About This Quiz
The rise in technology (the internet and social media, in particular,) has led to an influx of slang that humankind could never have imagined. The internet has made the world bigger and added a ton of new words to the mix. Since the turn of the millennium, so much slang has entered the lexicon that thousands of slang words have officially made it into dictionaries across the world. Every year, words like blamestorm, twerk and Stan enter the dictionary and words like jomo, swol and suh are born out of thin air. To make things more fun, words like receipts, savage and thirsty get completely new meanings. Not knowing those meanings can lead to chaos.
Netflix and chill doesn't actually mean to watch Netflix and chill. If you text someone a joke and they respond "dead," don't call 911. If somebody says they "can't even" it means they eventually will. It's a good thing if your house is lit. Ghosts and trolls are people who ghost and troll. Your bro is your bruh but he isn't your brother. Your fam isn't your family and mom and dad aren't your mom and dad. Squads are squads. Goals are goals. Goats are people. People act savage, bougie or extra. Anything at any moment can get canceled. Yaas and yeet are words. Nom nom nom is a real word. Being basic is a bad thing.
How well do you know your modern-day slang? Take this quiz to find out!
People have acted salty since the beginning of time but recently, the word has been used as slang to describe someone with a bitter, agitated or upset mood. The salt we put on food comes from sodium, which is the sixth most abundant element on Earth.
Thirsty can be used as slang to describe anyone who is desperate for anything, from social media likes to real-life compliments to dinner and drinks. It's not a compliment to be called thirsty and it's not the same as being ambitious or determined.
To turn up means to get amped up and party hard. Churches, libraries and interrogation rooms aren't normal places to turn up. A graduation party is. You can also get turnt for a party and the time when you do get turnt is called the turn up.
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The evolution of funny things online is something like: lol > hahaha > lmao > lmfao > rofl > and a bunch of other stuff that has ultimately led to figurative death due to laughter. Logically, this is the funniest something can possibly be.
Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams and Michael Jordan are all goats. Every industry - not just sports - has a goat and it's impossible to name one goat above them all. The acronym has been used in the sports world since the early 1900s.
Gucci is a luxury fashion brand that was founded in the 1920s, but in slang, it is used as an adjective to describe something that is fine or swell. It was also used in the 1980s to describe something cool or hip.
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Netflix started in 1997. About 10 years later, someone on Twitter used the phrase "Netflix and Chill" and the rest is history. The phrase took on a meaning of its own by 2014 and has become its own brand.
According to some marketing exec in the early 2000s, FOMO stands for "fear of missing out," and it has been readily accepted since then. Although FOMO isn't a scientific term, doctors agree the fear of missing out is real.
Ghosting is the act of suddenly ceasing communications with the person you're dating or talking to. You can also be ghosted or be a ghoster. If a ghoster randomly resumes communications, it is known as submarining or zombieing.
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If you don't care whether your actions or words have hurt someone, you might apologize by saying, "sorry not sorry." The phrase is also used by people as a preface to something they know will be controversial.
Once upon a time, a troll was an ugly creature from Swedish and Norse folklore. In today's internet age, a troll is someone who purposefully posts offensive content online in hopes of stirring up feelings and emotions in others.
A receipt is something that proves you have received something. It's usually a piece of paper. The word "receipts" can be used as a slang term for evidence of something embarrassing. If you tweeted and deleted something embarrassing, someone who screenshot it has the receipts.
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Don't at me is in reference to the social media practice of adding the at symbol (@) in front of a username to send a message directly to a specific person. If you say don't at me, it means you don't want anybody complaining to you about what you said.
Extra is a slang term meaning overly dramatic or over the top. Someone who spends two hours getting ready to go grocery shopping can be said to be acting extra. Someone who is doing 100 mph in a 55 mph speed zone is also acting extra.
It's not exactly known where this slang term originated, but afternoon tea parties have happened in Britain since the mid 19th century and they're also a custom of women in the southern United States. It's assumed that a lot of gossip has spilled at these tea parties.
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JOMO stands for joy of missing out and it is far less of a real thing than FOMO, which can trigger real anxiety. It's not exactly known how JOMO originated but its creation is commonly credited to a blogger in 2012.
Hangry was first used way back in 1956. In 2018, it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. The word is a blend of the words "hungry" and "anger" and is an adjective that means angry because of hunger.
The word savage describes something that is untamed, wild or ferocious. In slang terms, it describes someone who is petty and does things with no regard to anyone else's feelings. Publicizing someone's personal affairs could be seen as a savage act.
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The word "goals" means the same thing in slang as it means in everyday use: things to work toward achieving. A group of friends might be "squad goals," a happy couple might be "relationship goals" and a stack of money might simply be "goals."
The word "basic" has been used as a slang term for several years to describe a predictable person, place or thing. Ice skating in the winter is basic. Pumpkin coffee in the fall is basic. Someone who drinks pumpkin coffee in the fall and ice skates in the winter is basic.
Bae is an acronym that today stands for "before anyone else" but actually originated as an abbreviation for the words "babe" or "baby." It gained its popularity around 2014 and is used as a pet name for significant others everywhere.
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To cancel someone or something means to reject or boycott it. It is usually just used on social media when it is trendy to "cancel" a brand or celebrity, but its slang meaning rarely translates to the real world.
The phrase "I can't" or "I just can't" or "I can't even" is used to portray the fact that one cannot contain their emotions or beliefs in a particular moment. Whether you've just witnessed the cutest thing ever or got the worst news ever, you might say, "I can't even."
Stan is common boys name and the name of a 2000 Eminem song about a crazed fan. The name Stan has since been used in slang to identify a crazed or obsessed fan. It is also a portmanteau of the words "stalker" and "fan."
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In slang speak, the "grind" is whatever it takes to achieve one's goals. Depending on your goals, being on the grind could mean working three jobs a week or running three miles a day. When you're on the grind, you're grinding.
The word "woke" was first used in slang by racial and civil rights activists during the 1960s and was even used in a song in 1938. To stay woke means to stay aware of the hidden injustices and issues in the world. The slang term regained popularity in 2014.
Turnt, lit and dank are slang terms describing anything that is awesome. Parties are usually lit, dank or turnt unless they're boring. The Burning Man festival is figuratively lit and literally lit when a giant wooden structure is lit on fire.
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The phrase "Bye, Felicia" originated from the 1995 comedy, "Friday," when both Ice Cube and Chris Tucker's characters are trying to get a character named Felicia off their porch. The phrase didn't become popular until years after the movie was released.
In slang terms, ratchet defines a person, place or thing that is trashy. A dress can be ratchet and a nightclub can be ratchet. An entire city in Louisiana has been known as Ratchet City since the late '90s. It is the opposite of bougie, which stems from bourgeoisie.
If you've listened to a rap song in the past 10 years, you've likely heard the word "trill," which is an adjective used to describe someone or something that is true and real. It is a compliment. Somebody can be triller than another. And somebody can be the trillest person in town.
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The term "throwing shade" is said to have become popular just a few decades ago, but people have surely been performing the act for much longer. Throwing shade is just an indirect way of insulting someone. It is more prevalent today with social media.
Yaaas is usually used in written form but can also be exclaimed aloud. It is an exclamation of extreme excitement and it's unknown how it originated. Someone centuries ago must have pronounced "yes" as "yas" but as a slang term, it became popular in the internet era.
IRL is an acronym meaning "in real life" and recently became popular due to the rise in technology and the spread of social media. When you want to differentiate between your online persona and you the physical person, you can add #IRL to your statement.
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If you low key like something, you secretly like it. It means to be quiet, reserved or modest. In slang terms, it means that you like something but not so much that you go around talking about. It can be a secret but it's usually not something you're too embarrassed about.
The Thai version of "lol" is "555" because five is pronounced "ha" in Thai. Spanish speakers might use "jajaja" and the Malaysian version is "ha3," meaning "hahaha." Lol means "laughing out loud" and was listed in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011.