Publisher’s Perspective

Chad Koenen

Summer vacation is a great reminder of the simpler things in life. There are family trips, extra time with your kids and a chance to enjoy some additional daylight after work. Summer vacation is also an annual reminder that many of us have no idea what the younger generation is doing or thinking.

For generations now, parents have spent the summer months trying to figure out the latest slang terms used by their kids and their friends. In today’s ever changing society, about the time us “old people” figure out what a kid is actually saying, we are informed that a slang term, like rizz, is no longer hip in today’s lexicon of words. 

In order to try to bring myself into the hipness of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and not seem so out of touch with today’s youth, I have started just saying random slang words whenever they seem appropriate. As you may have guessed, throwing out a random “rizz” or saying eight-nine after a kid throws out the slang word six-seven (which I still to this day don’t fully understand), does nothing but make you seem more old in the eyes of a teen. 

I’ve also tried at nauseam to bring back some of the old slang words I used back in the day like “whack,” “word,” “joint” and “lame.”  

During a recent youth group trip to New Orleans I was around a group of about 20,000 teenagers from across the country. At best, I could pick out maybe every third or fourth word that was spoken. I had no clue what they were talking about, and up until this point, I was quite happy living in my bubble of 90s slang words without trying to keep up with today’s culture. 

After about two days of not having a clue what was being said around me I finally broke down and began Googling phrases I had heard over the course of the summer at softball and during the trip in order to see what was actually being said. I spent the better part of two nights looking up words ranging from sus to brah, rizz and cooking to become somewhat of an expert on 2025 teens phrases. 

In order to share my vast knowledge in the life of kids, which is probably already outdated at this point, I have compiled a list of some of the most prevalent slang words I’ve heard this summer in a way that other ancient people like myself can understand.

Cooking is good, cooked is bad and cooker is nothing, nor should it be for that matter. If I were to say “I am cooking at softball today, I just hit two dingers,” that’s a good thing as I am doing good at softball and hit two home runs. If I said I am cooked at softball today, that means the other team is good and we are going to lose. 

The phrase 6-7 does not show that you pay attention in math class and can count. It means you are above other people like someone who is 6 foot 7 inches. I did ask someone during my vast research on 2025 culture what happens if you are around someone who is 6 foot 10 inches, but I did not get an answer to my question. If someone can help me out with that one I would really appreciate it. Also, if you hear someone say 6-7 and you add 8-9, they get very angry with you and walk away. Just thought I’d share that useful tip in case you want to clear a room. 

Brah doesn’t mean a bra for women, yet it is a term referring to a good friend.

One would assume the term fam would just be a shortened version of the word family. But not in today’s culture of nonsensical phrase words. Fam now means anyone who is like family and close to you. This can include friends, relatives or co-workers, basically anyone who is willing to put up with you when you are crabby, happy or anything in-between. 

Rizz is not short for risotto, nor does it have anything to do with food or Italian culture. Instead, rizz means someone’s ability to charm or flirt. 

One word I have not heard uttered in my direction is bussin’, which describes something that is really good. 

Sus is one of the few words that actually makes sense to me in today’s world as it is simply short for suspect. 

Skibidi is one of the more fun phrases to say and originated in a YouTube series called Skibidi Toilet. It can be used to express a variety of sentiments like good, bad or even just a filler word that has no meaning whatsoever. If nothing else this word is just fun to let roll off your tongue. 

Lowkey has nothing to do with singing or playing a note at the end of a piano. Yet, this rather confusing phrase means secretly, subtly or casually. For instance, I was trying to be lowkey when I was throwing out phrases like Stan (hard core fan) as a way to stay cool. 

No cap doesn’t necessarily mean you accidentally threw away the cover to the milk carton or lost the top to a 20 ounce Mountain Dew, but it might hold that meaning if you are as careless as someone like myself. Instead, no cap in the eyes of our youth means no lie or for real. 

I still think drip refers to a leaky faucet, but apparently the kids today use the word drip to describe stylish clothing. I wonder what a kid would say if you said “I will be cooked if I drip ketchup on my drip at lunch.”

I’ve tried making a habit in life to not put too much stock in what people who struggle to dress appropriately or spell even basic words correctly say or think. That’s why I can’t get behind the slang phrase “or nah” that was popularized by the singer The Weeknd (he is too cool to put that extra e in weekend). Or nah is a phrase that is now at the end of just about every sentence. Basically it means “or not” or “no.” So if I were to say “do you think I sound younger with my hip phrases or nah,” I am asking if I sound younger or not. Seems rather pointless to me, but I guess no one ever asked my opinion. 

Even my name has a slang phrase. Now we have all heard about being Karen, someone a middle class woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding, but Chad now means a stereotypical alpha male who is admired for his confidence and attractiveness. Now that’s something I can get behind, of course until you learn that this is meant in a derogatory way as calling someone a Chad means you think that this alpha male is entitled, shallow and arrogant.  

Hopefully you were able to glean some information from this bussin’ column and weren’t being a Chad in thinking I was cooked for even attempting to relate to the youth of today and their drip. Isn’t it no cap that it can be a bit sus when someone is 6-7 and skibidi’s their way to the fam, or nah?