Gen Z: It’s finally happened…
Boomer: Let me guess – that Timothée Charlemagne bloke you love has worn the ‘best outfit ever’? Yet again?
FTLT, it’s Chalamet. And no. It’s you. You’re *shudders* right about something.
Finally! I told you ‘TikTok psychic’ wasn’t a viable career path.
Lemme finish. It’s your old slang words. You’re… well… cool again.
Aha! I knew you nippers would come crawling back to proper vocab eventually.
Low-key true. According to the language-learning app Preply, use of ‘once-forgotten’ slang is surging on social media.
Once-forgotten? I bet they’re words I’ve said every day since 1973.
Brit lass Charli XCX prompted the rise of English slang in the US
We’re all calling girls ‘lasses’ now. Usage is up 211 per cent.
What were you calling them before? ‘Female-identifying persons’?
It was ‘gyals’. But lasses is cuter. Then there’s ‘scran’, which is up 113 per cent.
Don’t mention ‘scran’ please. I’m Hank Marvin.
*Thinking* I know this one…
It means ‘starving’. And before you ask, yes, Hank Marvin is a real person, and no, he’s not on TikTok.
Such a slay. It’s like the Preply spokesperson says, us Gen Zs are obsessed with the ‘quirky charm and unique humour’ of Boomer phrases.
Bob’s your uncle – proper validation at last!
Wait, IDK* what that one means. Kinda sounds like the results you get from a 23andMe test.
It means there you go. Sorted. Et voilà.
Iconic. Gonna make a TikTok about that. The Americans will be gagged.
The Americans? They’ll be too busy fistbumping and calling each other ‘bruh’ to keep up with our British lingo.
Not true. According to The Times, British-isms are growing ‘increasingly popular’ with US Gen Zs.
They ought to get a grasp on proper English before they get started on our slang.
Roast them!
Well, that’s a bit far.
It means – oh, never mind. Anyway, research by language-learning app Babbel found ‘bonkers’ is the fastest-growing slang word in the US.
In the words of one commenter: ‘Hardly surprising when you consider who their President is.’
Use of this hungry guitarist’s name is coming out of the shadows
IJBOL*. It’s actually thanks to stars like Charli XCX and shows like Love Island that Brit slang is catching on. Americans also love using ‘cheeky’, ‘nutter’, ‘bugger’ and ‘aggro’.
Maybe we should consider tariffs on lexical exports…
They even love British swear words. According to one Reddit thread, ‘b*****ks’ and ‘bell-end’ are more ‘poetic’ than US expletives.
I’m over the moon. I’ve not been in vogue since, well, Madonna’s Vogue.
There is one catch, though…
You want me to explain the etymology of ‘Cor blimey’ to your Instagram friends?
It’s just that some people are suggesting we go even further back.
Shall I start saying ‘spiffing’ and ‘jolly good show’?
According to TikToker @MaybeTasmin and her 640,000 followers, the big thing we need to do in 2026 is ‘bring back Victorian slang’.
Unbelievable. I finally get my moment of glory and you lot time-travel past me to the 1800s.
The slang is vibey! I’ll test you. You probably remember most of them.
How old do you think I am?
Chill for a sec. Now, what does ‘got the morbs’ mean?
To Victorians? Probably caught tuberculosis!
Not it. Means you’re feeling a bit low. Next one: what’s ‘butter upon bacon’.
A heart attack waiting to happen?
It’s actually something ‘overly extravagant or fancy’. Last one: if I called you ‘bricky’, what would I mean?
I hope you’re not commenting upon my stature. What happened to #bodypositivity?
*Rolls eyes* It means brave, or fearless.
I’m not faffing about with this tosh.
I wasn’t taking the mickey! Your Boomer slang is still cool, I promise.
Well, I’m chuffed to hear it.
And now we’ve got loads more groovy words for all our chinwags.
Finally! We’re speaking the same slanguage.
*FTLT For the last time.
IDK I don’t know.
IJBOL I just burst out laughing
