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gen z slang

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'A Christmas Carol' summarized in Gen Z slang is giving hella holiday cheer

Comedian Richard Franks understood the assignment, no cap.

Richard Franks/Instagram, Book cover in the public domain

You've never seen "A Christmas Carol" summarized like this.

Since its publication in 1843, Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" has been retold in a zillion different ways, from serious stage plays to animated musicals to a Muppet movie to a horror miniseries. The role of Ebenezer Scrooge (or his character equivalent) has been played by famous actors such as Michael Caine, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey, Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney and Ryan Reynolds. Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with Tiny Tim and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, but the beloved holiday tale has never seen a plot summary quite like comedian Richard Franks'.

Franks has been delighting his audience with Gen Z slang summaries of Shakespeare's plays, and now he's doing the same with the classic Dickensian Christmas ghost story. Acting as a teacher in front of a classroom, Franks goes through the plot of "A Christmas Carol" in Gen Z speak with hilarious accuracy. Parents of a teens and young adults will likely recognize a lot of these terms, though they may not know what they actually mean.

Watch how naturally he speaks the lingo:

The best part is that it's actually a perfect summary of the story, though only Gen Z would fully understand it. Older folks may roll their eyes at how younger folks are changing how words are used, but every generation has its own version of language manipulation. The Boomers coined "groovy" and Gen X had "totally radical," after all. Millennials and Gen Z have a lot of crossover between them, but the youngsters have established their own flavor (much of which comes from African-American Vernacular English, or AAVE).

People of all generations are loving Frank's comic take on it all, though.

"You’ve done it again, bruh."

"I haven't finished watching it, I am already laughing. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂"

"Literally the only reason I understood what you’re saying is because I know the plot already, otherwise I’d be done for 😂"

"I love these sketches, they are just genius!! 🙌"

"This is Christmas cheer! (still laughing at 'full on Miley Cyrus and buy yourself flowers')"

If you watched the video in complete befuddlement because you aren't regularly around Gen Zers and have no idea what Franks is saying, here's a glossary to help you out with some of the terminology:

Straight up = truly

Vibes = feeling or mood

No cap = no lie/for real

Tea = gossip/information

Salty AF = very bitter

Throwing shade 24/7 = expressing contempt all day every day

Be giving = is giving off a vibe or feeling

Walking ick = undesirable person

Hella = extremely OR a large amount of (depending on usage)

Pulls up = arrives

Sesh = session

Massive simp = being excessively attentive or affectionate toward someone who's less interested

Nah, bruh = no thanks

Toxic mad riz = manipulative charisma

Ate and left no crumbs = did something perfectly

YOLO = You Only Live Once (same idea as carpe diem)

Bet = yes, I'm in

Slay = do something exceptionally well and with confidence

Low key = basically/undramatically

Understood the assignment = fully grasped the expectation and successfully met it

It's one thing to understand Gen Z's language and it's another to be able to speak it. Some parents like to mess with their kids by attempting to use slang terms and using them completely wrong—always a good laugh. One middle school teacher is on a mission to help parents out by sharing some Gen Alpha slang terms, and another teacher admits to making up slang words to try to convince his students that they're real.

Language is fun, and finding the humor in the way different generations use it makes for excellent comedy. If you want to see more of Richard Franks' Gen Z slang literature lessons, you can follow him on Instagram.

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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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