Due to the simple fact that I’m a moderately uncool, almost middle aged person, I realised I needed to get a little jiggy with my hipster speak.
Sadly, I think jiggy went out in early 2000 when the Fresh Prince got his life ‘turned, flipped upside down’ and started making in-roads as a serious actor.
I thought I’d share a few spectacular Gen Y-isms that everyone should try to absorb into their vernacular, in order to up their cool rank.
Drop this shizzle at the right moment into the right conversation and you too can sound like your finger is somewhere near the pulse, if not actually on it.
1. Amazeballs
‘That dress makes your eyes look amazeballs’
Not sure how it came about, but can you imagine if you were the first person that ever put those two words together?
His friends would have laughed their arses off at him, and then started using it as an in joke…..and then it went viral.
Would the opposite be suckballs? Should be. I love that too.
Can I start a suckballs revolution?
That would be amazeballs.
2. Totes
‘I think he’s a douche bag’ ‘Totes’
I bloody totes love totes. You know why?
Because I’m really important and busy. So busy that using the word totally in it’s entirety is just too time consuming for me.
Using the word totes frees me up more time for Facebooking.
‘Gee Burt, your rack looks totes amazeballs in that ensemble!’
3. Awks
‘I realised my skirt was tucked into the back of my undies. Totes awks.’
One of the biggest things I’m noticing is that we’re just abbreviating the crap outta stuff. That said, I love awks.
Awks is an awkward sounding abbreviation that covers everything from an accidental fart, to putting your foot in it.
I’ve been known to do both. Simultaneously.
4. Devo
‘I’m devo cos I’m heaps povo and I can’t afford to go so my FOMO is going off’
Devastated. I think devastation is such an amazingly powerful word that devo seems like the younger sibling.
If a family member forgets my birthday, I’m devo. If it is because hey has passed away, I’m devastated.
See? Different.
5. Grill
‘He was all up in my grill’
Your grill is your face, or more specifically, your teeth, but for some reason I always thought it was your arse.
Your arse is your trunk.
If you have your grill in someone’s trunk, you’d better hope they’re buying you dinner.
‘I’d love to go see One Direction but I’m, like, povo’
I haven’t used this one, personally, but I can absolutely see the value in it.
Especially if I was, like, totally poverty stricken.
I don’t think we’ll be hearing it in World Vision ads any time soon.
7. LOL
Laughing is so unattractive and passe. Your mouth is wide open, you can see your tonsils, you may even snort or slap your thigh. Lolling is the way forward.
No one ever peed their pants lolling.
Pissing myself lolling……(need to work on my trout pout)
8. My bad
‘Shit, dude, my bad’
This one is a lame arse apology.
Instead of saying sorry, and meaning it, like a normal person, this is to be used when you want to sound flippant and like you don’t really give a flying…… now, in my opinion, if you’re in a position where you should be apologising, and you’re all blasé about it, someone is totes within their rights to punch you in the face.
‘Did you just say MY BAD?????’
9. Rack
A rack is boobs. How someone came up with that, I’ll never know but I guess it has something to do with the top rack.
I don’t really use rack, as I’m not a boob spotter, but I do use rig for the entire kit.
‘Check out his rig’
10. Shizz or shizzle
These two can have totally different meanings.
You have ‘fo’ shizzle, my nizzle’ means for sure. WTF a nizzle is, I have no damned idea and can not find anything on the net……however, when I googled shizzle I found this, which is way funnier than anything I could ever come up with –
A word most often abused horribly by inexperienced suburban white douche-bags who wish to give themselves some falsified counterfeit form of street-cred.
Pure ghetto gold.
That said, I often also use shizzle for its other meaning. A polite form of shit i.e. I talk a lot of shizzle.
I feel like it’s code so my Nana won’t know I’ve got a mouth like a trucker.
Now I know I have a mouth like a suburban white douche-bag trucker.
My favorite kind.
13. YOLO
‘You Only Live Once’
Personally I think anyone who says this is actually probably increasing their chances of being killed in a street fight so by the mere utterance of the wankism they may be contradicting the very sentiment….. by hey, I’m cynical arsehole.
14. FOMO
‘Fear Of Missing Out’
GUILTY. If my chronic Facebook over usage is anything to go by, I have this Gen Y affliction in spades.
15. Cray Cray
You’d have to flippin’cray cray to use this crappy one. Crazy. CRAZY!!
How fucking hard is it to say CRAZY? Still two syllables, and one has a Z which everyone knows is the coolest letter in the alphabet after the X.
This makes me feel a tad cray cray. For realsies.
80 Comments
What a totes awesomesauce list, dude.
I use “whatevs” with the hubby ALL THE TIME! It drives him insane! So much so it’s become a standing joke around here 🙂
Silly, rack isn’t hipster. My middle age coworkers use rack. “Check out the rack on her”.
The rest of your list is totes amazeballs though. I don’t use povo, but ain’t nobody got time to be povo.
You forgot FOMO and YOLO.
Fear of missing out: “Even though I was totes povo, my FOMO got the better of me and I bought a ticket to the totes amazeballs concert.”
You only live once: He was all up in my grill so I shanked that mofo. YOLO.
I wish I thought of YOLO. I love it. It’s so lame, it’s rad.
Hmmm…should I order the super large burger? or the snack size burger?
YOLO.
I hate amazeballs! And chillax! As for pov, we said that in “my day” but to describe something that looked cheap/crap “that’s so pov” and I heard “my bad” a lot in the mid 2000s in the US. I am feeling so old! *sob* I don’t even KNOW what kids say these days!
Yeah pov and povo have been used where I am from for as long as I can remember. We also used pov in that sense or when saying someone was poor “I heard his family is so pov”
Yes, ‘my bad’ is old enough that a friend of mine was making fun of it by around 1995, substituting more ridiculous adjectives to demonstrate the stupidity of the phrase – e.g. ‘my terrible, dawg.’ This was (public) middle school/high school slang in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas.
My terrible, is awesome. I’m totes using it. 😉
YOLO is all over the internet right now. It drives me crazy.
I heard another one the other day, it was something like LFR, which meant laughing for real (because nobody LOL’s, for real), but can’t remember if that was exactly what the acronym was.
totes and whatevs is in, but chillax is at least 10 years old and I’ve heard rack since I was a teenager.
amazeballs…never heard it actually said, but seems like something a hipster would use 🙂
Actually, I think if you use Amazeballs or Povo regularly, you’re not allowed to say hipster anymore.
You can abbreviate ‘whatevs’ to ‘Whevs’ for added impact. Say it to a teenager with ” fingers and watch them explode.
I’m totes doing that…….whevs.
So dismissive!!!
Totes!
According to Miss 16, everything is YOLO (you only live once).
Oh my god there is nothing that will turn me into a rage women faster than YOLO! It is just the stupidest saying ever, especially when used by a 10 year old boy to justify soem completely dumb-ass and potentially dangerous thing he has just done! /end rant
Asking for a slap, isn’t he???
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On 19/03/2013, at 3:08 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
The ‘niz’ in ‘fo shiz my niz’ is slang for ‘nigger’, as in ‘for sure my nigger!!’ – again, only totes approp (like that one?) if you’re actually black (and cool). Both of which I always wished I was….
You’re probably the only white woman who would sound cool saying it!! You could get away with a lot, Mrs H!!!
Can I take a stab at the obvious and say “Like”? I’m not sure its entirely Gen-Y, but it’s just as annoying. I took the challenge of going a whole day of using “like” only for metaphors and as a statement of appreciation, and I folded after about an hour. It’s a horrible horrible blight on our language.
I know what you means….. Remember everyone used to say he goes and she goes?
‘And she goes, ‘I don’t reckon’, and I go, ‘shut up!’?
I think Rack was around in the 70’s. I remember my Dad commenting on Linda Stoners’ rack.& how she should be rename LInda Boulders.
And half of those sayings are only cool if you are our age…apparently saying LOL is akin to wearing your undies on the outside of your trackies (according to my Gen Z’s).
So, are you saying I’m still uncool?
Way to break a girl’s heart.
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On 19/03/2013, at 1:00 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Welcome to the club…;)
We used ‘povo’ all the time when I was a teenager in the late 90’s as in ‘ I have no money this weekend – I’m so povo! “. The cheap Tuesday tickets at the cinema and things like cheap arse Tuesday pizza deals also saw that day dubbed ” Povo Tuesday ” …. As in ‘ I really want to see that ‘ Dude Where’s My Car?’ Movie because Ashton Kutcher is so hot, but I don’t have much money…. Let’s go on Povo Tuesday! ‘.
Visiting from the IBOT Linky…
Oh, and also, that is not ‘trout pout ‘…. That’s what the young people call ‘ duck face ” !
Amy, are you suggesting I’m not only uncool but also old?
How rude. We just met.
I’m totes devo.
[…] Keeping up with the Holsbys […]
Well I knew 9 out of 10, so I guess that makes me down with the kids (kind of, a bit). I’m not saying I actually USE any of them though! I’d never heard of ‘grill’. I’ll do my best to use that in a sentence at some stage today 🙂
Hellz Yeah!! A list of the most annoying phrases around. I’m glad I don’t hang out with many teenagers at the moment or I may just go I insane, I guess I’m totes not amaze balls at all then!
What about cray cray
I thought she was cool but turns out she’s totes cray cray.
what about “brudder from anudder mudder” – that seems to be making the rounds. 🙂
I have heard that…..not sure who uses it though. I’ve also heard sister from another mister.
I’m devastated that you left out devo which is apparently short for devastated. Do the kids still say “random” as in “there was some really like random shizz happening”.
You’re asking me? Ha. Thanks x
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On 19/03/2013, at 7:57 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
FOMO – fear of missing out!
Hi there. I’ve nominated you for Versatile Blogger Award! Check it out in my blog what you need to do to accept it (^-^)
You are too kind. Thanks so much.
Dear, D,
Please help me on this new problem I have. I can’t seem to say the word “hipster” on it’s own. When I try, it comes out as “hipster scum”. Any idea the origins of this?
Not sure, but I imagine being told to chillax compounds the problem?!
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On 20/03/2013, at 10:10 AM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Gee Danielle, thanks for helping to spread the stupid americanisation of the English language. (Rack is an oldie!!), I’d say that by the time you have grandkids, you won’t be able to understand them and they’ll be the ones googling the term WTF (as in WTF happened to English). Although at this rate peeps will no longer talk, they’ll be IM’ing each other with a form of shorthand. They probably won’t even be “googling”. Who knows what technology they’ll be communicating via.
Try googling that dill Nicki Minaj and check her “hip speak”,,,, holy shit, like….. Yo peeps might not like this, but that won’t devo me!!
God help western civilisation….. LOL
PS nice pic, but it looks like your trying to whistle!!
PSS…. Nicky Minaj has quite a rack!
Awesome rack and junk in her trunk!!
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On 21/03/2013, at 9:43 AM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Hilarious. And in return I give you this http://gizoogle.net/index.php?search=http%3A%2F%2Fkeepingupwiththeholsbys.com%2F2013%2F03%2F19%2F10-hipster-words-you-need-to-be-cool%2F%23comments&se=Gizoogle+Dis+Shiznit
Oh man, I have just laughed so hard!!
pleasure – I was concerned it looked a little like spam – so worth it when click.
I wonder how they did it?
Talk about too much time on their hands!!
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On 24/03/2013, at 8:56 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
His bless nerds
Fo’ shiz
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On 24/03/2013, at 9:00 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Beatch
Mofo!
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On 24/03/2013, at 9:02 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Played nigga
(Holding pistol sideways)
Word
(cap sideways, head cocked, legs splayed, arms crossed)
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On 24/03/2013, at 9:05 PM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Large gold watch on chain dangling from my neck
Full gold grill on my top teeth.
Oh, and tear drop tattoos on my face.
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On 25/03/2013, at 7:16 AM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Baggy jeans on backwards, “kris Kross ‘ll make ya jump jump”
Jeans on backwards? That’s just silly.
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On 25/03/2013, at 7:29 AM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
My knowledge may need updating.
Nikki Minaj, one piece thing made out of flouro string, barely covering anything, singing ‘bees in the trap’……
As in ‘I bes in da money trap, yo’
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On 25/03/2013, at 7:39 AM, Keeping Up With The Holsbys
Glad I googled that on my iPhone and not on the work laptop.
I just don’t know which is better, the original or the redo! Totes amazeballs, gang!
This post gets so many hits still I thought I’d best give it a little update… I’m loving the new words!!
Great post! I used to use the term “grill” when my kids were going through orthodontic braces on their teeth. (Yes, I’m LOLing.) May have to throw in a “shizzle” or two every so often too. For the flip side of coolisms, check out “The Queen’s English Indeed” (Nov/12) on my blog http://www.cubbyholewriter.com – it’s another generation’s lingo.
My 5-year-old says “Whatevs” whenever he’s not enthusiastic about what I’m asking him to do, but knows he can’t get out of it. Cracks me up every time, fo’ shizzle.
One of my most hilarious unintentional double entendres was while playing Scrabble, showing a friend’s husband my rather awesome potential bingo. I turned the little sliver of wood and tiles to him and said “check out my rack!”
My friend and her husband were laughing so hard they couldn’t be upset, and to this day I watch my words very carefully when I play Scrabble.
Ha! I love an entendre, especially an accidental one!
My best ones, I hope, are the ones that take me a few minutes to get.
Randomly, this post reads like half the dialogue on Psych, which makes me ridiculously happy. I think Gus says ‘chillax’ every other episode.
Dammit, I say eight of these words.
Totes hip right now, Vinnie. Totes 😉
Swag and legit 😉
Swag and legit, you should revise this tread 😉
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[…] povo (please refer to my hipster speak post if […]
Fo shizzle my nizzle means, “For sure, my Nig**r.” It’s an incredibly inappropriate thing for white boys from suburbia to say, however this was the demographic that turned out in droves to buy Snoop Dog albums. (Pretty sure Snoop coined the term)
[…] Chillaxing mentioned as one of the top coolest Hipster words http://www.keepingupwiththeholsbys.com/2013/03/19/10-hipster-words-you-need-to-be-cool/ […]
This list is so fin. It’s so utterly definitely midtown, frado. This tassel is giving you the fridgidair.
Gonna be honest, hipster is used incorrectly here. Hipsters are/were a counterculture which centered around the avoidance of the mainstream, whereas these words were “mainstream” for mostly white teenage girls while most other sane people hated the usage of a lot of these words.
Wow can not believe.
I skimmed your comments and didn’t see an explanation for ‘rack’. A deer’s antlers are often called a ‘rack’ which should explain its slang usage and why the expression has been around for decades.
[…] kept facial hair, always looking down at their phones and trying to be cool by using disgusting slang words like LOL (Laughing Out Loud), YOLO (You Only Live Once) and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). They […]