Okay, so we are the internet rockstars of slang, and that's a true fact. Want to know the slang words with which every self-respecting New Yorker should be familiar?
Want to know the linguistic origin of some of New York City's most famous slang terms?
Well, to accomplish both of these goals, you should just come to us.
You should also come to us to help you decode internet slang.
We do, after all, live inside the internet, so it makes sense that if you're a middle-aged parent and you've got a child borne of the Age of Internet, you might have no idea what they're talking about half the time.
Stick with us, and we'll have you fully updated on teenage slang. No, we're not teenage ourselves, but we've got our ears to the grounds. We pride ourselves on "Knowing What They're Talking About."
We're straight droppin' knowledge on old folks. Parents, if you're reading: study up. Other people, if there's some hopeless old person constantly asking why you want slide into somebody's Doc Martens... educate, please.
Read on to learn the definitions of all the hottest slang terms amongst teenagers today.
1. GOAT
catskill_animal_sanctuary KIND OF A BIG DEAL!!! Little Violet (center standing) always wants Mama Kellie, so it's WONDERFUL to see her hanging out with the other kids!
So, yes, goats are a typical farm animal you'd find bleating around with weird horns on its head. However, this isn't the kind of GOAT today's teenagers are discussing.
They're discussing "The Greatest of All Time."
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MJ. Derek Jeter. Wayne Gretzky. Deion Sanders (debate if you must, but like, football game and a World Series game in the same day? Come on now...).
So if they tell you you're a GOAT, it's not some sort of backwards, farm-based insult. It's a very high compliment, and should be regarded as such.
2. Dope
Dope means the awesome. It's a simple compliment. If they say, "Dinner is dope," it means you've blown it out of the water. It means you've hit it out the park. It means you've straight dunked it.
Dope does have its origins in drug culture, but that's just because drugs, at least some of them, are cool.
So is dope. Dope means awesome, but it's as though awesome were given six neon underlines and said with a microphone.
3. Lit
No, the thing described as "lit" isn't on fire.
Lit is the entirely modernized version of "amazing." If you hear a teenager say a party was "lit," that means the party was absolutely incredible.
Basically, think about it this way. If you attended a really great event and it was, you know, shining with happiness in your memory, you'd describe it as lit.
If you had a really amazing lunch, you'd say, "My lunch was lit." Got it?
4. Savage
Savage doesn't necessarily mean violent, though it used to. It used to mean that savage was an evolutionary survival instinct, but, no more.
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Today, savage means really cool, really awesome, really badass. Someone might say, "That was a savage slice of pizza," and that would mean the person really, really liked the slice of pizza.
Savage is a very good thing. Except for the negative connotation. That means fierce. If someone was savage on the court last night, A) they're probably talking about Steph Curry, B) Steph Curry did something so amazing, his opponent should reconsider the course of his entire life.
5. Sliding into DMs
that_moment_when______ 😂😂😅 Netflix and chill kinda moment 😂😒 #that_moment_when______ #thatmomentwhen #selfie #slideintodms #coinsidenceornot
Okay, you use Twitter, right? Great. So on Twitter, if there's somebody you follow, and they follow you back, you have the option of sending them a Direct Message.
You've also probably noticed that these direct messages are much more intimate than simply tweeting at them. If you "slide into someone's DMs," it's a very sexualized way to describe direct messaging that person through Twitter.
If someone is sliding into another person's DMs, they probably don't just want to chat about what the math homework was that day. They probably have ulterior motives. The widespread growth of this slang term is a bummer for people who actually do just want to discuss the math homework.
,6. No chill
teacupcircus The struggle is real. #broke #poor #Apple #mac #macbook #laptop #nochill #tagafriend #lol #fun #funny #funnyaf #funnyshit #funnymemes #memes #meme #money #moneyproblems #followme #forlaughs
When someone says "No chill," it means someone said the thing everyone's been thinking but was afraid to say.
"No chill," is the modern version of mentioning the elephant in the room. Someone with no chill would say, "There's an elephant in the room."
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So, it doesn't really mean a stressed-out, uptight person. It just means, you know, like when Amber Rose called out Kanye for liking fingers in his butt. That was an example of no chill. We all knew something was up there, we just didn't know if it was a finger or his own head. But she clarified.
7. Netflix and chill
You've definitely heard about this by now. You had to have.
Oh, you didn't? Okay, well, we're sorry for assuming, but nobody who asks anyone to "Netflix and chill," is truly interested in finding out about what happens in the next episode of Breaking Bad.
They want to make out with each other, and probably more. Actually, "Netflix and chill" definitely carries undertones of sex. Not even undertones. It's more of a euphemism for "Let's Bang."
If you hear your teenager say they're planning to "Netflix and chill" with someone, it's probably time to sit them down and discuss safe sex. We're just saying.
8. Niz
"Niz," means "no." It's as simple as that.
9. What's your ratio?
sobasicicanteven Hey Dawn, how about you back the fuck up and mind your business? 😑 #SoBasicICantEven
If someone asks you this question, they're asking about your Instagram. They want to know how many people follow you versus how many people you follow.
Now, as you may have assumed, it's much cooler to have many more followers than you have people following you.
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For instance, if you follow 6,000 people and only 100 people follow you, your Instagram ratio looks pretty lame, if you care about that kind of thing.
On the other hand, if you have 6,000 followers and you only follow 100, you come off cool as an ice cube.
"I don't care what anyone else is doing, but they care about me," that says to your followers. We don't necessarily condone this sort of popularity judgement, but, that's what this question means.
10. Slay
This term has nothing to do with actual murder, though we suspect its origins do reside in onerous acts. It's a cousin to the phrase, "You killed it!" Or, "You nailed it!"
If someone says you "slayed," they're not telling you that you took the life of a person or animal for whatever purpose. They're telling you that you did a really, really phenomenal job.
Feel free to swell with pride if anyone ever tells you you slayed. Unless of course dragons are involved. Then you're a f*cking legend.
Check out 8 Reasons You'd Have to Be an Absolute Idiot to Ever Move Out of NYC.
[Feature Image Courtesy ThoughtCatalog]