Gen Z and the Giant Dictionary

We understand a lot of parents and grandparents are low-key confused about Gen Z slang, but at the historic Timrod Library we believe old words and new uses aren’t as far apart as they may seem at first read. As a service to our friends and fellow readers, we’ve created this multi-generational guide, drawing upon our most venerable source, The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, published in 1914. Around the Timrod, we usually refer to it as the Giant Dictionary, mostly because it is enormous, but also because The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language is too long to say every time.

What does this weighty volume have to say about sus terminology, words that are mid, literature that is litty, and what the skibidi is going on in Ohio? We’re here to spill the tea and the beans with a short list of comparative terms from the Giant Dictionary and Gen Z.

Flex: In the Giant Dictionary, this is a verb meaning “to move or tense a muscle by contraction.” Gen Z uses it as a noun to describe something done for the purpose of showing off. We already knew that.

Suss: Our dictionary says suss means “hounds’ meat, a mess of food,” or “a dirty puddle.” Gen Z uses sus to mean something to avoid or be wary of. Sounds about right.

Cringe: Our research says this verb means “to cower in fear” or “to recoil in distaste.” For Gen Z, cringe is an adjectival form of the latter, meaning “distasteful,”  or “ewwww,” which is probably how they’d describe this list. We get it. We also doubt many of them are reading this, so that makes everything copacetic.

Buss/Bussin’: The Giant Dictionary says bussing means kissing, or picturesquely, “to salute with the lips.” To Gen Z,  bussin’ is an adjective meaning extremely good or excellent, which makes these definitions a love match in our book. Essentially, bussin’ (often shortened to buss) is a chef’s kiss, which has been around longer than the Gen Xers, or Boomers, even.

Used in a sentence:  “At the Timrod Library, we have vintage Regency romances on our shelves that are definitely still bussing—and bussin’." That’s not just a flex. Bridgerton fans, meet Georgette Heyer.
Although bussing and bussin’ are similar, neither should be confused with busing, which involves transportation and is a very different thing, obvi.

Obvi: Are you going to make us say it?

Mid: The Giant Dictionary defines this as “in between,” describing something that is so-so, neither good nor bad, high nor low. Gen Z says it’s “meh.” We sense a lack of enthusiasm about this one, also not much confusion. It’s pretty basic.

Litty: This is the Gen Z version of the Millennial superlative lit, which according to our dictionary means “set on fire.” Pyrotechnics aside, litty is used by Gen Z speakers to mean hot, cool, bad, sick, wicked, or otherwise desirable. (See also, bussin’.) We want to point out that lit is also a  shortened version of the word literature, defined as “writings having excellence of form or expression and ideas of permanent or universal interest.”

Used in a sentence: “Millennial readers loved YA fiction because it was lit. Now, YA lit is litty, and Gen Z loves it even more.” Note: At press time, we were informed that litty is well on its way to becoming cringe. No word on whether cringe is still cringe.

No cap: For Gen Z speakers, this means “I’m telling the truth.” Although this meaning is not listed in our dictionary, its origins date to the early to mid-1900’s, when cap was used in Black culture and speech to mean “lie” or “insult,” according to Merriam-Webster.com. Hence, no cap indicates sincerity and truthfulness. It’s a good reminder that slang is not always ephemeral. We wouldn’t lie to you.

Ohio: No dictionary needed to know that Ohio is a state in the northeast-central United States; capital Columbus. We happen to know a lot of people who used to live there.

Sources considerably newer than our dictionary indicate that Gen Z speakers use Ohio in various ways. In one use, adding  in Ohio at the end of a statement renders the statement untrue or ironic. Color us doubtful, but then we tried it in a couple of sentences and the results were legit. For example: “People love winter and snow … in Ohio” and “Summerville is everyone’s favorite place … in Ohio.”

All slang aside, Ohio friends and readers, we appreciate you at the Timrod Library … in Summerville.

Skibidi: Surprisingly, our dictionary does not include this word on any of its 8,512 pages. However, another reliable source (okay, it was Wikipedia) says skibidi is a word used in a variety of ways, having no strict definition, derived from a viral video about a toilet. We made an editorial decision not to dive any deeper into those facts. It’s possible the next wave of slang will give skibidi the old twenty-three skidoo, but you never know. Twenty-three skidoo has been around since 1906, making it even older than our dictionary.

Touch Grass: No need for the dictionary here. This directive means exactly what it says to every generation. Put down the phone, turn off the screens. Go outside in the real world and  touch grass.
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Touch Books: Yes, we made this one up, but it works very similarly to the above. Turn off the noise, come to the library, and you’ll see what we mean. It’s lit.

Written and compiled by Terri Barnes, author, book editor, and member of the Timrod Literary and Library Association’s Board of Directors. She is an avid reader of books of all kinds, including dictionaries.
 
Disclaimer: This list is intended for adult translation and comprehension purposes only, not recommended for use in actual conversation by anyone over the age of 16.
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