Yo, what up Equinox reader! (I know, trust it was cringey just typing it). I’ve spent the last week looking at slang words and it’s safe to say I’m all “brain-rotted” out.
Slang continues to evolve over time. The slang terms we used in middle school are out the window and replaced with new ones that are popular. Although words like “legit” and “wack” keep coming back, and words like “chill” seem to have never left, I highly doubt anyone still uses “gobbledygook.” I had to look that one up.
I’m sure we’ve all heard “six-seven” in the last week alone, but what on earth does that even mean? Trust me, I’ve asked everyone and no one seems to understand it fully, but they still find it hilarious.
Many slang terms don’t make much sense, yet we still use them anyway. For example, “what the sigma,” “skibidi toilet rizz,” and “let them cook,” although no one is actually cooking a meal. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what the second term means, although I know “rizz” is just charisma shortened. Don’t even get me started on “rizzler.”
My 12-year-old sister would probably call me “unc” for not being as updated as her in slang culture. But even being a year older than some of my friends has prompted them to call me “unc” too. I seriously cannot win here.
Before I lock in and get serious, I’ve compiled a list of my top five most-used slang
terms/words in no particular order: cooked, bruh, lowkey, highkey and chat, with an honorable mention to the saluting emoji.
Now, I’m going to need you to lock in with me for this part or don’t, to each their own.
While many slang terms can be silly or lighthearted, a lot of slang words you may hear are just straight-up slurs, words used to degrade a minority group, being used casually as if they harm no one.
We’ve seen many movements regarding the reclaiming of derogatory words for certain minority groups, such as queer folks reclaiming the f slur. But when people are using such harmful words in their daily vocabulary, the word starts to become normalized, after decades spent unnormalizing those slurs.
I’ve also noticed that people are starting to bring back using the word “gay” to describe anything they find stupid or lame. Although, unfortunately, I am not sure it ever left.
Among all the chaos associated with Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang, I believe as long as you aren’t acting with malicious intent, slang can just be silly and goofy (even if it’s annoying). That doesn’t mean I’m not sick and tired of the “six seven” jokes.
Madelyn Marabella can be reached at
mmarabella@kscequinox.com
