Gen Z glossary: Terms you might hear at the Thanksgiving table
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It's giving ... thanks.
The big picture: Gen Z's internet-driven vocabulary isn't typically decoded by a dictionary — but older relatives may still want to be hip at the kids' table.
We're here to help over the holidays:
Thanksgiving? No, it's giving
"It's giving" can be used alone or with another word behind it. Derived from Black Twitter and shows like "RuPaul's Drag Race," it means to give off a certain energy or be reminiscent of something.
- This holiday? It's giving thanks. The pecan pie? It's giving decadent.
- "It's giving" used alone has a positive meaning. That vintage coat? It's giving.
The food on the table should be bussin
"Bussin" means impressive or tasty, and is one of the inaugural terms in the first African American English dictionary, per the New York Times.
- Its variants in the dictionary, expected to be published in 2025, include bussin' and bussing.
Slay isn't a threat, and eating has nothing to do with food
Both are compliments or describe a job well done.
- High praise, if someone says your outfit is slaying or you are eating.
- "You ate" is sometimes followed by "and left no crumbs" (a coveted phrase).
Honorable mentions
- Out of pocket: unhinged behavior
- Pookie: a pet name for a significant other
- Rizz: charm, short for charisma
- Ick: something unpleasant
The bottom line: Language is playful — lean into it!
- Teens and young adults often propel significant changes in vernacular, according to the Linguistic Society of America.
- "The next time you hear a new phrase that grates on your ears, remember that like everything else in nature," the society said, "the English language is a work in progress."
(But even this Gen Z reporter needs a crash course on some of the up-and-coming Gen Alpha language.)
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