High Schoolers Explain New Slang Words In This Viral TikTok & Prepare To Feel Old

Before diving into all of the amazing slang definitions generously provided by students at Wakefield High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, a word of caution. Tread carefully into the minefield that is slang appropriation. Yes, it is helpful to know and understand what teens mean when they say “bot” or “chat” or, perhaps the most bewildering, “4+4,” but we are not suggesting you incorporate them into your own daily vocabulary. I mean, feel free if that’s what you hope to take away from this new information. Just remember. It could seriously backfire.

A student journalist at the Wakefield Howler, the student newspaper at Wakefield High School in North Carolina, interviewed teachers about which slang words they heard in class that they didn’t understand. And then very kindly reached out to the student body to explain each of the words and shared the results in a now-viral TikToks. The first example shared by a teacher was “chat,” as in “Help me out, Chat! What are we doing, Chat?” The interviewer found a student who was happy to explain. “There’s two meanings. One is that you could be talking, like chatting to someone. The other one is like, how Twitch streamers have their little logs where people send them messages. And that’s their chat.”

This one is still confusing me. Help me out, Chat.

From there we move on to Mr. Collins who, like me, does not understand when people say “that’s 4+4.” The explanation? “It means eight,” a student explained. “It means basically you did something really well.”

Next up were “Chad” and “ratio,” which were a bit more straightforward. “A ‘Chad’ is a frat boy,” which did not surprise me or anyone really, and “a ratio is when you’re outnumbered by a group of people and you’ve lost your argument.” This one makes a lot of sense. As does the definition of “bot,” used in the sentence “my dad was such a bot” shared by a perplexed teacher. “It means you’re not real.” Fair.

Then there’s “Glazed,” which means “sucking up to somebody, or over-complimenting them.” And finally we get to “actually,” which actually has a very overcomplicated explanation that actually feels it’s being used in the wrong context. One comment, however, clarified that “actually” essentially translates to “really!?”

For the most part, these slang words are pretty fun. And not so far out in left field that older people will be too frightened to use them. Like Martin Scorcese, for example, who had Gen Z slang explained to him by daughter Francesca and got full comprehension marks. Actually.