We’re going to spill the tea.

Not the traditional “everybody’s jiggling” kind (remember the Lipton ad from the 1980s?!). This tea is the juicy information, somewhat secretive kind of tea.

Slang is like fashion – it changes with every generation, and what once sounded hip now just sounds… well, a little tragic.

Each group has its own lingo, a secret handshake of words that instantly separates the insiders from the “cringe” (that means embarrassing now).

From Baby Boomers (aka Boomers by younger generations) calling things “groovy” to Gen Z declaring everything “lit,” slang is proof that language never stands still – it just gets a new outfit and a TikTok account.

Gen X, forever the middle child of the generational family, brought us “rad,” “gnarly,” and “take a chill pill” – phrases that sound like they belong on a skateboard ramp with Bon Jovi blasting in the background.

Millennials, meanwhile, tried to sound effortlessly cool while surviving avocado-toast inflation, giving us “adulting,” “FOMO,” and “relationship goals”.

And then came Gen Z, who looked at all of that and said, “That’s mid.” (Translation: meh, not great.)

But really, slang isn’t just about being trendy – it’s about belonging. Whether you’re a Baby Boomer telling someone to “pipe down,” a Millennial “chilling out,” or a Gen Z’er doing a “vibe check,” you’re speaking the language of your tribe.

A conversation between two Gen Zs may sound something like this:

Jaycob: “My bestie and I gonna link up tonight. No cap, it’s gonna be lit!

Aimee: “That’s fire.”

Rest assured these kids are not pyromaniacs!

Baby Boomers having a similar conversation might say something along the lines of:

Tony: “My good friend and I are going to get together tonight and paint the town red. Life’s short. Can’t wait.”

Barbara: “That’s wonderful.”

We’ve created a table below which cracks the generational slang code to help you translate what the cool kids are saying.

While each generation playfully insists theirs is the best, we hope this translation table helps bridge the generation gap and keeps the conversation flowing. At the very least it might make the family group chat easier to understand!