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gen z slang

Humor

High school teacher gives his students a pop quiz on 90s slang words and it was 'on fleek'

Can these Gen Zers decode what "home skillet" and "phat" mean?

@austinmartinez113/TikTok

This was da bomb. No cap.

Complain all you want about “that’s sus” and “no cap,” but slang from our teen days was just as, as the kids say, cringe. Sure, they may remain joyful little linguistic time capsules of our youth, but do you really think anyone who didn’t grow up with 00s era Alicia Keys and Usher would have the same appreciation for the term “my boo”? No!

This is, after all, how teen slang works. It helps young adults form their own identity, incorporating bits and bobs from the pop culture they consume, the music they listen to, the way they observe the world around them. In short, it’s theirs to own. So no matter how much it works for that generation, others simply will not get it. Or worse, they’ll try to be hip and use it…we all know how that works out.

That said, one high school teacher is offering millennials a chance to once again be on the inside of the joke as he quizzed his perplexed Gen z student on colloquialisms of our youth. In a video posted to TikTok, Austin Martinez offered his class “extra credit” to define words used during his middle school and high school years.”

“We will give you a word of a phrase. We will also use it in a sentence. All you need to do is write a two or three word definition for what you think that means,” he told them.

@austinmartinez113 Do my HS students know slang from the 90s and early 2000s?? Let’s see! #millennial #slang ♬ original sound - Austin Martinez


Get ready to have a long lost (and likely wide brimmed hat wearing) part of your soul to be reawakened once again. Because here are the words:

“Tool”

“Home skillet”

“Deets”

“Phat”

“Swag”

“Da bomb”

“411”

“Talk to the hand”

“Holla”

“Haterade”

“As if”

*Holding hands in the shape of the letter W* -the kids thought this meant “I love you.” Aw.

“Totes”

“Bling”

“Noob”

“All that” -for this Martinez even referenced the movie She’s All That, as well as the TV show All That. And when he began a quote from one of the show’s popular skits, “welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger…” some kids could actually finish the quote! Extra extra credit to them.

“On fleek”

“Boo-yah”

“Sike”

“Scrub” -obviously, Martinez has no choice but to use “I don’t want not scrub, scrub is the guy that can’t get no lovin’ from me,” as his sentence. And again, some kids could sing along! As Martinez wrote in the comments, maybe “we’re not that old!”

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Martinez could easily do a round two with “cool beans,” “sick,” “word,” "Outtie 5000,” just to name a few. Hopefully he will. And hopefully he’ll post his students’ answers so we can have a laugh.

And the funny thing is, some of the words on Martinez’s OG list don’t technically belong to millennials either. “Sike,” or “psyche,” for instance, was definitely used in previous generations to let someone know that they had just been fooled. All this to say—there are bound to be some millennial phrases that stand the test of time. Which, I mean, if ultra low rise jeans can make a comeback, why can’t “home skillet”?

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Robert Irwin tries to guess American Gen Z slang in chaotically funny interview

At some point he turns into a southern grandpa

Photo Credit: Queensland Police Service|Wikimedia and Canva

Robert Irwin guesses American Gen Z slang in chaotic interview

Gen Z has their own slang that seems to have a life of it's own. Americans hear the popular phrases so often that it can be easy to forget that not every teen and young adult knows all the lingo. But Robert Irwin, the late Steve Irwin's son, was interviewed for Pedestrian TV where they asked him to guess American Gen Z slang.

It turned into this chaotically silly exchange as Irwin repeated the popular words and phrases in his thick Australian accent. Something about an Aussie saying "that's cap" just sounds like it's not supposed to go together. The 20-year-old himself couldn't contain his laughter throughout the whole interview realizing that he didn't know as much as he thought he should as part of the Gen Z generation.

In his defense, there were some Gen Alpha phrases thrown in there so plenty of American 20somethings would've also been confused on a couple of those. Even with the few curve balls, Irwin starts off strong in the word game.

When Pedestrian TV asks the Australian icon what "slay" means, he answers, "slay...that happens to be what I do all day everyday, 'nough said," clearly showing he knows the lingo. Well...until they get to "slaps." Irwin thought it was a hand game where you try to avoid getting your hands slapped. But the slang meaning quickly popped into his head, "oh like slaps as in like music. Like that slaps, like that goes...that slaps, that goes hard, that's a banger." Nice save.

The few that tripped up the Aussie were, "glizzy," "GYATT," and "sigma." It was at that point Irwin admitted to feeling old and quickly slipped into an American southern accent saying, "I don't know what the kids are saying these days but I'm clearly behind the times." Commenters couldn't get over his his accent switch up and one dubbed him a Millennial at heart.


@robertirwin I gotta up my Gen Z game 😂 thanks for a fun chat @PEDESTRIAN.TV ♬ original sound - Robert Irwin


"That Aussie's old man accent is SOUTHERN AMERICAN. I think my brain just broke," one person writes.

"That southern American accent slaps. All rizz. no cap," someone jokes.

"Lowkey its good he doesn't know the trending terms, means he's worried about more important matter in the real world love you either way robert," another person laughs.

The accent really threw people and they simply could not get over the fact that other people outside of America do random accents for no good reason with one person writing, "so the Australians also like to mimic accents when they're feeling silly. Just sounds like they're turning their accent off."

Another person added to the chorus dubbing Irwin a honorary Millennial saying, "as a Texan I did not expect that accent at the end spot on. Robert is definitely Millennial coded."

While Robert Irwin is displaying his Millennial energy, he shouldn't feel alone. Slang is always changing and evolving leaving each generation a little more confused than the last as slag turns into acronyms being sounded out or words that simply don't exist. Plus he's on a completely different continent, so he gets a pass on the slag. Southern accent was top tier though.

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Pop Culture

Gen Zer asks about 90s slang. Man pulls out classic phrases, giving millennials nostalgia.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer."

Representative photo by Cottonbro Studio|Canva

Man shares classic 90s phrases giving millennials nostalgia

Every generation has their version of words and phrases they've deemed cool, but it's often fun to find out what previous generations used as slang. In the 70s they said things like "jive turkey," and "dynamite" while in the 80s they thought phrases like "bite me," or "chill pill" were interesting enough to toss into a sentence.

Recently a Gen Zer asked if people in the 90s really did say, "all that and a bag of chips." It's unclear if the person understood the context in which that phrase would've been used, nonetheless, a millennial answered the Bat Signal to blow their mind. Darren Brand decided to not only confirm the use of the familiar phrase, but to include multiple classic phrases in the video response he shared on Instagram.

"For me, some was good for then, some you could still use today and some we gotta let go. That's not the only one, okay," Brand responds before dropping some 90s gems.

"We got, 'talk to the hand.' Classic. "'As if'—'Clueless,' classic," the man says. Brand continues to rattle off some other phrases popular in the 90s bringing back memories for millennials who happened upon his video. This nostalgia resulted in people adding the slang words and phrases they recalled in the comments. Talk about a trip down memory lane.

The comments started off strong with this oldie someone leaves, "What’s crack-a-lackin!"

Not to be out done, someone drops, "Save the drama for yo mama."

One person shows that words never go out of style, "Dope. Things are still dope for me."

People clearly had a problem with minding their business, or at least it would seem from what another commenters shares, "all in the koolaid and don’t know the flavor!"

Someone else reminded people of the ultimate attitude checking statement, "you better check yourself before you wreck yourself."

Now that everyone has taken a time machine back to the 1900s to revel in their teenage language, it's time to come back to mortgages and kids. Who knows, maybe some of these phrases will slip back into modern slang phrases since everything seems to eventually be recycled from previous generations. Now that would be cool beans.

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Gen Z girl realizes that one day 'Gen Alpha' will mock her just like she teases older people now

The jokes are already writing themselves.

@tyler.benderr/TikTok

If Gen Z thinks they won't be made fun of, they're delulu

As sure as the sun will set, the tides will rise and the seasons will change, so too will the once young and hip age group become all things cringe. Boomers and millennials can certainly attest to this. Gen X, not so much—but then again they’re used to being ignored.

And now it seems that Gen Z can also feel the inevitable approaching. Yes, already.

A TikTok creator by the name of Tyler, aka @tyler.benderr, recently posted a video playfully pointing out all the little quirks that Gen Z’s predecessors, Gen Alpha (those born between the early 2010s and mid-2020s) will make fun of in the coming years, writing that her age group was "next on the chopping block."

In the now-viral clip, Tyler pretends to be a Gen Alpha as she calls out well known Gen Zisms, like having an “era” for literally everything or giving strangers pet names like “bestie” and “queen.”

@tyler.benderr Were next on the chopping block gang #genalpha #genz #genzhumor #genalphahumor #millenialcringe ♬ Jazz Bossa Nova - TOKYO Lonesome Blue

Folks who watched couldn’t help but note how many Gen Z phrases will simply replace what’s currently being made fun of, which came with a sigh of relief from millennial viewers, who, especially as of late, have been relentlessly ribbed for everything from side parts to their self-deprecating humor to pausing before recording a video.

“‘I’m just a 23-year-old teenage girl’ is the new ‘adulting is hard,’” one person wrote.

Another added, ‘The it’s…for me’ is gonna be the new ‘I did a thing.’”

Pretty soon other suggestions came rolling in, like the way Gen zer’s start their videos with shaky cam, using the word “delulu” to mean being delusional and waving their hands in front of their face while screaming silently.

In other words, Gen Alpha will have a lot of “material to work with”, as one viewer pointed out.

Tyler ended up posting even more segments of her Gen Alpha persona ragging on Gen Z things, like their constant use of the words “girlypop” and “it’s giving,” as well as infantilizing themselves, vaping round the clock, and labeling any and all things into a “core.” Which is similar to the whole era thing. But slightly different…somehow.

@tyler.benderr Replying to @Caroline S. Im sooo delulu rn #genz #genalpha #genzhumor #genalphaparent #millenialhumor ♬ Blue Blood - Heinz Kiessling
@tyler.benderr Willing to bet money that gen alpha will hate on us for those headbands @Bloom Nutrition #bloompartner #genz #genalpha #millenialhumor #genzhumor #genalphahumor ♬ original sound - TYLER

Generational differences are a part of life, and social media has made it abundantly clear that what one age group finds cool will seem alien to those who came before them, and lame to those who come after.

Just look at Gen Alpha, already well versed in their own meme culture that many of us find confusing, and just a touch unsettling. Like, oh, I don’t know, evil singing toilet creatures set in an apocalyptic war, for example.

Totally bizarre to us old folks now, and soon will also be but a distant memory, the subject of another viral trashpost. Tis the circle of life.

All the more reason to not take ourselves too seriously.

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