Gloss · Slang

Slang, explained in plain English.

What each word means, where it came from, and whether you can say it at work. 49 words and phrases, from rizz to yapping.

1. 6-76-7 (said “six seven”) is a nonsense catchphrase: kids say it, often with a palms-up, hands-alternating gesture, as a reply to almost anything.
2. AI slopSlop is low-quality content made with AI and churned out at scale: bland articles, strange images, confident wrong answers.
3. ateAte, often “ate that” or “ate and left no crumbs,” means did something perfectly.
4. auraAura is the presence or cool someone gives off.
5. aura farmingAura farming is doing things purely to seem cool: the pose, the slow turn, the deliberate silence.
6. beige flagA beige flag is a harmless quirk in someone you’re dating: not a warning sign (red), not a virtue (green), just a bit odd.
7. betBet means okay, deal, or for sure: a quick yes to a plan or a promise.
8. big backBig back is a tease for someone who eats a lot or is always eating.
9. brain rotBrain rot is the dull, foggy feeling that comes from too much low-quality online content, and the content itself.
10. bussinBussin means really good, usually about food.
11. canon eventA canon event is a painful or awkward experience that shapes you, and that everyone seems to go through.
12. chatChat is a way of addressing an imaginary audience, as if you were a streamer talking to your viewers: “Chat, is this real?” It turns any moment into a broadcast.
13. choppedChopped means unattractive, badly dressed, or generally not it.
14. clankerClanker is an insult for a robot, and now for AI and for people who lean on it too much.
15. cookedCooked means done for: in serious trouble, with no way out.
16. deluluDelulu is short for delusional, used fondly: believing in an unlikely outcome, usually about a crush or a dream.
17. doomscrollingDoomscrolling is scrolling through bad news for far longer than is good for you.
18. eraYour era is the phase of life you’re in, named for its mood: a reading era, a healing era, a soup era.
19. fanum taxFanum tax is taking a bite of someone else’s food, especially a friend’s, as if it were a tax you were owed.
20. gaslightingGaslighting is manipulating someone into doubting their own memory or sense of what is real.
21. ghostingGhosting is ending contact with someone suddenly, with no explanation.
22. glazingGlazing is praising someone so much it gets embarrassing: fawning, flattering, defending them at any cost.
23. hits differentSomething hits different when it feels unusually good in a particular moment or setting.
24. it’s giving“It’s giving” followed by a thing means it has that vibe: “it’s giving 1970s” means it looks like the 1970s.
25. let him cookLet him cook means let someone carry on: what they’re doing might turn out brilliant.
26. lowkeyLowkey means kind of, or secretly: said quietly, not shouted.
27. main character energyMain character energy is acting as if you’re the lead in your own film: confident, a bit dramatic, centered on yourself.
28. midMid means mediocre: not bad, not good, disappointingly average.
29. moggingMogging is looking so much better than someone, usually standing next to them, that you make them look worse by comparison.
30. no capNo cap means no lie, for real.
31. NPCCalling someone an NPC means they seem to act without thinking for themselves, like a background character.
32. OhioOhio, in slang, means weird, cursed or off: “that’s so Ohio.” It has nothing to do with the state, which is the joke.
33. parasocialA parasocial relationship is a one-sided bond with someone who doesn’t know you exist: a streamer, a celebrity, a podcast host.
34. quiet quittingQuiet quitting is doing exactly what your job requires and no more: no extra hours, no extra tasks.
35. rage baitRage bait is content made to make you angry, because anger gets clicks, comments and shares.
36. rent freeSomething lives rent free in your head when you can’t stop thinking about it, often for no good reason.
37. rizzRizz is charm, especially the kind that helps you flirt.
38. sigmaSigma means a lone wolf who succeeds on his own terms, outside the usual pecking order.
39. situationshipA situationship is a romantic or physical connection that is more than friends but never defined as a relationship.
40. skibidiSkibidi is a nonsense word kids use as an all-purpose adjective: good, bad, cool or weird, depending on tone.
41. slayTo slay is to do something brilliantly, or to look amazing.
42. spill the teaTo spill the tea is to share gossip; the tea is the gossip.
43. stanTo stan someone is to be a devoted, sometimes over-devoted, fan.
44. susSus means suspicious, or suspect.
45. the ickThe ick is a sudden, often permanent turn-off from someone you liked, set off by something small.
46. touch grassTouch grass means go outside: you’ve been online too long.
47. understood the assignmentTo understand the assignment is to do exactly what was needed, and do it well.
48. vibe codingVibe coding is building software by describing what you want to an AI and accepting what it writes, without reading every line.
49. yappingYapping is talking a lot, usually about nothing much.

In Gloss, any word, slang included, comes in six styles: Plain, ADHD, Gen Z, Metaphor, Formal, or Like I’m 5. For iPhone, free for three days.

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