Enjoy Thanksgiving as you navigate ‘sus’ comments during family dinner

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If you’re like me and you have teenagers, you may often wonder how the modern language keeps shifting into shortened words, or lingo that doesn’t quite make sense.

I’m still trying to understand the phenomenon of 6-7, and why my teenagers and/or their friends try to bait me to say it. And, not so surprisingly, it made word of the year, and an NFL football commercial. Huh?

Moving on, I recently learned fire now means it’s cool, and crashed out doesn’t mean passing out on the couch. Apparently, it means he’s mad or frustrated about something.

I asked AI what the rest of the popular slang words are in 2025 that teenagers and young adults use. Here’s the AI quick hits:

Bussin’: Describes something as really good or amazing.
No cap: Means “no lie” or “for real.”
Ate that: Used to praise someone for doing a great job, especially in a performance or presentation.

Sus: Short for suspicious.
Rizz: Short for charisma, a term used to describe someone’s charm or skill in romantic situations.
Bet: Used to show agreement or confirmation.
Iykyk: An acronym for “if you know, you know.”
It’s giving: Used to describe the vibe or energy something is exuding (e.g., “It’s giving 80s”).
Drip: Refers to someone’s great style or fashionable outfit.
Bae: An abbreviation for “before anyone else” or baby, used to refer to a romantic partner or close friend.
Cap: Means “lie” or “false” (the opposite of “no cap”).
Glow-up: A significant improvement in someone’s appearance or confidence.
Mid: Describes something that is mediocre or unimpressive.
Big yikes: An expression of embarrassment or secondhand cringe.
Touch grass: An insult telling someone to go outside and be more in touch with reality.
Delulu: Short for delusional, used to describe someone with unrealistic expectations.

I’ve heard about half of the above, but not as much as late as 6-7, which is the 2025 Word of the Year from Dictionary.com.
Best wishes during the Thanksgiving holiday.
P.S. If you’d like to share your thoughts on slang language that’s not inappropriate, please email me at cbisson@iniusa.org.

Charlene Bisson is the CEO of Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA. Please email comments to okeenews@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.