This page was generated by an LLM and then I went in and cleaned it up. In a world where I had more time I would have liked to write the whole thing by hand but, despite all the today.com and other weird citations, I'm sufficiently unbothered how it looks after cleanup.
got that dog in me — praise for mental toughness, mostly from sports talk. Know Your Meme traces the line to George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” (1982) and finds it on Twitter by 2009; it was sports-commentary slang through the 2010s and spread to other fandoms in the early 2020s, helped by the “dog in me” X-ray meme.Know Your Meme
beast mode — a power-up in late-1980s and 1990s games and cartoons (Altered Beast, 1988; Beast Wars, 1996; Bloody Roar, 1997). Running back Marshawn Lynch made it his nickname and trademarked it in 2008; he says an old coach first called him a beast. Dictionary.com, Sports Illustrated
based — started as an insult: basehead was slang for a freebase cocaine user. Bay Area rapper Lil B reclaimed it, using it in song and album titles by 2007 (including Based Boys), and in a 2010 Complex interview he defined it as being yourself and being positive. Online right-wing spaces later turned it into a general term of approval, before it drifted back into neutral mainstream use. Wikipedia, How-To Geek
rizzed — Popularized by Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, who says it meant “game” rather than being short for charisma. Tom Holland’s “I have no rizz whatsoever” interview (June 2023) sent it mainstream, and Oxford made it Word of the Year for 2023. CBS News, Complex
serving — from ballroom, where you serve a look, face or realness. Linguist Adam Aleksic credits the late-1980s ballroom scene for serve, slay, tea and mother; RuPaul’s Drag Race and stan Twitter carried it into general use. Harbingers’ Magazine, Daily Dot
snatched — flawless, on point. The word comes from Black drag culture, where something amazing might “snatch your weave off.” Dictionary.com records it from the 1990s. It surged in 2016 as drag went mainstream. Dictionary.com
slayful — built on slay. English has used slay for “overwhelm with delight” since the 1300s; the sense of excelling (“she slayed”) is ballroom. The -ful ending is a recent playful twist. Harbingers’ Magazine, Etymonline
goated — from G.O.A.T., Greatest Of All Time. Muhammad Ali called himself the greatest. The earliest known use of the acronym pronounced as a word is when De La Soul’s Trugoy the Dove calls himself “goat” on “Ego Trippin’ (Part Two),” from Buhloone Mindstate (1993). Grammarphobia, Wikipedia
iconic — 17th century standard English (from icon), now used online as top-tier praise for a look, a moment or a person. Wiktionary
epic — from Greek epos, a word, speech or poem. The adjective grew from describing long heroic poems to anything beyond the ordinary (“epic proportions”), and then to plain “impressive.” “Epic fail” turned up around 2000: an early example is from The Forward The Forward that January . Mashable was using it by 2007, it was mainstream by 2009, and Merriam-Webster added epic fail to the dictionary in 2023.. Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com
obsessed — standard English; Merriam-Webster’s first known use is 1888. Online it flipped from the clinical sense to pure enthusiasm: writing in 2015, Stanford scholar Hannah Walser noted that on Twitter and Tumblr it had become a joyful word for loving something. Merriam-Webster, Stanford Arcade
gassed — in Multicultural London English, gassed means excited (Wiktionary’s example is from a 2016 Stormzy track), and gassing someone up means hyping them. Green’s lists this London use in the same entry as an older Black American sense of gas, to thrill or impress, recorded in the Black press and jive dictionaries of the 1940s, though a direct line between the two isn’t documented. Green’s: gas (v.), Wiktionary
bussin — extremely good, usually of food. Linguist Kelly Elizabeth Wright tells TODAY it’s AAVE, and traces its TikTok boom to March 2021, when it took off in comments on a food video. Merriam-Webster added it in 2023, labeled African American English slang. TODAY, CBC News
crunk — Southern hip-hop, early 1990s, Memphis and Atlanta. OutKast’s “Player’s Ball” (1993) is usually cited as the first use in mainstream music; Three 6 Mafia and Lil Jon (Get Crunk, Who U Wit, 1997) carried it further. Etymology is disputed: crank, crazy + drunk, and others. Wikipedia
lit — two layers. Lit for drunk goes back to at least 1918; lit for exciting or excellent came through rap in the 2010s, with Travis Scott its best-known champion. Merriam-Webster
turnt — from “turnt up,” African American English for excited, hyped or intoxicated. Slang lexicographer Jonathon Green traces it to “turn up,” to act wild at a party. Dictionary.com finds it in the New Boyz track “Turnt” (2009), and Roscoe Dash called it “2010 crunk.” Dictionary.com
horny — slang for aroused since at least 1889, possibly 1863, probably from 18th-century slang “to have the horn.” Old enough now to feel like everyday informal English. Etymonline
feral — Tumblr and Twitter use for wild, unhinged enthusiasm (“going feral”), 2010s. Wiktionary
kinky — curly (1844), then eccentric (1859); the sexual sense dates from 1959. Etymonline
thirsty — Green’s earliest examples are US drug slang from the crack era, for desperate; by the 2000s it meant desperate for attention or sex. Soulja Boy’s “She Thirsty” (2007) helped spread it, and “thirst trap” grew out of it. Green’s, Know Your Meme
locked in — deep focus. Know Your Meme says it likely comes from AAVE, with an Urban Dictionary entry from 2009; Merriam-Webster notes a possible link to military “locking in” on a target. Exploded in 2024 memes. Merriam-Webster, Know Your Meme
thriving — sincere or ironic “I’m thriving,” 2010s internet. Wiktionary
blessed — #blessed, often ironic, became an Instagram and Twitter staple in the 2010s. Wiktionary
chuffed — British dialect chuff meant pleased by 1860, from an older word for plump. A rival dialect chuff meant surly (1832), which is why chuffed could once mean either. Chuffed itself is recorded from 1957. Etymonline, Wiktionary
gucci — from the fashion house. Merriam-Webster’s earliest example of gucci as “fashionable” is from 1999; by the 2010s it meant good or fine. Wiktionary labels the “good” sense hip-hop slang from the 2000s. Merriam-Webster, Wiktionary
vibing — vibes, short for vibrations in the sense of an instinctive feeling, is recorded from 1967. Etymonline
validated — therapy language for having your feelings acknowledged; psychologist Ahona Guha lists “validation” among the therapy-speak that has spread from the treatment room to social media. Merriam-Webster includes the broader sense of affirming that someone’s concerns are legitimate. Griffith Review, Merriam-Webster
sent — as in “this sent me”: something so funny it launches you. The Daily Dot says the phrase picked up in the late 2010s, often in full as “sending me into orbit,” though nobody has pinned down where it started. It echoes an older sense: Etymonline dates send for “transport with emotion or delight” to American jazz slang of 1932. Daily Dot, Etymonline
cosmic — 1960s–70s hippie and New Age slang for excellent, perfect or overwhelming. Green’s ties it to the late-1960s fascination with psychedelic drugs; its first example is from a 1967 American novel, and by 1981 the word had crossed to Britain, turning up in Only Fools and Horses. The standard sense, “of the universe,” dates to 1846. Green’s, Etymonline
grounded — somatic therapy and mindfulness (grounding exercises). Wiktionary
chill — “chill out” (relax) is recorded from 1979. World Wide Words traces it to Black English. World Wide Words, Etymonline
held — from psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott’s “holding environment”: the safe space a caregiver, and later a therapist, provides. Using it about friends and partners is 2010s wellness and internet language. PMC article on Winnicott
seen — therapy language for being understood; psychologist Ahona Guha lists “feel seen” among the therapy-speak that has spread through social media. Now also used jokingly for anything uncannily relatable (“I feel so seen”). Griffith Review
compersion — coined in the Kerista Commune, a polyamorous community in San Francisco, for joy at a partner’s joy with someone else. Now used more broadly. Wikipedia
tipsy — standard English since the 1500s. Etymonline
delulu — short for delusional. Merriam-Webster places it in early-2010s K-pop fandom; Wikipedia points to the OneHallyu forum around 2013–14, where it mocked fans with fantasies about idols. “Delulu is the solulu” spread on TikTok in the 2020s. Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia
we’re so back — grew out of a 2016 4chan “It’s over” meme about Donald Trump; “we’re back” was paired with it by 2021, and the “so” versions took off in 2022–23. Know Your Meme
cooked — Merriam-Webster dates cooked for exhausted to 1793; “your goose is cooked” is old too. The 2020s internet revived it for doomed (“we’re cooked”). Merriam-Webster, TODAY
gutted — British slang for bitterly disappointed, first recorded in the early 1990s. Dictionary.com
homesick — by 1749, translated from German Heimweh (home-pain), a Swiss-dialect word spread across Europe by Swiss mercenaries. Etymonline
invisible — standard English, but psychologists study feeling invisible as a real form of loneliness: being present but unseen. Psychologist Gordon Flett ties it to “mattering,” the sense that others notice and value you. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) is the classic literary account. Hidden Brain
ghosted — on Urban Dictionary by 2007, mainstream with dating apps around 2013. Dictionary.com suggests roots in “get ghost” (leave fast) from 1990s hip-hop, and “ghost away” goes back to the 1800s. Dictionary.com, Refinery29
rotting — from “bed rotting,” a 2023 TikTok trend of spending whole days in bed. Wikipedia
checked out — everyday English, from checking out of a hotel. Merriam-Webster
bummed — bummer for a bad experience is 1960s slang; “bummed” for feeling down is recorded from 1973. Etymonline: bummer, Etymonline: bum
butthurt — first recorded around 1996 in the Usenet group alt.graffiti; spread through forums, 4chan and Tumblr. Wiktionary, Know Your Meme
salty — Black American slang from the 1930s. “Jump salty” (to suddenly get angry) appears in Black newspapers like the Philadelphia Tribune and New York Age in 1935, and Cab Calloway’s 1938 Hepster’s Dictionary defines salty as angry or ill-tempered. Linguist Ben Zimmer describes its 2010s comeback as a revival of African American slang. Ben Zimmer, American Dialect Society, Indiana State Library
triggered — trauma psychology (PTSD triggers); turned into an online taunt in the 2010s. Wiktionary
pressed — upset or bothered (“why are you so pressed?”). Merriam-Webster says this sense originated in African American English before spreading widely. Merriam-Webster, SJSU Writing Center (PDF)
ropeable — Australian and New Zealand slang for furious, recorded from the 1870s. Literally “able to be roped,” it was also said of a wild animal that needed roping; for a person, it means angry enough to need restraining. Dictionary.com, Wiktionary
crashing out — losing control, blowing up. The modern sense comes from AAVE in the southern US, with online examples back to 2013. Louisiana rapper NBA YoungBoy’s “Stepped On” (2017) helped popularize it, TikTok spread it in the early 2020s, and the American Dialect Society named it a runner-up for 2024 Word of the Year. Dictionary.com, Mental Floss
unhinged — standard English (off its hinges); 2020s internet uses it almost affectionately. Merriam-Webster
big mad — very angry; usually credited to AAVE. FamilyEducation
tilted — pinball machines flashed TILT when shaken (the pinball sense is from 1934). Poker players adopted “on tilt” for playing badly out of frustration, and gaming spread it from there. Wikipedia, Etymonline
FOMO — the fear of missing out was described by marketing strategist Dan Herman in the 1990s; Patrick McGinnis popularized the acronym in a 2004 piece for The Harbus, the Harvard Business School student paper. Wikipedia
cold feet — usually credited to Stephen Crane, who used it in the 1896 edition of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Earlier candidates (Ben Jonson, 1605; a German novel translated in 1878) use it in different senses. Wikipedia, Grammarphobia
claustrophobic — claustrophobia was named by physician Benjamin Ball in an 1879 article in the British Medical Journal; claustrophobic followed in 1889. Etymonline, Grammarphobia
overstimulated — clinical; widely used in autistic and ADHD communities for sensory overload. Merriam-Webster
spiraling — therapy language for escalating anxious thoughts. Wiktionary
having a menty b — British and Australian, short for mental breakdown, 2010s. Wiktionary
impostor syndrome — named by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978, as the “impostor phenomenon,” in a study of high-achieving women. Wikipedia
jelly — Green’s has US examples of jelly for jealous in early-20th-century comic strips and pulp fiction. Green’s
cursed — from “cursed images,” which started on Tumblr in 2015 and spread to Twitter and Reddit. Know Your Meme
shooketh — went viral in 2017 from a video by comedian Christine Sydelko. It builds on shook, which has meant emotionally shaken since the 1890s and was revived by 1990s hip-hop, notably Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones.” Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster
heebie-jeebies — coined by cartoonist Billy DeBeck in his strip Barney Google, 1923. Etymonline
cringe — from 2010s internet culture, building on cringeworthy. Wiktionary
have the ick — used in a 1998 episode of Ally McBeal; popularized by Olivia Attwood on Love Island UK in 2017, then TikTok from 2020. Wikipedia, Dictionary.com
lost in the sauce — sauce for alcohol is US slang from around 1940. The phrase is often credited to Gucci Mane, but the band Ween used it in 1997.Etymonline: sauce, Wiktionary
bamboozled — early 1700s; origin unknown. Etymonline
discombobulated — mock-Latin American coinage, 1830s. Etymonline
glitching — glitch is probably from Yiddish glitsh (slippery place). Radio announcers used it for on-air slips in the 1940s; John Glenn put it in print in 1962. Gaming made “glitching” a way to describe a person malfunctioning. Vocabulary.com, Barry Popik
no thoughts head empty — Know Your Meme traces it to a February 2018 tweet captioning a picture of Cosmo from The Fairly OddParents. It took off in K-pop fandom on Twitter in 2019, usually under images of idols or characters staring blankly. Know Your Meme
dissociated — psychiatric term from 19th-century work on dissociation (Pierre Janet); used casually online for zoning out. Wikipedia
mid — from “mids” cannabis (early 2000s). By the early 2010s it meant mediocre in general, and it took over TikTok in 2021. It’s often credited to AAVE, but that route is less documented. Dictionary.com, Know Your Meme
brainrot — Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2024. Its first recorded use is in Thoreau’s Walden (1854); the current sense is internet slang for mind-numbing content and its effect on you. Wikipedia
zonked — zonk meant to hit hard (1950); zonked for drunk or high is late-1950s American slang, and for exhausted from the 1970s. Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster
no spoons — from Spoon Theory, written by Christine Miserandino in 2003 to explain living with lupus. Widely used in chronic illness and disability communities. Wikipedia
eepy — baby-talk for sleepy, Twitter and Tumblr, late 2010s onward. Wiktionary
crusty — standard English crusty (encrusted, or grumpy). Its slang senses, dirty or gross and later ugly or unappealing, are recorded in US youth slang; Green’s has campus examples from 2016. Green’s
groggy — from grog, watered-down rum named after Admiral Edward Vernon, “Old Grog,” 1740. Groggy meant drunk before it meant dazed. Etymonline
chopped — Merriam-Webster notes roots in African American English, possibly the New York and New Jersey area. On Urban Dictionary by 2014, mainstream via TikTok in 2024–25. Merriam-Webster, Know Your Meme
down bad — by the late 2010s it meant desperate or lovesick. Lil B (2012) and Dreamville’s “Down Bad” (2019) helped spread it. Know Your Meme
blursed — blessed + cursed. Scattered uses in 2017; it caught on in January 2018, mostly via Reddit’s r/blursedimages. Know Your Meme
hangry — the OED’s earliest evidence is a 1956 article in the psychoanalytic journal American Imago; Merriam-Webster dates it to 1918. Mainstream in the 2010s, helped by Snickers ads. OED announcement (GMA)
saudade — Portuguese and Galician, longing for something absent or lost; central to fado music. Wikipedia
schadenfreude — German, harm + joy. Richard Trench discussed it in English in 1852; Etymonline dates its use as an English word to 1922. Etymonline
all the feels — Tumblr fandoms, early 2010s. Wiktionary
big mood — from “mood” as a reply meaning “so relatable,” which Black Twitter used from around 2015; “big mood” followed in late 2015–16 and was everywhere by 2018. Lowkey really doesn't fit on the feelings wheel because it's not a feeling?? You're just relating to something else? I guess I don't care haha. Know Your Meme, Wiktionary
verklempt — Yiddish (from German verklemmt, pinched), choked up with emotion; mainstreamed by Mike Myers’ “Coffee Talk” sketches on SNL in the 1990s. Wiktionary