Image courtesy: ThinkStock
The internet keeps 'breaking', llamas run amok and blue-black / gold-white dresses refuse to stop trending, memes and GIFs have replaced conversations *hides face, wipes tears*, and other post-it emotions have been substituted for actual writing, and every nano-second someone stops to take a selfie.
Five years ago, that sentence would have made as much sense as Interstellar did to most movie-goers. But the times, they are a-changin' and we love it like we hate it. But the strangest thing of all has been the evolution of language itself.
Language as we once knew it has undergone a rigorous millennial makeover and we're not sure what quite to make of it anymore. What sounds like swearing may turn out to be a term of endearment (bae) and what is meant to be high praise sounds like a contagious disease (fleek).
While most of us were still struggling to come to terms with the many acronyms (LOL, ROFL, LOLOL, YOLO) sprinkled generously in conversations, these new and very odd words rose from the fiery ashes of pop culture and try as we might, there is no shaking them off.
Listed below are 10 words currently causing a storm in the lexicon of urban talk, ranked in the order of how strange they sound:
1. Duang
Meaning: The shape-shifter of words, duang means nothing in particular. Used like a filler word. #Duang has however nearly broken the Chinese internet after being used over 8.4 million times on Weibo - the Chinese version of Twitter.
And we can all blame Jackie Chan for the birth of this weird new word with no meaning whatsoever - or rather let us blame the person who did the voiceover for him in this fake advert for Bawang shampoo:
Pronounced 'dwong'. Like a gong, with 'dw'
Usage:"Have you duang'ed today?"
#PleaseStop
Source: GIPHY
2. Bae
Meaning: Short for babe, and also an acronym for Before Anyone Else. Blame the rise of this word on Pharrell Williams and his song featuring Miley Cyrus, Come Get it Bae. For the record, the word has nothing endearing about it and sounds more like a menacing threat.
Pronounced just the way it's written.
Usage: "Just chillin' with my #bae." #Ugh
#WhyWon'tYouStop
Source: Pharrell Williams/YouTube
3. Cray cray
Meaning: When something goes a notch above the accepted levels of crazy, it becomes cray cray. No, we don't know who came up with this cray cray idea. In fact, we feel mildly indignant on behalf of the good old crazy.
Pronounced like the cawing of a crow.
Usage: "You should have come to the concert. It was cray cray!" #SinksTwoFeetUnder
#WhyYouGottaBeSoMean #SaveEnglish
Source: GIPHY
4. Turnt
Meaning: Ready to go cray cray at a party. Like all things bad, urban lingo latches on to your tongue and soul and forces you to hate yourself for committing this sin.
Pronounced like the sound a frog makes (trrrrrrrr...nt).
Usage: "Let's get turnt this weekend." #WhatDidIJustWrite
Thus spake no grammar nazi.
Source: GIPHY
5. Doe
Meaning: No, not a female deer. An alternate for the word 'though'. Used by the laziest people on the planet who have no respect for the English language. This word may make you lose faith in humanity.
Usage: "Cray cray is a better word than doe. Eh no. Not really. The former wastes more alphabets."
#EPICFAIL
Source: GIPHY
6. Fleek
Meaning: Sounds like something you should get vaccinated against but is really urban lingo for something that's amazing or perfect. The word became popular after Vine user Peaches Monroe posted a video where her 'eyebrows were on fleek.'
The word was officially declared 'cool' after Kim Kardashian posted a picture on Instagram with the caption, #EyebrowsonFleek. Because yes, we live in world where Kim is the purveyor of everything cool.
Usage: "Yogaiz, my toes are on fleek today." #RIPEnglish
*loud crying*
Source: GIPHY
7. Yeet
Meaning: Something so exciting that the word 'exciting' was not deemed okay to use. Used as an exclamation. Became a trend after a kid posted a Vine video #Yeet. The dance is just as weird as its name.
Usage: "Yeet is eeeks." #IWin
We give up.
Source: GIPHY
8. Flex
Meaning: Once upon a time, flexing had to do with muscular tissues only. You know, like flexing one's muscles. But thanks to Nicky Minaj, it now means showing off. She came up with a song, No Flex Zone, where she does nothing but flex her muscles. Such is the irony.
Usage: "Let's all flex our ability to ruin language as the world once knew it."
*leaves conversation*
Source: GIPHY
9. Manky
Meaning: Something that is so dirty, it's nasty. Or so the cool kids say. The not-so-cool kids want to take what's left of the English language and move to another planet.
Usage: "This floor so manky, pigs might soon start living here."
EH? WHAT? WHO? WHY? HOW?
Source: GIPHY
10. Dip
Meaning: Not what you think it means. This 'dip' means to leave. YES. Not a tasty sauce or the dunking in it, dip means LEAVE! This is why aliens won't talk to us.
Usage: "Just shut up and dip it."
*looks for a deep well. no more world, no more*
Source: GIPHY
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," wrote Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities - 1859), and we couldn't agree more. Or, as Gwen Stefani would say, 'Don't Speak.'