For some time I've been feeling my age in my knees (I know y'all know what I mean). But perhaps only today did I feel depressingly long in the tooth.
I took a Facebook quiz.
Specifically, a zooquiz titled "React to These Gen Z Problems and We'll Guess Your Age." (Go on, I'll wait here while you check it out.)
As I took the quiz I'd occasionally hit on a word or phrase that'd make my brain go all blue screen of death. I'd mentally reboot and could eventually glean meaning from context but I did have to look some stuff up. Made me feel ancient.
Now, I'm not gonna rail against the liberties taken with the English language by Gen Z, mainly bc I heart words and I take my own liberties at will. As creative self-expression, slang is super groovy and reflects so much about the era from which it originates (and differs from simple/stupid grammatical errors, as it's the deliberate use of a coined word/phrase, or the use of a pre-existing word in a new way). I just want to keep up and, at minimum, understand what the flip's going on around me. And yeah, maybe I'll be that mom who salts her speech with it. At any rate, as a public service to my fellow Gen Xers (Boomers are welcome, if they're so inclined), here's your...
Gen Z Vocab Lesson, Le First
feeling some kind of way
leaving you on read
finna
mood/big mood
shriv
extra
bish
clapback
yeet
Dudes! All of these^ from one little quiz! Which, BTW, guessed me to be 38, an "an old-AF millennial." Hah! (And don't I just wish!)
Go on then, let me know in the comments if you were familiar with any/all of these, and if you took the quiz, lemme know whatcha got!
As I took the quiz I'd occasionally hit on a word or phrase that'd make my brain go all blue screen of death. I'd mentally reboot and could eventually glean meaning from context but I did have to look some stuff up. Made me feel ancient.
Now, I'm not gonna rail against the liberties taken with the English language by Gen Z, mainly bc I heart words and I take my own liberties at will. As creative self-expression, slang is super groovy and reflects so much about the era from which it originates (and differs from simple/stupid grammatical errors, as it's the deliberate use of a coined word/phrase, or the use of a pre-existing word in a new way). I just want to keep up and, at minimum, understand what the flip's going on around me. And yeah, maybe I'll be that mom who salts her speech with it. At any rate, as a public service to my fellow Gen Xers (Boomers are welcome, if they're so inclined), here's your...
Gen Z Vocab Lesson, Le First
feeling some kind of way
- Can indicate having negative feelings about something/someone. Can also indicate a range of feelings held simultaneously, whose complexity precludes definition or explanation, but may be troublesome or uncomfortable to experience. May also be a euphemism for sexual arousal. (Le rawr RAWR.)
- Origin: Possibly this 2013 tune.
- See also feeling some type of way.
leaving you on read
- On a messaging app equipped to let you know your message's recipient has read/seen your message, the "read" signal appears but your recipient takes an inordinate amount of time to reply (or doesn't reply at all). (Rude! This one's pretty easy to grok from the context, but in service to thoroughness...)
- Origin: Circa 2011, with "read receipts" for digital communications. Probs. Though this kind of nonsense is pretty old behavior (you know, like the guy who says he'll call but takes his sweet time doing it).
finna
- Contraction of "fixing to," as in "I'm fixing to go food shopping." Similar to gonna for "going to." (I have to admit, I thought this was an autocorrect fail for "gonna" when I first saw it.)
- Origin: "Fixing to"=American South 1700s; "finna" first recorded in late 1980s hip hop music.
mood/big mood
- Tagging an image with "mood" indicates that the tagger finds the concept it conveys highly relatable, or wishes to relate to it. Similar to when people respond to an online post with "Same."
- Origin: Black Twitter circa 2015.
shriv
- An old-timer. Also, a jerk.
- Origin: Old folks' shriveled skin (particularly that of the scrotum). (Ouch and ick.)
extra
- Over the top, dramatic behavior. (Another one fairly easy to glean from the context.)
- Origin: First recorded on Urban Dictionary in 2003.
bish
- Variant of "bitch."
- Origin: First recorded on Urban Dictionary in 2004.
clapback
yeet
- Interjection of surprise, strong approval, excitement. May also be used when hurling something or slam-dunking in basketball, etc.
- Origin: A dance first recorded on YouTube in 2014.
Dudes! All of these^ from one little quiz! Which, BTW, guessed me to be 38, an "an old-AF millennial." Hah! (And don't I just wish!)
Go on then, let me know in the comments if you were familiar with any/all of these, and if you took the quiz, lemme know whatcha got!
