for you or someone who engages in casual acts of violence. It’s often attached to Black and Brown people as a derogatory sentiment, a means to belittle and demean folks from presumed “poorer” backgrounds. It’s rude.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Actually, in the internet age, where porn can be perceived just about anywhere—from actual porn sites to sexualized video game characters—”goon” has taken on an entirely new meaning. Yeah, you can say that someone is a “goon” or a “thug” or whatever other synonym you have. But, when I say “goon,” I’m talking about unbridled, unrestrained masturbation.
Hear me out.
“Goon” can—and frequently does—refer to the act of constant, nonstop masturbation, of losing your brain and your day to self-pleasure with the explicit purpose of not finishing. It’s a more extreme form of edging yourself.
And this is what netizens young and old use to call themselves: “gooners” and “goonettes” “gooning out” all day and all night. No thoughts, just porn. You’ll especially see comments like this in Instagram thirst traps, where commenters will say they’re “gooning” to the poster’s photo dump. Kids will tell each other to stop “gooning” or “being a gooner,” possibly without knowing the full context. But between us squirrel friends, we know they know.
Be careful when using this word in a casual setting; explaining it can be both hilarious and embarrassing. Take it from me. I explained it to coworkers. In the office. With the boss present. It was a very weird chat. — Levi Winslow
Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year for 2023 was the Gen-Z variant of the word charisma. “Rizz” refers to one’s charm, natural style, attractiveness, and ability to find a romantic or sexual partner. It emerged the winner against words like “Swiftie” and “prompt.”
Twitch streamer Kai Cenat essentially popularized this word in 2022 by offering people advice on how to have “rizz” and approach women. Now extremely popular on social media and a part of daily jargon, “rizz” is the exact opposite of “cringe.” A person with “rizz” is effortlessly attractive, both hot and cool with an affable, flirtatious personality and attracts interest like a moth to a flame. Anime characters like Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen, pop culture figures like Star Wars‘ Han Solo, or actors like Pedro Pascal can be seen as people with “mad rizz.” Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, much to the chagrin of fans, said he has “no rizz whatsoever…limited rizz” during a Buzzfeed interview where he said he did not require his alleged non-existent “rizz” since he was happily “locked up” in a relationship with Zendaya. He got “rizz,” though. How can he not? He’s Spider-Man and one of the better ones. — Debadrita Sur
As someone who is often repulsed or annoyed by, often without concrete reason, seemingly innocuous habits or scenarios, “ick” has found a firm place in my everyday vocabulary beyond its history as an onomatopoeic. It’s the perfect descriptor for when someone turns you off, romantically or platonically, and its ease of use popularized it online immediately.
What gives me the “ick”? Thank you so much for asking! Men in flip-flops. Adults who call stomach pain a “tummy ache.” Having a head cold as an adult. When my husband uses the waist strap on his backpack. The list goes on and on. Even Millie Bobbie Brown gets the ick!
For those who say it’s inconsequential slang popularized by the gworls, you’re half right! The Cambridge Dictionary added “the ick” to its lexicon in July 2024, so it’s here to stay.
And if you don’t like it? Well, you probably have the “ick.” — Brighid Tully
“Yap” is not a new term, nor is it too difficult to understand.
An excessive talker is a “yapper.” The art of being able to talk a lot (and sometimes oversharing) is “yapping.” The word was originally used to describe a small dog in the 1600s, according to Yahoo News. It then became a verb to describe a shrill, high-pitched dog’s bark. By the 1800s, it referred to human chatter and was popularly used in Nas and Jay-Z raps in the 1990s. The word has gained newfound popularity on TikTok. It seems quite “meta” (another slang for self-referential) as people who talk on TikTok about “yapping” are essentially “yapping” about “yapping.”
“Yap” became a popular Gen-Z term in mid-2023 to poke fun at talkative folks and make light of their opinions. “Yapping” can often refer to meaningless, mindless chatter and is different from talking as the latter is often considered more substantial. People, especially women, who love talking have also reclaimed the moniker and the gender stereotype and used it to emphasize the necessity of “yapping sessions” that are therapeutic in nature and execution. In pop culture, Donkey from Shrek would be a certified “yapper” (who also has insane “rizz”). EastVillageGuy probably summed it all up really well in a tweet that read, “Strep throat is a yapper’s equivalent to tearing an ACL.” — Debadrita Sur
No word had a bigger moment this summer than “brat.” Popularized by Charli XCX’s sixth studio album by the same name, “Brat Summer” took over our lives—and, at one point, a Presidential campaign. “Brat” is more than just a slang word, though: It’s a movement, an aesthetic, and, for the indoctrinated, a bright-green lifestyle.
There was a period of time this year when you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the word, seeing its official font or colorway, or uttering it yourself. Named Collins’ 2024 Word of the Year, “brat” officially means “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.” It’s about wearing your messiness on your sleeve, embracing your individuality, and being carefree in your self-expression. It’s a perfect snapshot of the zeitgeist of 2024, and much like someone who is “brat,” it has no boundaries.
Following Charli XCX’s endorsement, Vice President Kamala Harris adopted the aesthetic in campaign materials, catapulting “brat” from its life on the internet into global conversations on major (very serious, very adult) news networks. “I aspire to be brat” echoes in my head to this day.
As with all cultural phenomena, the word’s popularity waned with the emergence of “demure fall.” Its impact, however, is forever. And that kind of iconography? That’s “brat.” — Brighid Tully
TBH, “brain rot” is why we even have this list in the first place.
Named Oxford’s word of the year this year, “brain rot” is exactly what it sounds like: that organ in our skulls is decaying for one reason or another.
I mean, it’s always rotting, our brain, just like our bodies are always decaying. After all, with age comes death, and every second inches us closer to the end. But “brain rot” is a bit more specific and a bit less macabre than that.
Put simply, “brain rot” refers to the overconsumption of nothing entertainment. Think doomscrolling Instagram or TikTok, getting no real value out of the constant feed of content aside from quick dopamine hits. For your brain to rot, you’re essentially serving it slop from sun up to sun down. There’s nothing artistic, nothing intellectual about what you’re consuming; you’re just consuming, mindlessly, without thinking much about what you’re consuming. This brain-off viewing is what’s contributing to your brain rot.
In 2024, it’s a bit more extreme, as “brain rot” is almost a state of being nowadays. Like, you can have entire brain-rotted conversations with other brain-rotted individuals. What does that look and sound like, though? Well…
“Is there a skibidi rizz reason why mewing aura is in Ohio? Is it sigma?”
“IDK, bro, I just got Fanum Taxed by a goonette with a hawk tuah.”
“-50000 sigma points. Get your rizz up, not your jizz up, lil skibidi.”
If none of that makes any sense, congratulations! You don’t have brain rot. However, if you understand some of or all of it, then I’m afraid it’s terminal. Basically, “brain rot” is why kids these days speak the way they do. I think it’s hilarious; language is always evolving, so it’s fun learning the evolution.
This, though, hits a bit different.— Levi Winslow
Vibes = out. Aura = in.
If you think you have that je ne sais quoi, you’re probably talking about “aura.” It’s not entirely dissimilar to “rizz,” but “aura” is more intangible; it’s an energy that’s essential to analyzing potential partners, romantic or platonic.
Not everybody has equal “aura,” and those higher-level beings certainly knew their worth—well, on TikTok, at least. Videos of our “aura overlords” exercising their power onto “level 1 crooks’”(a.k.a. “rizzless morons”) spread on the platform earlier this year. Soundtracked by some good ol’ Midwest emo, users uploaded clips of them bumping into “aura-less minions,” and—with just a fraction of their unbelievable “aura”—kissing them on the foreheads, making them faint in Roblox, or hypnotizing their targets à la Naruto.
Turns out, you can also lose “aura points” as well. Naturally, TikTok had a field day letting us know just what was at stake. Accidentally screaming the wrong lyric at a party—which happens to be Drake’s God’s Plan? -1000 aura. Throwing your football shirt to the crowd, only to have it thrown back? -100,000,000 aura. Having your incredibly trendy, incredibly baggy jeans pathetically fall down your legs at airport security? Well, that’s an aura loss too great for numbers or words. — Alex Rigotti
If you’ve spent any time online this year, you’ve probably seen someone scream “stop glazing” at someone who called Drake the GOAT for the fifth time that day. Welcome to the era of “glaze,” the internet’s go-to word for hyping someone up so excessively it starts to feel like a little too much.
Whether it’s showering someone with compliments or defending your favorite celebrity like they pay your rent, “glazing” perfectly captures the hilarity (and occasional cringe) of over-the-top adoration. It’s sharp, it’s funny, and—let’s be honest—it’s relatable. Who hasn’t gone a little too hard hyping up their favorite stuff? I’ve spoken way too much about my obsession with Dune: Part Two this year, and I’ll continue to glaze the hell out of that exquisite piece of art. All in all, it’s a fun and lighthearted way to call out our tendency to overpraise while letting us laugh about it at the same time. I mean, glazed doughnuts taste good for a reason, right? (Hint: it’s the sugary glaze on top, the same way we glaze folks.) — Jacob Kramer
Alright, chat, let’s chat about…chat.
That’s an over-the-top sentence, but it perfectly encapsulates what “chat” is: it’s you—the reader, the audience, the receiver of information. You are “chat.”
This word is synonymous with Twitch, as every streamer refers to their chat box as “chat” and their community as “chatters.” However, while you can assume that it’s super niche because its roots are in internet culture, “chat” has transcended the internet into real life. Anyone can be “chat.” Your group of friends, the collective of people you share memes with on Discord or Instagram, your family (if you wanna call them that)—all of them are “chat.”
“Chat” is broken off of the phrase, “Chat is this real,” which is a question internet personality IShowSpeed frequently asked his viewers whenever he was confronted with something he couldn’t determine the veracity of. It was spawned in 2023, but now, in 2024, the “is this real” part has been dropped, and “chat” has been left behind. What you get is a very simple, very internet way of referring to large quantities of people you’re talking to, whether that’s online (like your comments section) or IRL (such as your friend groups).
So, tell me, who is your “chat”? — Levi Winslow
Following a bombastic “brat summer,” Gen-Z rang in a “demure fall.”
“Demure” became a trend on TikTok after creator Jools Lebron’s video in August went viral where she demonstrated a hairstyle and makeup look appropriate for work that she called “very demure, very mindful.” With more than 130,000 videos under the tag on TikTok, the word means “affectedly modest, reserved, or serious,” according to the dictionary.
But in the TikTok world, “demure” has several connotations. It is also accompanied by the word “mindful” and usually refers to someone who is very respectful and effortless. After Charli XCX called Kamala Harris “brat”, videos emerged of her laughing on the campaign trail while looking clean and stylish, earning her the title of being “demure and mindful.” In pop culture, while Harley Quinn may be considered “brat,” Rory Gilmore is the living definition of being “demure and mindful.”
A far cry from “brat,” nothing is more “demure” than a beige cashmere shawl, chic work clothes, an early arrival to the airport, a “clean girl” makeup look, looking presentable, being very Bridgerton-coded. It’s meant to be a satire on what “etiquette” might look like and has prompted hilarious and creative videos from TikTokers, including eating a doughnut, pouring wine, or lazing around in bed in a “demure” way! — Debadrita Sur
2024 has given us too many reasons to lose our sh*t. Donald Trump was voted in (again!), the world continues to crumble before our eyes, and nobody seems to care. So, what do we do when we can’t take it anymore?
We “crash out.”
“Crashing out” is the term for going absolutely apesh*t. It’s the two words that caption hundreds of TikTokers losing it: studying while weeping violently, grounded siblings flipping tables, or simply finding out your ex’s profile picture was the very same photo you took. And while some angelic users might proclaim they’re retired “crashouts,” let’s be real: we’re here for the mess.
What’s beautiful about “crashing out” is that it’s a genderless, timeless emotion. Screaming matches on reality shows like Baddies Midwest are no longer breakdowns; they’re “crashouts.” Iron Man going ballistic for being blindsided about his parents’ assassination? That’s a “crash out,” baby. Luigi Mangione murdering the CEO of United Healthcare because of his own shitty experiences with the American healthcare system? That’s probably the most revolutionary “crash out” in recent history, and the most relatable one, at that. We all “crash out,” even if we think we don’t. Existence is terrible. “Crashing out” keeps us sane. — Alex Rigotti
and integrate them seamlessly into the new content without adding new tags. Ensure the new content is fashion-related, written entirely in Japanese, and approximately 1500 words. Conclude with a “結論” section and a well-formatted “よくある質問” section. Avoid including an introduction or a note explaining the process.
