A Parent’s Guide To Teen Slang [Back to School]

Keeping up with teen slang is nearly impossible. New words are constantly being introduced, thanks to the influence of music, the internet, apps, and influencers. You may feel overwhelmed and lost when listening to your children/grandchildren speak, and this feeling only gets worse when you wade into the ways teens talk to each other online.

Use this guide as a reference for what’s widely popular right now in order to translate what teens are saying. And teen slang changes fast, so we add updates regularly—feel free to check back in!

Note: slang terms that involve explicit content or other concerning topics are printed in red.

The Dictionary of Slang

Addy = Abbreviation for address. “Ya my mom can drop me off, can you send me the addy?”

Almond mom = A mom who follows strict eating habits and attempts to force them on their children. “I can’t have any potato chips, my almond mom does not let me eat seed oils.”

Ate = To do something really well or pull off something perfectly. It also often implies an almost effortless confidence. “She really ate with that outfit.” “You ate on that speech in class today.”

Aura farming = Doing something to get attention in a nonchalant way. “Reading in public instead of scrolling is low key analog aura farming…”

Based = An affirmation of something, oftentimes for something that challenges the status quo. “I don’t care what anyone says Mom, this lasagna is based!”

Big Back = A way to body-shame somebody for having a larger body. Often used in the phrase “big back behavior” to refer to behaviors related to eating a lot of food. “You had how many breadsticks? Ok big back…”

“Big Chungus Life” = “Big Chungus” is the internet’s name for the overweight version of Bugs Bunny, but the phrase “Big Chungus life” has come to represent a sort of tongue-in-cheek, nihilistic self-view that teens often adopt. A phrase like “rip my big chungus life” could be a mostly ironic, but somewhat genuine response to spilling your $7 latte on your way to school or your girlfriend breaking up with you.

Bih = A less aggressive way to say b***h.

Body tea = A way to compliment someone’s body. Ex. Did you see Sarah in her prom dress? Body tea.

Butter mom = A mom who promotes sensible and moderate eating habits to her children. “We have whole milk, not almond milk, I have a butter mom.”

Cake = A large butt. Usually a compliment. “This diva has got cake!”

Call Yo Uber = Another way of saying “get out of here” when you are annoyed with somebody. “You did not just say that to me—call yo Uber!”

Caucasity = Behavior of a white person that demonstrates ignorance, privilege and sometimes racism. “She wore her shoes inside after my mom asked her to take them off, the caucasity!”

Choose Violence = To boldly say something purely to create anger or suspicion in another person (as a joke), “My brother chose violence when he decided to put the cast iron pan into the dishwasher instead of handwashing it.”

Choppelganger = A hybrid of two words, “chopped” and “doppelganger,” this word refers to someone who looks like someone else but is uglier.

Chud = The term started as an acronym for “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller.” For a while, the term was highly politicized and basically used as a way to call people with different perspectives out as basement-dwelling losers. Yet, as Mr. Lindsay points out, the meaning has become more generalized for modern teens, and “chud” now refers to any kind of “loser.”

Clanker = Originally a Star Wars diss for droids, has become an insult for AI and robots. “Claude is a total Clanker.”

Clipped = Has a few definitions. In gaming, it refers to getting killed off while on social media it refers to getting exposed or caught in a bad moment. It also can refer to somebody snapping a photo of you when you aren’t ready, “I totally clipped my mom while she was cooking dinner, look!”

Community Dih = A promiscuous guy.

Community Puh = A promiscuous girl.

Cracked = As surely as the sun rises and sets, humans create slang terms for sex. “Cracked” is the newest such word. Simply put = “cracked” or “getting cracked” means you had sex. While the term sounds degrading or even violent, the phrase is meant to denote the experience of satisfaction and joy from the act. To make things more confusing, “cracked” has other meanings, including someone who is highly skilled at something (“they’re cracked”) or that you have broken someone’s shields/armor in games like Fortnite or Arc Raiders.

D1 crash out = Really freaking out about something. “He ghosted me! I am going to have a D1 crash out.”

DL = Down low. “He and I are dating, keep it on the DL.”

Face card = How your face looks in a picture. “Face card is lethal” is a common compliment in girls’ Instagram comment sections.

FBOI = Abbreviation for f**k boy, a derogatory term usually pointed at a promiscuous, manipulative man. “Don’t talk to him, he is an FBOI.”

Flow State = A period of time when you are so immersed in what you are doing you can’t focus on anything else. It can also be used to describe the feeling of something going perfectly. “I studied for 3 hours last night. I was in a flow state.”

FML = F***k my life. Often used after something unfortunate happens, “I just spilled my coffee all over my shirt right before my job interview. FML.”

Frame mogged = Looking better than somebody in a photo. “My sister totally frame mogged me in the family Christmas photo.”

G = A way to refer to somebody as your buddy/friend. “That’s my G!”

Gas = When something is really good. Often used related to food, but the term can be used to describe basically anything. “This new Starbucks drink is gas.”

Granola = Another way of describing somebody as hippy—somebody who eats organic foods, supports small businesses, enjoys hiking and tries to reduce their carbon footprint. Teens often use it to describe a bohemian, flower child esc style. “Did you see my new birkenstocks? I look so granola!”

IFYKYK = If you know you know. Often used for inside jokes.

Intrusive thoughts = Used (improperly) as a synonym for “impulsive thoughts” with the popular phrase “Letting the intrusive thoughts win” which would include something tame like getting Taco Bell at 2 a.m. Psychologically, the term refers to upsetting or disturbing thoughts that appear against an individual’s will, with sufferers often having OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.)

ISO = In search of.

Larping = Live action role playing. This involves playing a character in a costume, often in public. This term is used as an insult for those who are pretending to be something they are not, similar to the slang “fake.”

Lore = Another way of talking about your backstory or past. “Omg you haven’t heard my college lore…”

Lowkenuinely = A combination of the words “low-key” and “genuinely,” used to suggest sincerity but also nonchalance. (Ex = “I lowkenuinely would rather go to a bingo night than an actual party.”)

Mad = A way to preface something is crazy or extreme, similar to ‘very’ or ‘so.’ “Did you see the new iPhone drop? It’s mad expensive!”

“Maxxing” as a general suffix = Improving or maximizing something. It became popular after
“looksmaxxing” became more mainstream. If you’re “Proteinmaxxing” you might be really focusing on getting as much protein into your diet as you can.

Meal = A way of saying somebody looks good enough to eat, see = snack

Mogging = When someone looks or performs better than someone else. Often used in a more tongue-in-cheek way. Can also be used in the past tense as in “mogged.” Ex. “He is really mogging his friend in that photo.” “She really mogged them on the test.”

Moving in silence = The slang term “moving in silence” refers to keeping a personal project to yourself until it becomes big or successful. Rather than announcing your big plans at the outset like starting a new workout plan, you keep your cards close to your chest.

NPC = A “non-player character” in a video game. Basically, it is a short way to refer to a background character. The term “NPC” has evolved to refer to any person who appears to be on autopilot or lacking critical thinking skills. “Bro I tried to talk to him and he just stared at me. What an NPC.”

OFC = Originally an acronym for of f***ing course. Often used to simply mean “of course” for short.

Ok Boomer = An insult to adults or peers expressing an idea that is outdated. “Great Grandma sent me cash instead of a check. Ok Boomer…”

Ong = On God, or swearing to God about something. Ex. On God, I didn’t eat your leftovers!

Op = Short for opponent or opposition, often used to describe someone or something that is antagonistic. Can be genuine or tongue-in-cheek. “That teacher is my op.” “Texas heat is my op.”

Overstimulated = Overwhelmed.

Paper = Money.

Passenger Princess = A person who prefers to sit in the passenger seat rather than drive. “I’m a
passenger princess, my boyfriend always drives.”

Peak = Describing something at its best. “2019 was peak before COVID-19.”

Pleb = A derogatory way to refer to somebody as lower-class. Originates from the “plebian”, which referred to the common people of ancient Rome. “Only plebs go to that school.”

Quiet on the creek = A phrase with a purposefully unclear meaning. It originated from a song and video from the rapper Saucy Santana, who seemed to be referencing literal childhood fishing trips and how not to scare away fish. Others are also using the phrase to refer to keeping something, like a new relationship, “on the down low.” “I can’t tell you about my new girlfriend yet, I’m keeping it quiet on the creek.”

Rage bait = Inflammatory content posted for the sole purpose of causing outrage. It was the Oxford 2025 Word of the Year. “That politician’s Instagram is straight rage bait.”

Ran through = a derogatory term used for somebody who is sexually active with a lot of people. “Oh, Olivia? She’s been ran through.”

Real = An affirmation of authenticity. “I just farted.” “Real.”

Recession indicators = Changes in lifestyle to reduce monthly costs due to inflation. “I can’t buy you Starbucks before school anymore…” “Recession indicator!”

Reheated nachos = A lesser version of something else. It came from the idea of reheating nachos that have already been served instead of making a new batch.

Skeet = To ejaculate. Can also refer to skeet shooting in the game Fortnite, which is the sport of shooting clay pigeons.

Slop = Low-quality AI-generated content. “My grandma watches slop on Facebook Reels for hours.”

Soft life = A desire for a lifestyle of comfort with no challenges or stress. “Mom, I am so ready for finals to be over. I just want a soft life.”

Tuff = Can be used as a compliment (cool, awesome or impressive), or to validate a difficult situation (like the word tough). “You failed your chemistry test? That’s tuff I’m sorry.” “Your new shoes are tuff!”

You the birthday = Can be used to refer to someone who has made themselves the center of attention—like it’s their birthday—either for a flattering or an unflattering reason.

A Final Thought

As you can see, there’s a lot to keep track of!

We hope knowing these terms helps you discern when your teens are just engaged in harmless fun and when they’re in need of intervention. One caveat: teenagers are all about authenticity.

They can smell inauthenticity a mile away. So carefully consider the choice to add these words to your vocabulary. Your teens may think it’s cool or funny that you’re using them… or they may find it totally uncool and therefore be embarrassed by your use of them.