MYH: 30 Decoding the Linguistic Divide Between Gen Z and Gen X

Language evolves at lightning speed, creating chasms of understanding between generations that are both frustrating and hilarious. Our mother-daughter hosting duo tackles this linguistic divide head-on by quizzing each other on slang from their respective eras.

Emily challenges mom Trina to decipher modern Gen Z terms like "riz" (short for charisma), "no kizzy" (an intensified version of "no cap," meaning complete honesty), and "bussin" (describing something exceptionally good). Meanwhile, Trina introduces 80s classics including "tubular," "bodacious," and "gag me with a spoon" - terms that once defined coolness but now sound like relics from another linguistic universe.

What emerges from our playful cross-generational translation game is the surprising revelation that while vocabulary changes dramatically, the purpose behind slang remains remarkably consistent. Whether you're a teen in 1985 or 2023, you need shorthand expressions for authenticity, style assessment, and emphasizing statements. The embarrassment both hosts feel when saying these terms out of context highlights another truth about slang - its power often depends on organic adoption within specific communities. We explore which terms have staying power (like "vibe" or "sus") versus which fade into linguistic obscurity, reflecting on how some former slang eventually becomes standard language.

Whether you're constantly trying to keep up with evolving language or you find yourself frequently explaining your generation's expressions to confused onlookers, this episode offers equal parts nostalgia and laughter. Share your favorite generational slang terms with us - we're curious which expressions from your era have survived the test of time!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Mind Your Heart
• 0:46 Introduction to Slang Words Challenge
• 2:10 Decoding Gen Z Slang Terms
• 4:59 Exploring 80s Slang Words
• 10:49 Final Thoughts and Wrap-up

Transcript

Welcome to Mind Your Heart

Speaker 1 0:02

Hey, welcome to Mind your Heart Podcast, your favorite corner of the internet where we chat about all things mental health.

Speaker 2 0:09

I'm Emily and I'm Trina. Together, we're like your real-life Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. Each week, we'll bring you real conversations about the world of mental health and we will peel back layers on topics like anxiety, depression and much more.

Speaker 1 0:24

We're here to chat with you about the tough stuff, the everyday stuff and everything in between. So grab your emotional support water bottle I know we have ours. Find your comfiest chair or keep your eyes on the road and let's get into it. Are you ready, mom?

Speaker 2 0:39

Absolutely. Join us as we mind our hearts and hopefully make minding yours a little easier.

Speaker 1 0:46

Welcome back. We're back with Mind, your Heart, we have. Well, I'm Emily.

Speaker 2 0:52

And I'm Trina.

Speaker 1 0:53

And we are your hosts, and today we're going to do a short, fun, very interesting episode of going through slang words. So I'm gonna read some slang words from the gen z, which I guess is me. I'm gen.

Speaker 2 1:11

Well, I need to get some slang words for gen x yeah, I went on chat gbt and did it.

Speaker 1 1:17

I said like act like a, a 13 year old um, like middle schooler now and like give me a list of slang words and then give me the definitions. Okay, so some of these I don't even know.

Speaker 2 1:37

What the heck it's like. Okay, act like a teenager in whatever decade, that would be.

Speaker 1 1:45

Well, I was a teenager In whatever decade.

Speaker 2 1:46

Well, I was a teenager in the 80s, so, and how many did you get?

Speaker 1 1:56

I have a lot, but we don't need a lot. Okay, we could do 10.

Speaker 2 2:11

Okay, lot. Okay, we could do 10. Okay, I'm gonna read the ones. I don't know either. Okay, all right, go for it. I'm supposed to guess what they mean.

Speaker 1 2:18

Yes, it feels embarrassing.

Speaker 2 2:21

I totally have all of these in my, in my mind, except for yeah, I got it oh gosh.

Speaker 1 2:30

I hate that. These are words that my generation uses.

Speaker 2 2:33

This feels like an embarrassment bro, bro, is that one no that's just a. It's just a shortened version Jackson's yeah, all right. God these are horrible. Riz, riz, I know what that is. Like you have, like you're cool, like you've got the like that you, you're, you're, like you know what you're doing. You're like you've got the account. Like I can't think of the words. You have the um status to go with it yeah.

Speaker 1 3:12

So it's short for charisma, especially when someone is good at flirting or talking to others. Example he's got mad riz. Oh, I hate that. That makes me feel like cringy. Okay.

Speaker 2 3:28

Do I go or you keep going?

Speaker 1 3:30

Yeah, you give me one All right gnarly. I mean, I feel like you could use that in multiple senses Like that's gnarly, or like that's like it could be bad or good.

Speaker 2 3:44

It's actually something super cool, oh yeah, or extreme. Oh, it's actually something super cool, oh yeah, or extreme.

Speaker 1 3:49

Oh, gnarly, dude.

Speaker 2 3:51

Yeah.

Speaker 1 3:52

Okay.

Speaker 2 3:54

What was the gnarly fall, or gnarly, what's the word? When you fall busted on a skateboard. Golly, might, just went right on my head, okay.

Speaker 1 4:06

Okay, no kizzy, no kizzy.

Speaker 2 4:10

No kizzy Like no sex no.

Speaker 1 4:16

No. So the definition says similar to no cap. Do you know what that is?

Speaker 2 4:23

No, okay.

Speaker 1 4:26

But even more intense when people say you're being totally honest, so like, like no cap is early, like dead ass like being like dead ass. Have you ever heard that dead ass? No yeah, okay, so like being like I'm so serious right now like dead ass.

Speaker 2 4:42

Oh okay, yeah, I have heard that jackson says that yeah, so like no, kizzy is the same thing I've never heard that.

Speaker 1 4:49

That sounds dumb yes, it does sound dumb, I agree okay, tubular how?

Exploring 80s Slang Words

Speaker 2 4:57

would you miss tubular, totally awesome yeah, okay, it's usually used for something visually impressive.

Speaker 1 5:06

Okay.

Speaker 2 5:08

I don't know if that's true, but anyway. Okay, here's the next one that you got to go.

Speaker 1 5:17

This is the first one that I thought of All right.

Speaker 2 5:23

Drip or drowned Drip or drowned, drowned.

Speaker 1 5:29

Yeah, I don't know you don't have any guesses I really don't know okay, so like if I was like he's dripped out right now um drunk stoned no um, a comparison of looking fresh or not. If you're dripped out, you look great, but if you're drowned, your style is lacking. Example he's dripped out with that jacket.

Speaker 2 5:57

But if you're drowned, you're wearing your sweats.

Speaker 1 6:00

Yeah, people don't really say drowned, they'll say drip or drowned, if you're doing a comparison or something. That sounds dumb, all rad cool, but the all of these mean cool radical, awesome, amazing.

Speaker 2 6:16

A guy that um was very cool were very was very hot in high school. Called me rad and I was just like that was the best All right Bussin. Bussin.

Speaker 1 6:36

I mean, I don't that pizza is bussin. Good yeah, when something like is really good, just in general, like that's bussin', although, ugh, I hate saying that out loud, gag me with a spoon. I can't remember if that's good or bad. I feel like it's probably bad.

Speaker 2 6:59

It's bad, it's disgusting or gross. Gag me. Gag me with a spoon was the full phrase, but gag me yeah okay, um, this one I don't even, I don't understand it.

Speaker 1 7:16

Chuggy, chuggy, yeah, yeah, chuggy I don't know not chuggy. Chuggy refers to something that's outdated or trying too hard to be cool. It's the opposite of chuggy, something that's a little cringe or not trendy anymore.

Speaker 2 7:40

That style is so chuggy all of these words are choogy. That's what I say. Yeah, all right, dweeb nerd or geek Dweeb, do we? That feels like just like a word in the dictionary well, it might be now, but it wasn't in the 80s somebody who's like kind of lame, like nerdy kind of uncool, socially awkward yeah, um, okay, let's just do like two more.

Speaker 1 8:19

How many do you have left? I have one, two, three, four oh, so you want to do four more. These are so bad. I hate that. This is my generation. This feels like an abomination.

Speaker 2 8:32

I don't even. I've never heard any of these, so it's I.

Speaker 1 8:36

Yeah, this is why I feel old I've heard it from the younger end of the spectrum of my generation because when I was at working with students Aren't you on the cusp of millennial though? I'm like a zillennial.

Speaker 2 8:51

I feel like you should have looked up millennial. That would have been a little bit easier.

Speaker 1 8:56

Well, I just looked up recent slang.

Speaker 2 9:00

Okay, I'll just give you mine. Like totally, that movie was like totally awesome, just bad grammar, I don't know it. Just it's emphasizing what you're saying. I say like a lot so that it's a bad habit.

Speaker 1 9:15

I do as well, bodacious like a big butt no, but that's good, a beautiful, bold or impressive, um, no duh, no duh like obviously water is wet, no duh, people don't think that that's an unpopular opinion.

Speaker 2 9:38

I agree with you yes, the water isn't wet yeah, yeah, you.

Speaker 1 9:42

Just you just stirred up a whole another problem. People, you're dweebs.

Speaker 2 9:47

Jake jake thinks water is not wet he's a dweeb, yeah, and then what was my last one? Take a chill pill. Oh, calm down, dude.

Speaker 1 10:00

Take a chill pill, it's just a game I feel like these are now just common sayings it's true, funny that, like these words that I'm reading to you that feel so cringy, are the equivalent to those words, but now they're things that people just say. I pray to God that these are not things that people end up saying because I hate all of them. Yeah, they're terrible. And their riz might have some staying power, but I guess, like some, I don't know, woke was one.

Final Thoughts and Wrap-up

Speaker 2 10:41

Coded. Well, it's kind of controversial. Yeah, vibe Sus Sus.

Speaker 1 10:50

Well, those, I would have known those, yeah but those are things that people say they don't feel like I don't know, they're just eh.

Speaker 2 10:59

They're still slang. They didn't used to say sus.

Speaker 1 11:04

Really no, okay Bet. They're just, they're still, they're still slang. They didn't used to say sus really no, okay bet stupid.

Speaker 2 11:12

Jackson says that all the time. But what flaps like that?

Speaker 1 11:20

you know what that means um, like that's funny no, like that's good, like it's like this. This shit slaps. Like this is really good okay, all right well if you hated hearing these words as much as we did, please, please, like and subscribe to for less of these slang words, because I don't ever want to do this again.

Speaker 2 11:53

Yeah, no kidding. So even if you like this episode, it will not be repeated.

Speaker 1 11:57

Yeah and you can just listen to it on repeat if you liked it.

Speaker 2 12:02

Yes, just listen to it over and over again yeah, actually that would be good yeah that would give us some listens what words do you think we should have as slang words?

Speaker 1 12:12

yeah, comment the slang words we did not include. And yeah, because I'm very curious.

Speaker 2 12:18

You grew up in the 80s or the 90s or the 2000s.

Speaker 1 12:23

Yeah, all right. Well, we will see you in a couple of weeks for a new episode. See you soon, bye.