Skibidi toilet, gyatt, Ohio, rizz — what are the kids going on about these days?
Each generation is known for adopting its own set of slang words, thrown around among friends and confusing for anyone of a different age bracket. With the prevalence of social media, new lingo pops up and dies off more quickly than ever before. And to some, slang used by the upcoming generation just sounds like a garble of sounds, rather than an alternative to commonly-used phrases.
To help make sense of it all, the News-Leader compiled a list of 13 slang words commonly used by Generation Alpha, with definitions for the parents, grandparents and other confused folks in their lives.
First, who makes up Generation Alpha?
Move out of the way Gen Z, a new generation is taking over. Generation Alpha, or Gen Alpha, is comprised of those born between 2010 and 2024 — children between infancy and 14 years old. Members of Gen Alpha are traditionally the children of Millennials and younger siblings of Gen Z.
The name Generation Alpha was coined by Mark McCrindle, founder of Australian consultancy firm McCrindle Research. McCrindle claims to have chosen "alpha" for the new generation as it is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.
Ate
Part of speech: Verb
Definition: Impressive or outstanding, metaphorically meaning to "devour" a look or moment.
Origin: "Ate" originated in the Black and Latina LGBTQIA+ community, used as a form of admiration and praise. Commonly, "ate" was cast upon performers in drag shows and dance competitions. This phrase was especially common in the ballroom scene, a Black and Latino underground LGBTQIA+ subculture. Much of the modern drag artform pulls inspiration from the ballroom scene.
Use in a sentence: "Jane looked so good in her prom dress. She ate."
Brain Rot
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: A state of being, having thoughts or using language impacted by an increase of social media usage; or content that has little to no substantive value and may lead to the metaphorical degradation of the brain.
Origin: "Brain rot" dates back to the early aughts, first appearing on Twitter, now known as X, around 2007, according to Know Your Meme, a database for memes and internet slang.
In June 2007, X user Izzy Neis posted that television shows "based around engineered 'love'" were "brain rot." And a few months later, X user Carrissa posted, "Reading or hanging out online produced brain rot. Making myself read more BOOKS."
These shows based around engineered "love" are brain rot... all of them but "Flavor of Love"
— Izzy Neis (@IzzyNeis) June 26, 2007
Although used in a different context, "brain rot" became more widely used during the 2010s following its use in the video game "Skyrim: Elder Scrolls." In the game, characters can contract a disease called "Brain Rot," in which they lose "magicka," the energy used to cast spells.
More recently, "brain rot" has resurfaced in conjunction with "Skibidi Toilet," a series of videos on YouTube that tells the story of a fictional war between toilets with human heads and humans with electronic-device heads, like radios and surveillance cameras. The series has largely become a self-referential meme; wide popular with Gen Alpha, it has been deemed to cause "brain rot."
Use in a sentence: "If you watch too much 'Skibidi Toilet' on YouTube, you may be subject to brain rot."
Bussin'
Pronunciation: [buh-sin]
Part of speech: Adjective
Definition: Extremely good or excellent
Origin: Bussin' is a part of African-American Vernacular English, or AAVE, which is a variety of English spoken largely by Black Americans. Though bussin' can be used to describe a variety of things, it is most often used to describe good food.
The term was first logged on Urban Dictionary, a crowdsourced English language online dictionary, in December 2017 with the definition, "what you would say if something was really good."
Bussin' later became popular in 2020 on TikTok as part of the "Gripping Foods with Force" trend, according to Know Your Meme. Videos that were part of this trend featured people using their hands to grip — with force — food they believed look delicious, or bussin'.
The term gained even more mainstream popularity in November 2020 when rappers Lil Uzi Vert, Doe Boy and Southside released a song called "Bussin'." A few years later, in 2022, Nicki Minaj and Lil Baby released a song of the same name, "Bussin."
Use in a sentence: "That Shakespeare's Pizza was so good. It was bussin'."
Delulu
Pronunciation: [deh-lu-lu]
Part of speech: Adjective
Definition: "Delulu" is short for "delusional," meaning to hold unrealistic beliefs or standards.
Origin: "Delulu" was first used on the now defunct K-Pop (Korean pop) online forum OneHallyu in April 2014, according to Know Your Meme. A user on the forum said that people who believed two specific artists in the K-Pop community would date were "delulu." While the term was initially used to describe delusional fans of celebrities, it later broadened to mean any type of delusion.
Use in a sentence: "You're delulu if you think True/False isn't one of the best film festivals."
Fanum Tax
Pronunciation: [fan-um]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: Theft of food between friends
Origin: YouTuber Fanum, who has more than 1.6 million subscribers, is responsible for the phrase "fanum tax."
Starting in late 2022, Fanum began to pop into the livestream videos of fellow YouTuber Kai Cenat, who is infamously known for "inciting a riot" in 2023 when he told his fans that he would be giving away free PlayStation 5 consoles in a Manhattan park. When Cenat would be eating on-screen, during his livestreams, Fanum came into the room to eat a bit of Cenat's food. Fanum coined this "fanum tax."
More: YouTuber Kai Cenat faces criminal charges after giveaway spawns out-of-control crowd in NYC
Perhaps Fanum explains it best himself though. In an interview with WIRED, Fanum said:
"Let's say your friend is having a meal. He's having a good meal and you just want a piece of that meal. That's your friend and friends share, right? Get you a little piece of the meal — it's the fanum tax. You just go ahead and (say), 'Let me get a little bit ... 5%, 10% of the meal, maybe 20%, just depending on how you feel that day."
Use in a sentence: "Oh, you've got some Andy's frozen custard? Let me grab a spoonful and we'll call it a fanum tax."
Gyatt
Pronunciation: [gee-ah-t]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: Exclamation of excitement; or a person with a large buttocks
Origin: The use of "gyatt" as an exclamation of excitement originates from AAVE, slang for "goddamn."
On the other hand, the use of "gyatt" to describe a person with a large buttocks is credited to YouTuber YourRAGE, who makes a variety of reaction and skit-style videos. Accounted for earliest in 2021, YourRAGE, who has more than 1.68 million subscribers, began saying, "gyatt" as a reaction to women in his videos, according to the Dictionary.com website. His viewers then began to mimic his behavior at the term crossed over into mainstream culture.
However, in June 2023, YourRAGE posted a YouTube Short video, where he addressed coining the term. He claims that his subscribers began to throw "gyatt" around in his video chats as early as 2020.
"Everybody used to say 'goddamn' or 'gah-lee,' but I said it weird," the YouTuber said in the video. "I'd always say 'gyatt.' I would never say 'goddamn,' and the chat realized that and a way of making fun of me in 2020 they started typing 'gyatt' to mock me."
Though YourRAGE may not have coined the term himself, he is largely associated with it.
Use in a sentence: "Gyatt! Did you see that homerun?" or "Wow, did you see the gyatt on Truman, the Tigers' mascot?"
Mewing
Pronunciation: [me-ew-ing]
Part of speech: Verb
Definition: Facial reconstruction technique that involves pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth to change the shape of the jawline.
To try mewing, WebMD recommends the following simple steps:
Close your lips
Move your jaw so your front bottom teeth are just behind your front upper teeth
Flatten your tongue against the roof of your mouth
Origin: While gaining popularity among Gen Alpha today, the concept of mewing actually dates back to the 1970s. According to WebMD, a British orthodontist named John Mew promoted the practice of mewing through what he called "orthotropics," which focuses on jaw posture, with his son Mike Mew. However, the Mews did not come up with the term "mewing." That cropped up more recently.
There is no serious research, according to WebMD, that indicates mewing is an effective way to change the structure of the face. In fact, moving your jaw around over a long period of time can have adverse effects, including the misalignment of teeth, pain or dysfunction at the hinge of the jaw, or loose and chipped teeth.
Use in a sentence: "I mew in my selfies so I look my best."
What's special about Ohio?
Ohio has been in the meme spotlight for several years, but why is the Midwest state the brunt of so many jokes? Avid social media users and members of Gen Alpha don't seem to have a clear answer.
Ohio was first recognized as a meme in 2016, when a photo of a broken bus station marqueethat read, "Ohio will be eliminated" was shared on Tumblr, a blog-style social media platform. The photo quickly went viral, with many social media users asking the important question: What has Ohio done? The reason for the bus station marquee message remains unknown.
A few years later, around 2020, another Ohio-centric meme began to circulate the Internet known as, "Wait, it's all Ohio?" The meme, created in Microsoft Paint, features two astronauts floating above Earth. The Earth appears to just contain the state of Ohio. The left-most astronaut poses the question, "Wait, it's all Ohio?" and the right-most astronaut is depicted pointing a gun toward the other answering with, "Always has been." This meme format continues to be recycled, poking fun at different popular topics in pop culture that are "all-consuming."
Most recently, Ohio became popular on TikTok in 2022 with the meme trend known as "Only in Ohio." Videos that are part of this trend feature fictional creatures attacking cities, jokingly proclaiming that such an event could only happen in Ohio, according to Know Your Meme.
Around the same time, a new trend began, known as "Can't even X in Ohio." This trend places simple, day-to-day tasks in the sentence in place of "X," such as "Can't even nap in Ohio" or "Can't even eat a meal in Ohio," according to Know Your Meme. Videos from this trend featured users doing these tasks with related captions.
Pookie
Pronunciation: [poo-key]
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: Nickname for someone who is cute or lovely
Origin: The nickname "pookie" has been around for decades, synonymous with "honey" or "sweetie." But the nickname has gained more traction recently with influencers Campbell and Jett Puckett.
Campbell, who has more than 859,800 followers on TikTok, is known for her videos that feature the couple showing off their outfits before going out to dinner or attending a party. In each of the videos, Jett references his wife as "pookie."
Campbell's most popular video, which boasts more than 18.7 million views on TikTok, features the two showing off "date night" outfits.
"Pookie is looking particularly amazing tonight," Jett exclaims before his wife begins to tell viewers where her outfit and accessories were purchased from.
Use in a sentence: "You look gorgeous tonight, pookie!"
Rizz (or Rizzler)
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: Short for "charisma," romantic charm or appeal; someone who has rizz or is particularly alluring.
Origin: In addition to being partly responsible for the phrase, "fanum tax," YouTuber Kai Cenat is behind the popularity of the slang, "rizz." According to the Dictionary website, Cenat began regularly saying "rizz" in his social media videos around 2021. The slang terminology quickly gained traction on social media.
Using in a sentence: "Brad Pitt has rizz."
Sigma (or Sigma Male)
Part of speech: Noun
Definition: Successful, popular and highly independent man
Origin: In addition to being the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet, "sigma" has been used to describe successful, independent men for quite a few years. This is in contrast to an alpha male, who is seen as aggressively sociable.
According to the Dictionary website, the term "sigma male" was coined by far-right writer Theodore Robert Beale on his blog in the 2010s. Beale is more commonly known as his alias, Vox Day.
The term gained widespread popularity in 2021, when X user Lily Simpson posted a series of photos, including a book cover and YouTube thumbnail image, related to sigma males. One of the photos was a pyramid graphic that put alpha and sigma males at the top of the "socio sexual hierarchy."
"What the **** is going on with men," Simpson wrote in her post.
Since then, "sigma" has been used more often to mock the "original" definition.
Using in a sentence: "Truman the Tiger is Sigma."
Skibidi (or 'Skibidi Toilet')
Pronunciation: [skeh-bee-dee]
Part of speech: Onomatopoeia
Definition: There is no one definition for skibidi, it is more of an expression.
Origin: The phrase "skibidi" originates from the song "Give It to Me" by Timbaland. When sped up, the chorus' lyrics, "so give it to me, give it to me" sound similar to "skibidi," according to online news publication Mashable.
As for "Skibidi Toilet," this is the name of a popular YouTube series created by YouTuber DaFuq!?Boom!, who has more than 41.7 million subscribers. The series follows the story of a fictional war between toilets with human heads and humans with electronic-device heads, like radios and surveillance cameras. As of Thursday, there were 73 episodes of "Skibidi Toilet."
Touching Grass
Part of speech: Verb
Definition: Going outside, enjoying nature
Origin: The exact origin of the phrase "touching grass" is unknown, but it was used as an alterative to "going outside" as early as 2015, per posts made on X, according to Know Your Meme. Over the years, the phrase has grown in popularity among younger generations.
Use in a sentence: "I'm stepping away from my computer to go touch grass for a bit."
Greta Cross is the trending topicsreporter for the SpringfieldNews-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her onX and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Here are 13 Gen Alpha slang words worth familiarizing yourself with
