Teen Talk.. Like, Totally

By Kristen Daukas of Ten to Twenty Parenting

I just returned home from an evening at my least favorite place – the mall. I would rather shop local or shop on-line and reserve trips to the mall for emergencies or to entertain my 13 year old daughter. Tonight was the latter and it involved not just her but 3 of her friends to boot. I considered packing a flask but thought better of it at the last minute.

If you’ve ever had the chance to spend time with this delightful age group, you know how energetic and dramatic their conversations can be. I listened to them rattle on and on in breathless run on sentences about who was dating who (dating? Who? What? You’re 13! You don’t date!), who had dissed who (really? And you still insist on sitting with them at lunch?!), can you believe that outfit (oh my gawd Becky, look at her butt!) and so on. Listening to their chatter will leave even the most conditioned athlete EXHAUSTED trying to decipher the slang and lingo they use and I had to wonder if our parents felt the same way.  That’s a redundant question, by the way…

There aren’t too many terms they use that I’m not familiar with but I thought it would be fun to break down the slang they’re using in 2012 and compare it to what we were using at their age in 1982. Think it’s close?

Top Slang Terms in 1982:

Airhead:
Stupid or unaware person

Awesome:
The best. Usually paired with Totally (still used!)

Barf Me Out:
Response to something offensive

Gnarly:
Very good

Rad/Radical:
Not just attractive but VERY attractive

Wicked:
Awesome (still used!)

Bitchin’:
Cool. To the max.

I’m So Sure:
Unbelieveable

Grody:
Disgusting

Totally:
Very

For Sure:
Fer shur, dude!

Have a Cow:
Making a big deal over something

Top Slang Terms of 2012:

Flop:
Planned event that doesn’t happen

Fail:
A fail is… well, a fail!

Epic Fail:
Huge fail

Noob/Newb:
One who knows nothings

Sick:
Awesome or wicked

Hater:
Someone who is jealous towards another

Totes:
Totally

Swag:
The way you carry yourself (Swagger!)

Rachet:
Crazy, nasty

Awk:
Awkward!

Emo:
Someone who dresses in all black, edgy, alternative

Okay, so I knew a lot more from the 80’s than I know now but hey.. the 80’s were totally bitchin’. And now that I look at the words we used in the 80’s I feel quite certain that yes.. we did in fact, drive our parents schizo with our chatter. Ya know?

Fer shur.

So what words and slang did I miss? Can you think of a word that has carried through the decades that we still use today?