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.”
- 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.”
Compiled by @alicesaraswati for @EnglishTips4U on Saturday, 22 January 2021.
RELATED ARTICLE(S):
#EngVocab: Internet
#EngVocab: Internet Slang
#EngVocab: New Words on Internet
#EngVocab: Popular Internet Terms as of Mid-2018
#EngVocab: Popular Internet Terms as of January 2021 A-C
Thank you mimin