Youth culture is notorious for coming up with slang terms. Remember when “haha”, “lol”, “rofl”, “brb”, and other such IM/texting terms were revolutionary?? Pretty much every generation has its own dictionary of slang terms that makes no sense to those on the outside. It seems that Gen Y, though, has possibly become the most creative generation yet. If you’re confused, don’t worry. You’re not the only one.
Some of these new terms are pretty, well, ridiculous to be frank, and we could stand to use them less. Let’s take a look at some of the most confusing terms that popular right now.
1. Yas/YAS/yaaaaaassss
“Yas class got canceled today.”
“Do you want to get Chipotle tonight? YAS.”
“Yaaaaaaaasssssssss French Toast Crunch is back!”
This is perhaps the least confusing of the list. A way of portraying excitement, “yas” may be used in place of the word “yes”. The different variations express varying levels of enthusiasm. I’m guilty of using this phrase (pretty often, really) but it begs the question: why can’t we just use the regular English word yes??
2. Bae
Pronounced: Bay
“This burrito is bae.”
“Going on a date with bae tonight.”
Oh, where to begin. Most often used as a term of endearment/slang for babe, “bae” is rumored to mean “before anyone else”. Nowadays, “bae” can really be anything, from a significant other to a celebrity crush to your favorite food. My question is, why was this necessary??
3. Bye Felicia
“Oh you don’t like me? Bye Felicia.”
In the context of Gen Y slang, this term is used as a form of dismissal. And I don’t know about you, but I, for one, have a few questions. Namely who the hell is Felicia?? And where is she going??
4. Squad
“Going out with the squad tonight!”
A more modern form of the clique, “squad” is used to describe a friend group. Realistically, I suppose this term actually makes sense. It can stay.
5. Slay
“Sam Smith slayed at the Grammys.”
Used when someone was greatly successful in a venture. The ‘traditional’ use of this word means to kill someone; in the context of this slang expression you would be ‘killing’ a performance, a test, etc. When you think about it this way it almost makes sense, so this term probably isn’t the worst offender on the list.
6. Gucci
Pronounced Gu-chi
“It’s Gucci.”
“I know this one!” you think. Gucci is a brand, right?? Well, yes. However, it has also become a slang term used to describe something that is flashy or cool. And I suppose this could make sense, when you think about it, but…we can do better.
And last but certainly not least…
7. On Fleek
“My hair is on fleek”
“Her eyebrows are on fleek”
If someone could please enlighten me as to how this phrase came to be, I would be extremely grateful. Since I’m not 100% out of the loop, I’m aware that this phrase means “on point” (which is another slang term in itself), or something that looks excellent. Nonetheless, does anyone really understand what it means? Because I know I don’t.
Slang has been around forever, and it’s not going anywhere. And sometimes it can be fun! Be cautious, though. Using these terms too much can lessen the image you portray to others. So have fun, let loose…but use real English sometimes too.
Featured image via cottonbro on Pexels
Bye Felicia, originate from the Friday movies starring Ice Cube the rapper. My name is Felicia and personally the whole Bye Felicia is annoying!! I’ve been getting it since high school.
Hey Felicia,
Thanks for taking the time to read my article and share your knowledge and experience. I can imagine people saying that to you all the time would get old!
Aliza
If you majored in psych you should know better than to write an article about how using slang originated by BLACK PEOPLE and then assimilated into white culture means you’re PORTRAYING YOURSELF BADLY. Bye Felicia
Thanks for taking the time to read my article. However, I think you misunderstood the point of this piece. I did not write a commentary on how these terms came to be or any background that they may have. Rather, this is intended to be a humorous look at how we use these terms on a daily basis. I appreciate that you took the time to read my article, but I am sorry that you misunderstood the point of it.
Aliza
I love this article because MANY of my friends use words like Gucci, bae and yas. I’ll admit to using yas, but that’s it. I really don’t like Gucci… I think bae is overused. So many of the girls at my school use the term bae which gets annoying. Yas is something I hear the guys and girls use so I’ll allow that. I’m honestly not really up to date and I’ve never even heard of ‘fleek’ before this… So this was an interesting piece!
I totally agree with you! I don’t really like Gucci either and bae is definitely overused. I always feel out of the loop too, so I’m glad I’m not the only one and that I could share what knowledge I have 🙂
Aliza