Laughing with Gen Z

The definitive guide to Gen Z slang, written by actual teens, some of whom live in my home.

I am a word nerd.

I start each day with Wordle and Spelling Bee. I grew up with a dad and stepmom who used to pick up three copies of the New York Times every Sunday so that we each could have our own crossword puzzle to do. I have lost a friend in part over a competitive Boggle game. (Sorry, but pareo is a legitimate word.)

I am genuinely embarrassed when I learn there is a word or phrase that I’ve been saying wrong for years — and there are many. As a kid, I told people we lived near an Episcopical Church. Rhymes with topical. And for a long time, quinoa came out of my mouth just as it’s spelled, with three syllables. I’ll leave it at that.

Being a word nerd means I’m not a master at English and wordplay — I’m just fascinated by it.

And so, every so often, I find myself googling “what does _____ mean” in order to understand some term that I hear my teens using.

Invariably, any article I find:
1) seems to be written by someone a lot older than Gen Z.
2) includes words I know for a fact are not Gen Z slang. (Fam? Humblebrag? C’mon.)
3) makes my kids eyeroll super hard when I ask them to fact-check.

And so I did what any website editor with a bunch of teens would do: I asked them to get together with their friends and create a better guide to Gen Z slang for me. Which they happily did.

It’s accurate, it’s hilarious, and dare I say…you’ll find it informative.

Please enjoy: The Definitive Guide to Gen Z Slang: Written By Actual Teens Who Think All Other Guides to Gen Z Slang Are Mid.

I rarely share articles from Cool Mom Picks here, but I think this is one you’ll appreciate, regardless of whether you’ve offsprung or not.

(I just made that word up by the way. Therefore: offsprung ™ )

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