I have a 16-year-old sister, so I think I’m fairly ‘up with the times’ — a phrase some self-proclaimed cool mom probably says at least twice a week. It’s been hard keeping up with millennial buzzwords.
For the longest time, I thought ‘bae’ was short for baby. My best friend texted me last month asking, “what are woes?” probably after seeing ‘running through the six with my woes’ as approximately every teenager’s Instagram caption. I’ll get to that definition later.
It seems like every month there is a new, trendy phrase post-Y2K kids like to use. Most of them come from urban culture and are ripped off by Pumpkin Spice Latte drinkers, but that is a whole different issue. I am just here to break down a few of my favorites.
Goals
Posted as a comment on any photo Chrissy Teigen ever posts on Instagram, it means your goals are to recreate this photo/situation/etc. E.g., some friends and I saw an older couple walking into a wedding reception in cocktail hour attire holding mini 7-11 slurpees on Free Slurpee Day. We declared this to be #GOALS (related: #RelationshipGoals).
Woes
“Woes” stands for “working on excellence,” as coined by Drake in his song “Know Yourself.” This essentially refers to your crew/squad/whatever nickname you have for your group of friends, or as my friend Rachel explained it, “Woe is me!”
Swerve
This one is almost self-explanatory in the sense that it is almost true to its actual definition. It’s basically an indication you’re navigating away from a given idea, person or situation. If someone is about to sneeze on you, you might say “swerve” as you get out of the way. Another example would be if someone told you he doesn’t like Beyonce. You could respond with “swerve,” should you desire to continue interacting with this person.
Fleek
I am a huge fan of this term. I am pretty sure it started from a viral Vine video, starring a woman claiming her eyebrows were “on fleek.” Somehow, everyone instantly understood this to mean “on point.” Jon Stewart even said it once on The Daily Show before his recent departure. You can essentially use it anytime you want to compliment someone about something he or she is wearing, someone’s style, an aesthetic, etc. For example, Rachel McAdams’ haircut in the new season of “True Detective” is on fleek (unlike the plot line.)
Game strong/weak
This is coveted among millennials. It means something you are doing is of very high quality, and is used often in reference to social media presence. Everyone strives to have a “strong Twitter game,” “strong Instagram game,” etc. It goes far beyond the amount of likes or followers you have. 15-year-old girls with Instagram pictures of ice cream cones and skyline backdrops, midi rings on every finger and ironically chipped nail polish often get 300+ likes, but they are still often thought to have weak Instagram games.
There you have it, people. I hope your day is on fleek, your Twitter game is strong, you cherish your woes, you swerve from squirrels trying to steal your Bodo’s and someone tells you your love life is #goals.
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