Finna spill that groovy tea

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Humanity’s desire to endlessly create and reimagine slang gets us all in the end. Everyone wakes up one day, only to discover that the kids on the street are speaking a different language. Such is life.

Despite each generation’s ability to generate new terms, the same old concepts persist through the ages, leading to unique takes on repeated ideas. In an effort to keep the lines of communication open between everyone at the dinner table, the following is a Rosetta Stone of synonyms through the ages — a linguistic exploration of what unites us.

Expressing approval

Much of today’s puzzling slang comes from Generation Z — born anywhere from 1997 to 2012 — though Generation Alpha has already taken up the cause. There’s seemingly no end to the amount of terms Zoomers use to say that something is just plain good.

The term “lit” was especially popular in the 2010s, though it actually dates back to the 1910s. It initially meant “intoxicated,” but became more widely applicable as it moved from party culture into mainstream use.

“Rizz” was crowned Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023. Courtesy image.

The Gen Z adjectives “fire,” “Gucci” and “bussin‘,” as well as the verb “slaps” can be used interchangeably to express approval of any concept aside from people — though some variations are more closely associated with specific niches. “Gucci,” given its origins as a luxury clothing brand, is more likely to describe possessions or places than food.

Practice time:

“Gucci/lit/fire restaurant, bro. We should come back soon.”

“For sure. This spaghetti slaps — it’s bussin‘ bussin‘.”

Despite the myriad modern ways to approve of something, no recent invention has come close to supplanting the term “cool,” made popular by the Greatest Generation in the 1930s. Each generation has brought forward its own version: the Baby Boomers said “groovy,” Generation X used “rad” and Millennials took the term “dank,” which before then was almost exclusively used to describe unfinished basements. With more than 90 years spent dominating the English slang lexicon — as well as in many other languages — cool remains, well, the coolest.

Payday

“Time is money,” according to the cliche, but in everyday life — and when it comes to colloquialisms — money is mostly food. Elder Zoomers and Millennials failing to look cool can still be heard parroting the outdated phrase, “Let’s get this bread!” before heading off to work.

According to findings published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, bread has nourished humanity for more than 14,400 years and even predates the invention of agriculture. This staple food was first used in a monetary context in the 1930s, though its origins are subject to debate.

It’s been suggested that “bread” is a shortened version of the Cockney rhyming slang “bread and honey” (“honey” = “money”), though there’s no evidence as to which usage came first. An alternative theory posits that the term is a variant of “dough,” which appeared in J.R. Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms in 1848. Referring to money as “dough” has been in near constant use for the past five generations, and can be found in the 1937 show tune “The Lady is a Tramp” from Babes in Arms, which reentered pop culture with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s 2011 version.

Completing the money sandwich, older members of the Baby Boomers, as well as their parents and grandparents produced such slang as “cheddar,” “bacon” and “lettuce” to refer to cash.

On those rare instances when a food analogy just didn’t cut the mustard, the Greatest Generation began using “mulah” (now spelled “moolah”) at least as far back as 1936, where it appeared in New York’s Daily News. Boomers generated the term “scratch” not to be confused with “Scratch,” “Old Scratch” or “Mr. Scratch” — all pseudonyms for the devil that have been in use since at least 1734, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

That dark association is presumably accidental, unlike Gen X’s use of the phrase “dead presidents,” referencing paper bills in particular. Hip hop culture in the 1990s popularized the term after rapper Nas used it in his 1994 song “The World is Yours.”

Lookin‘ fine

What should you say when a friend or partner’s all dressed up? A Boomer might look at their clothes and compliment their “threads,” while a Millennial might focus on their “bling,” or jewelry. Zoomers don’t necessarily distinguish between the two — everything from hair to accessories is part of someone’s “fit” — a variation of “outfit” with a more complimentary spin.

Though there isn’t an exact translation into previous generations’ slang, “drip” can be used interchangeably with “fit” or more generally to mean “style.” Having drip is synonymous with being fashionable, or in some cases covered in bling, whereas “dripping” is the act of oozing style.

Millennials might be tempted to claim a kinship with the word “swag,” but Gen Z’s replacement for that now-embarrassing word is “rizz,” short for “charisma.” Rizz is another complimentary term that encompasses a person’s style, personality and overall attractiveness. Send anyone with rizz back to the 1970s or ’80s, and Gen X would call them “fly.”

Practice time:

“I want a fit like Beyoncé’s at the Grammys. Her drip is unparalleled. She’s got so much rizz.”

There isn’t enough space for a deep-dive into every bit of gobbledygook on TikTok, but the following are common enough to warrant a mention:

Boomer: “What’s the skinny?”

Gen Z: “Spill the tea.”

Translation: “Let’s gossip.”

Gen X: “Wack”

Millennial: “Sketch”

Gen Z: “Sus”

Translation: “Bad” or “dubious.”

Boomer: “For realsies”

Millennial: “Literally”

Gen Z: “No cap.”

Translation: “I’m not lying.”

Boomer: “Cruisin‘ for a bruisin‘”

Gen Z: “Finna [fixing to] catch these hands.”

Translation: Asking for a fight.

Now go forth, secure in your knowledge of modern slang — at least for the next few weeks.