Every now and then in the newsroom, I will say something and my coworkers will shoot me an odd look. I have to remember that sometimes words can have vastly different meanings to different generations.
I am 24 and most of my coworkers are 24 plus a couple of decades and sometimes they say things that make me scratch my head.
If I told one of my coworkers to “send me a snap,” I believe I would leave most of them scratching their heads in total confusion. I asked the Leader’s Editorial Page Editor Steve Taylor what he thought it meant and he believed it means giving props to someone by snapping your fingers together. Our Special Sections Editor, Laura Marlow, came closer to the meaning. She said she believes it to be about sending a photo.
From a 20-something-year-old, “send me a snap” means send me a message on Snapchat, which is a social media platform for sending photos and messages that will disappear after you open them.
I asked Steve, who’s 61, if he knew what “no cap” meant and he logically thought of a dictionary meaning of “no limit” or “no capacity.” I started using the term in my college days and it means “no lie,” but the term has evolved to mean “no big deal” or “don’t worry about it.” The phrase was coined from a 2017 rap song. While rap is not a usual genre of music I listen to, I jumped on the bandwagon of this phrase.
After explaining “no cap” to Steve, he agreed the term makes sense.
I asked Laura if she would understand what I meant if I told her “her fit looked good.” Laura said she would not have scratched her head on that one. A good-looking fit to my generation means a combination of your outfit and your attitude is on point or works well together. Steve said he would have been scratching his head.
Laura, who is 63, said an equal term from her generation is “that’s happening,” or “groovy.”
Another common phrase you will hear from me if you hang around me long enough is “spill the tea.”
As a lover of tea, I do not mean physical tea spilling, I mean gossip. The phrase refers to tea as a yummy detail or rumor and spilling it means to share it.
Laura said a common phrase she would use would be “I need the 411” or “spill your guts.”
I asked Laura and Steve if I called them “extra” would they know what I meant? Steve said he believes I would be giving him a compliment. Laura said she believes I would be telling her she is the opposite of basic and basic means someone who follows mainstream trends. Both of them were kind of right.
If you hear me call you “extra,” I am telling you that you are being over the top and it can be delivered as both a compliment or an insult, depending on my tone.
If I find something particularly interesting or cool, my millennial brain would naturally think “that’s sick.” Laura said an equal term used by her generation would be “out of this world.” She said growing up during the space race, that term was used often.
In talking with both Laura and Steve, I found it interesting how current events and entertainment, like music, can shape phrases and words for different generations.
Laura would get the gold medal in being hip to millennial phrases, while Steve might not make it on the podium. Laura did mention she lives in a multigenerational household and has children in their 20s to 40s. Steve has daughters my age, but they don’t normally use modern phrases around him.
Now that you’ve been clued in on some millennial phrases, feel free to call the newsroom and spill the tea on any community news. Especially if it’s news that’s sick.
Snap to it! Let’s spill some tea about today’s groovy lingo.
