A Guide to Gen Z Slang (Because You’re Old and Uncool Now, Millennials)

A word of caution: If you were born before the turn of the century, please don’t try to use any of the slang on this list. People can be cool at any age.

But the way to be cool when you’re old is to understand young slang, not try to use young slang. Now read on and learn what the cool kids are talking about…

Gen Z Slang

Roughly speaking, Gen Z encompasses anyone born since the late ’90s. And like all young people, Gen Zers have their own slang that mostly baffles older generations. But recently, one of their teachers made an effort to figure out what his students were talking about.

Then he came up with a great way to enlighten other uncool old people…

He Kept His Ears Sharp

James Callahan, a sociology teacher at Lowell High School in Massachusetts, asked his students what their slang terms meant. And they messed up by telling him. So Mr. Callahan recorded all the slang as a glossary he maintains in an online spreadsheet.

When one of his students tweeted screenshots, it went viral…

The Cat Was Out of the Bag

The spreadsheet, titled “Callahan’s Generation Z Dictionary,” spread like wildfire thanks to a single tweet. Soon, everyone wanted the 411 on today’s latest lingo. Some of the slang words you’re about to learn come from Mr. Callahan’s dictionary. Others don’t.

But all of them will get you woke…

GOAT

The slang word GOAT has nothing to do with livestock. GOAT is an abbreviation that stands for “greatest of all time.” In other words, it means that something or someone is the best of the best.