The FLASH

Teenagers use a lot of slang in day to day life. Without even realizing it, you might be dropping some unique language in your conversation, just because you are used to hearing it. But what does most of it even mean, and where did it come from? It might all feel like it just randomly showed up, but most slang has some meaning and origin.

Of course, you can’t have a slang conversation without mentioning the infamous “67.” It’s pretty hard to avoid saying for most people, not just teens, because the numbers appear together a lot. This came from LaMelo Ball, a basketball player who happens to be 6’ 7”, as well as the rapper Skrilla who mentions it a lot in one of his songs. Another number phrase is “41,” which mostly came up as a number for people to say instead of 67.

A word that I find kind of interesting is “aesthetic.” While it is an actual word, it’s usually used to give an idea of how something looks or feels. To say something looks “aesthetic” means you like the vibe of it. “Aura” is a popular way to describe somebody’s appearance or reputation around others. If they have “good aura,” they are usually seen as a pretty cool or unique person. “Bet” is often dropped as a “yes, for sure” answer when somebody asks you if you want to do something. “Brain rot” is a negative way of describing low-quality content that comes from the internet or AI.

There’s still so much more that people use as slang. “Cap” or “no cap” is said either when somebody thinks you are lying, or when you are trying to convince somebody that you aren’t. “Chill” usually means somebody is laid back and relaxed. “Cooked” means you got obliterated by something or somebody. A “crash out” is when somebody gets really mad and can lose control because of something that happened. Saying “facts” is an easy way to agree with what somebody said as an opinion. “Fire” or a fire emoji is used to say that you think something is cool or awesome. Contrary to “cooked” is “let them cook,” or “cooked” as a verb, means that somebody did really well and had a solid performance. “Locking in” is what happens when you ignore distractions and put all your focus into whatever goal you have, instead of letting other things get in the way. “Low key” is often a substitute for “kind of,” as in you “low key” love something. “Mid” is a shortened way to say “mediocre.” “Slop” is a quick way to say unoriginal garbage or trash, especially online. “Tea” is another word for “gossip,” but it’s usually a bit more casual and unserious. Finally, a “whip” is another way to talk about someone’s car in a positive way.

As you can see, there is a lot of slang that shows up in everyday conversation without you even realizing it. Slang is also always changing, and a new word or phrase could show up any day. Older slang also falls out of use, and there is a lot more than what I just mentioned. So keep in mind, there's a really big difference between fancy speech and casual conversation slang.