Hi everyone, this will be the last blog post before the holiday break. I’ll be back on January 7th. I hope you’re taking some time to rest and recharge and make happy memories with friends and family.
Having two kids who are Gen Alpha (those born 2010 and on) means I have to deal with their sassy remarks all the time. Like when I told the 11-year-old about my prized Casio calculator watch—the height of watch technology back in those days, hundreds of moons ago—and he said “I’m surprised you didn’t just wrap a leaf around your wrist and glue on an acorn!”
Over the past year, their sassiness started including wacky slang I had never heard before. “Skibbidi Ohio rizz” one would shout, and the other would reply with “gyat,” laughing. When I asked the 11-year-old to explain all this stuff to me, the 8-year-old interrupted with, “Don’t tell Daddy! He’s cringe! If he uses our language, it will plunge us all into chaos!”
Ha! These little dudes don’t know their father is a master of something called “googling.”
Below are some of the terms I learned, in alphabetical order, contextualized for our line of work. Some of the slangs may come from other generations but are still being used by these young’uns today. Now, you may not have Gen Alpha kids in your life, but since they are the future (and the future workforce), it’s good to at least be aware of what they’re saying.
Ate: Expresses admiration and praise for something done well by someone. “Did you see Vickeigh’s presentation to the board on the importance of sabbaticals? She ate!”
Aura/Negative aura/Aura points: Relates to charisma and presence or lack thereof. “That new ED has aura!” “Yeah, she got 1,000 aura points for giving us all a week off for the holidays!”
Bet: Yes, sure, okay. “You bringing to-go containers to the community event to take home leftovers again, aren’t you?” “Bet! How do you think I survive on my salary?”
Bro/Bruh/Brah/Broski: Dude, brother, man. “Of course I submitted the grant application in time. Relax, ED-broski, chill! I hit submit five minutes before deadline.”
Bussin’: Good, impressive, delicious: “The new logo is bussin’! I’m glad we got rid of the old one. Not sure why we even had three squirrels in a trench coat as a logo for a senior center.”
Cap: Lie. “I think two spaces after periods makes it easier to read stuff.” “Cap. Never talk to me again.”
Chad/Gigachad: A successful, attractive man. “Did you see the gigachad with five billion aura points who just walked into the conference room?” “That’s Father Lopez. He’s giving a speech at our board chair’s memorial service.”
Cringe: Awkward, uncool, uncomfortable. “This org doesn’t even have captions on their videos for accessibility purposes.” “In 2024?! That’s so cringe.”
Delulu: Delusional. “Look at this funder. They want a line-item breakdown on what the grant they gave us was spent on.” “They’re delulu.”
Dip/Dip on: To leave. “We can carpool to the conference but if you’re not on time, I’m dipping on you.”
Drip: Refers to an outfit, usually stylish and fashionable. “You got drip today.” “Thanks! I got everything at Ross Dress for Less! This shirt is only $4.99!”
Fanum Tax: Friendly stealing of food. Comes from a Youtube creator who always took bites of his friends’ food. “Did you just steal some of my vegan barbecue ribs?” “Yeah, it’s a fanum tax for helping you with that grant report earlier.”
Fit: Outfit. “You going to the meeting in that fit?” “Yeah, it’s with some high-wealth donors. I’m trying to blend in. Is the monocle too much?”
GOAT: Greatest Of All Time. “Does that funder really give out 10-year general operating grants?” “Yeah they’re the GOAT.”
Gyat/Gyatt: An expression of surprise or shock, especially when referring to someone’s particularly voluptuous behind, but can be used in other contexts. Likely a shortened version of “Goddamn!” “We just got an unexpected six-figure bequest! Gyatt!”
Ick: Disgust, revulsion. “That guy always gives me the ick.” “His name is Vu, and he’s actually pretty nice unless you don’t like the Oxford Comma.”
It’s giving: When used by itself, usually connotes general praise. “This hummus, it’s giving!” When used with other words, it connotes a mood or a vibe: “I like your fit. It’s giving ‘I’m poor but my job is rewarding.’”
L/Take the L: Loss/Take a loss. “When we play the funding Hunger Games, our community takes the L.” Opposite of Take the W: “This grant was a significant W for our org.”
Mewing: An action involving pressing one’s tongue to the roof of one’s mouth to enhance one’s jawline. “What are you doing with your face? Are you mewing?!” “Yeah, we have a site visit from a major funder today, I have to look good.”
Mog: comes from AMOG or “Alpha Man Of the Group,” or possibly from “mogul,” (or from “Man of God” if you’re religious), it refers to someone who is significantly more attractive than others. “Why are you mogging me? The gala dress code is business casual!”
No cap: Not a lie; the truth. “Funders who still don’t fund overhead are the flat-earthers of our sector.” “No cap.”
Noob: Newbie, beginner. “Who’s the noob joining the development team?”
Ohio: With apologies to everyone in the great state of Ohio, this term means weird or backward. “This job posting requires a formal education degree for no reason. That’s so Ohio.”
Rizz/Rizz up: Charisma/to charm or flirt. “That guy has a lot of rizz.” “You’re only saying that because he’s a funder!” Can be used as a verb: “Go rizz up that volunteer. We need more people on our program evaluation committee.”
Rizzler: Someone with a lot of rizz. “The noob on the development team is a rizzler; he just got a 10K gift in his first week!
Sigma: Cool, awesome, the best. “Our Operations Director is so sigma!” “Yeah, I hear she started a Operations Professionals Fight Club.”
Simp: An insult that means someone who is excessively attentive or deferential to someone else. “The new ED is always a simp for major donors, even when they’re racist. So cringe.”
Skibbidi: Comes from some a popular web cartoon series featuring toilets with spinning human heads. It means any number of things: cool, bad, good, or just a general greeting or exclamation. “You submitted the grant proposal? Skibbidi.”
Skibbidi Ohio Rizz: This cursed expression probably refers to a really uncool person. “The entire board of trustees at that foundation are skibbidi Ohio rizz.”
Sus: Short for suspicious. “Not disclosing the salary on job postings is sus. And cringe!”
Tea: Gossip. “What’s the tea on the new ED? He seems Ohio on equity, no cap.”
What the Sigma: What the hell. “The board voted no on paid family leave? What the sigma! Those noobs are delulu.”
Whip: Car. “Can I get a raise? My whip is giving impending accident.”
There are tons of others. Add them to the comments. Then start using them. That’s the only way we defeat this gibberish and bring back Gen X slang, which was totally tubular, word.
