#ENGVOCAB: POPULAR INTERNET TERMS AS OF JANUARY 2021 C-I

Hello, everyone! This article is to continue our series on popular internet terms as of January 2021. Here is the first article on the series in case you missed it: PART 1

REMINDER: Most of these terms are slang and SHOULD ONLY be used in an informal interaction.

Cuteness overload (phrase)
Meaning: an overwhelming cuteness.
Example:
“Keanu Reeves playing with puppy is the definition of cuteness overload.”
Cyber-bully (verb, noun)
Meaning: to bully someone on the internet or someone who bullies another person on the internet.
Example:
“Jesy Nelson, a former member of Little Mix, was a victim of cyber-bullying.”
Darn, dang (expression)
Meaning: somewhat more polite versions of d*mn.
Example:
“Dang it, I lost the Wi-Fi connection.”
Deplatform (verb)
Meaning: to take away someone’s privilege of using a certain social media platform, usually after a series of dangerous, misleading, provocative, abusive, or life-threatening posts.
Example:
“I think Twitter did the right thing by deplatforming the president.”
Did I stutter? (phrase)
Meaning: ‘Do I need to repeat myself?’ or ‘Do I look like I’m kidding?’
Example:
A: “I want everything to be done by 5 PM today.”
B: “But…”
A: “Did I stutter?”
Doomscrolling/doomsurfing (verb)
Meaning: the act of consuming a large quantity of negative online news at once.
Example:
“Stop doomscrolling. It’s not good for your health.”
Don’t @ me (phrase)
Meaning: ‘Don’t tag me’ or ‘I don’t want to argue with you on this matter.’
Example:
“I like pineapple on my pizza. Don’t @ me.”
Drama (noun)
Meaning: any scandal or controversial event, sometimes steeming from a trivial argument.
Example:
“This influencers drama is giving me a headache. I think I’ll just unfollow them.”
Drama queen (noun)
Meaning: a gender-neutral term to refer to someone who is overly dramatic.
Example:
“Don’t be such a drama queen. You only lost a dozen of followers. So what?”
Eboi/egirl (noun)
Meaning: a popular internet boy or girl.
Example:
A: “Does playing online games a lot automatically make me an egirl?”
B: “No, unless there is a horde of simps following all of your online activities.”
Edgy (adjective)
Meaning: daring, bold, and sometimes controversial.
Example:
“How to be edgy on social media 101: have an unpopular opinion.”
Everybody gangsta until… (phrase)
Meaning: everybody is emotionally strong and stable before they see something that could shake them.
Example:
“Everybody gangsta until they check their bank account.”
Fake (adjective)
Meaning: someone acting not as what they preach or advertise to be.
Example:
“Be careful of fake friends. They could always throw you under the bus.”
Flex (verb, noun)
Meaning: to show off or something that we can show off.
Example:
“I got an A on the math quiz. I’m gonna flex it on social media.”
Flipping, freaking (adverb)
Meaning: alternatives to f**king.
Example:
“She’s so freaking smart!”
Flying wig/snatched wig (expression)
Meaning: expressing surprise or shock.
Example:
“Things that fly: birds, planes, and our wigs.”
Fr (adverb)
Meaning: short of ‘for real,’ meaning ‘seriously.’
Example:
“You scared me just now, fr.”
Get a life (phrase)
Meaning: to start doing something meaningful in life.
Example:
“Bruh, stop scrolling through your ex’ Instagram posts and go get a life.”
…gets me every time (phrase)
Meaning: something gives us a strong feeling or emotion, no matter how old it is or how often we see or hear it.
Example:
“Queen’s Love of My Life gets me every time. It reminds me of my mother, who loved the song.”
…gives me everything/gives me life (phrase)
Meaning: something makes me happy.
Example:
“Stray Kids’ Hyunjin’s blonde hair gives me everything.”

Stray Kids’ Hwang Hyunjin with blonde hair. Picture credit: Koreaboo.

Go off, sis (phrase)
Meaning: a gender-neutral phrase to tell someone to express their feelings or emotions through ranting.
Example:
“I don’t think I did anything wrong, but yeah, go off, sis!”
Gurl (noun)
Meaning: an informal version of ‘girl,’ often used in an admonishing tone.
Example:
“Gurl, what is you doing?” (Yes, the grammatical error is often intentional).
Happiness noise/happy … noises (phrase)
Meaning: a phrase originated from a mid-sneeze husky meme. Used to describe joy.
Example:
“She squealed with happy girlie noises when she got a text back from her crush.”
…has left the chat (phrase)
Meaning: someone or something has disappeared.
Example:
“I just saw a gif of Stray Kids’ Felix. Now my soul has left the chat.”
…has seen things (phrase)
Meaning: someone or something has witnessed bad things happen, usually to the extent of getting traumatised.
Example:
“This cat has seen things.”
Hecc (expression)
Meaning: a somewhat more polite alternative to hck or hll.
Example:
“What the hecc is happening?”
Henlo (expression)
Meaning: a pet’s owner way of saying ‘hello.’
Example:
“Henlo, this is Coconut Rice Bear (a Samoyed that is popular on the internet).”
Highkey (adverb)
Meaning: obviously.
Example:
“In this day and age, I highkey want to stay at home as much as possible.”
Hubby (noun)
Meaning: an affectionate way for a wife to call her husband.
Example:
“Oh, my hubby calls. I’m sorry, can I get this? This must be important.”
I’ll give you that/I’ll give it to you (phrase)
Meaning: another way of saying ‘I’ll give you credits for it’ or ‘I applaud you for it.’
Example:
“You did finish your task on time, I’ll give it to you, but I think you can do better than this.”