a day ago
19 Slang Words Gen Z'ers Hijacked From Older Adults
The new and constantly evolving slang nowadays can confuse anyone, but older adults have another bone to pick with it. Recently, Redditor u/GrannyMayJo asked the older adults of the Reddit community to share the words or phrases younger people have "hijacked" that bother them, and I never even thought about some of these. Here are some slang words or phrases that used to mean one thing before, but mean a totally new thing now:
"'Body count.'"
—Hayabusalvr11"It's weird seeing this right now. I just watched a video of a street interviewer asking an older man what his body count was, and he said, 'Uh, three.' The interviewer said, 'Only three?' The Guy said, 'Yeah, just three.' Then the interviewer asked, 'What do you think I'm asking you right now?' And the guy calmly responded, 'How many people I've killed.'"—Robert_Hotwheel
"I'm confused by young people saying 'you ate that' as a way to say 'you did that well.' Growing up, any time someone used 'eat' in that context, it usually meant something bad, like 'eat shit' or 'eat my dust.'"
"'Out of pocket' used to mean you paid for something for business use, and now the company owes you money. Or it just means what your insurance doesn't pay. Now, it just means 'wacky' or 'uncalled for.'"
"Apparently, 'crashing out' now means losing your shit instead of falling asleep."
"I miss when 'hooking up' simply meant meeting someone. Like, 'Let's hook up later at the mall.' I'm a college professor, and I've made a bunch of apparently hilarious statements in class with that type of lingo before anyone explained to me how the phrase has changed. It's ruined to me now."
"The whole 'red pill/blue pill.' That one really pisses me off. It originated with The Matrix in 1999, and it's now been hijacked by incels and male supremacy groups to describe anything they disagree with."
—Prize_Sorbet3366
"'POV.' To me, this is a very specific term from film and screenwriting that means 'Point of View.' As in, literally filmed as if we are seeing things through the eyes of a character. Now, this term just gets thrown around with seemingly every TikTok video as a general term for someone's viewpoint or opinion."
'"Goat' has completely flipped from being someone you blamed for messing up (short for scapegoat) to stating something is the best (GOAT)."
"They refer to a regularly-packed dance floor as a 'mosh pit.'"
"'Cornhole.' The word used to refer to anal sex, but now it's just a game played with beanbags."
—ItsAlwaysMonday
"I hate that 'psych' turned into 'sike.'"
"It used to be bad to get 'duped' (tricked or deceived). Now, it's a good thing and means a copy or duplicate of a pricier product at a cheaper price."
"'Goon.' It used to describe people doing something silly. Now, it's used for horny people."
"'Gaslighting.' It used to only refer to playing tricks on someone to make them think they were losing their mind. Now, whenever someone gets lied to by another person, that person says they're being gaslighted."
—hoosiergirl1962
"'Low-key.' It used to mean quiet, subtle, clandestine, etc. Now, it exactly? 'Sort of?' Ruined a perfectly good term with a rich history."
"Whenever I hear someone say they want to 'level up' their kitchen, I always think, I've got a housejack they could borrow."
"'Hack.' A hack is now used to describe any common-sense tip for doing something: 'New hack for avoiding dehydration.' Like, just DRINK WATER!?"
—duckfartchickenass
"I can't stand the use of 'rawdogging' for anything other than its original meaning. It's so crude. Do young people not hear what they're saying?"
Lastly: "'Cringe' used to refer to a facial expression one makes when experiencing any kind of discomfort: 'I cringed at the sight of my aunt's disgusting casserole.' Now, it's an adjective used to describe something uncool or embarrassing: 'That dress is cringe.'"
Honestly, I'm an older Gen Z'er, and I still can't keep up with the slang. Like, WTF does 'glazing' mean?! If you're an older adult, what term or phrase has lost its original meaning thanks to modern slang? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your thoughts using the form below!
