The march of time is ruthless, one moment you are young and cool and the next you are ‘the old people’. It starts slowly and creeps up on you, suddenly you no longer recognise the names of artists in the charts and a whole glossaries-worth of new slang terms are being used here, there and everywhere.
If you’ve started noticing your kids using the hip new slang words they’ve come across on the internet - or TikTok, they have probably come from TikTok - you might be wondering what they mean. And more importantly if they are saying things that are not age appropriate!
So we have dived into the depths of urban dictionary and KnowYourMemes to find out what some of the hottest internet slang words actually mean! Make sure to click through all the pages of our gallery below!
7. Ick
If someone or something gives you ‘the ick’ it means they turn you off. It is a phrase that gained popularity from Love Island - particularly fan favourite Olivia Attwood used it. It has become part of the Gen Z lexicon and maybe even older Gen Alpha kids use it. | tatsianamaphoto - stock.adobe.co Photo: tatsianamaphoto - stock.adobe.co
8. Do it for the plot
This one apparently means to try something out just for the experience. For example if you are suggesting to your kid about trying out for a team or club at school, they might say “ok, I’ll do it for the plot”. | sezer66 - stock.adobe.com Photo: sezer66 - stock.adobe.com
9. Let him cook
If your kids are saying “let him cook”, “let her cook” or variations of the phrase, it means don’t interrupt someone because they are doing something well or making a good point. It is not your children volunteering to do the cooking, unfortunately. | ekkaphan - stock.adobe.com Photo: ekkaphan - stock.adobe.com
10. Failmarriage
If your kids are being especially cheeky you might have heard them use this popular bit of 2024 internet slang. It basically means a relationship that is in free fall but the couple pull the wool over their eyes and ignore the fact - like Shiv and Tom in Succession. | Diego Cervo - stock.adobe.com Photo: Diego Cervo - stock.adobe.com
11. Bop
I know what you are thinking - I know what a bop is, it’s a killer up-beat song, the hit of the summer. Apparently to the TikTok generations - Gen Z and down - it might have a very different meaning. In a video viewed over a million times on the social video platform, @theyhateonbrian1 explains a bop is someone (in particular women) who “posts their body on the internet”. | amenic181 - stock.adobe.com Photo: amenic181 - stock.adobe.com