Why spilling tea has nothing to do with PG Tips ... and sauce isn’t something you put on chips! Baff led? Then read our essential guide to the strange new phrases used by your Generation Z children and grandchildren

HOW is your Sunday going so far? Are you feeling boujie? Maybe you flexed your lit creps on Saturday night and now you’re going to spill the tea with your friends?

Gobbledegook? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. What you just read was Generation Z speak, the baffling lingo used by today’s teenagers and twentysomethings. Born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z can’t remember a time without smartphones. In fact, they spend more time using their devices than any other generation before.

And with that comes a whole new way of speaking. But, don’t panic, to help break down the generational divide and to impress your children and grandchildren, CLAUDIA CON

NELL offers a handy Gen Z decoder.

BET

Not a wager you place on the Grand National. Bet means OK. Shortened from ‘you bet’. ‘Fancy a pizza?’ asks your friend. Bet is your reply.

BOUJIE

Coming from the word bourgeois, this can be used to describe people, places and things that are luxurious and aspirational. Think designer labels and restaurants with waiting lists. For example: ‘Her outfit’s boujie.’

CAP/NO CAP

Don’t make a fool of yourself, this has nothing to do with the temperature outside and whether one should wear a woolly hat.

Cap means to lie, as in you are hiding something under your cap. No cap means you are speaking the truth. Example: ‘She said she baked that cake herself. Total cap.’ Or ‘that cake was delicious, no cap’.

CLAPBACK

Next time you watch Question Time and one panellist puts another in their place you might want to remark that it was an ‘awesome clapback’. It’s a withering put down or retort to a remark. Churchill was known for his epic clapbacks.

CLOUT CHASER

Was Ringo

Starr a clout chaser? Some might say Andrew Ridgeley was one. A clout chaser is somebody who rides on the coattails of a more successful and talented person.

CLOUT DEMON

This is what children of the1990s would have called ‘a wannabe’. A clout demon is somebody who desperately wants to be someone important. Is Jeremy Corbyn a clout demon?

CREPS

Nothing to do with pancakes. Creps are trainers – but not any old trainer. They are the coolest, most coveted trainers around. In other words, not your sensible lace ups from M&S.

DR TL

Time is precious when you’re young, so if somebody sends you a text or email that’s far too lengthy then you may well choose to not read the whole thing. Reply DR TL – Didn’t Read, Too Long.

EXTRA

Do you know any drama queens who make a huge fuss about the slightest thing? They’re extra. Does the house next door go all out with their Christmas decorations? They’re extra. Extra means to be particularly dramatic and over the top.

FACTS

Saying ‘I agree with what you are saying’ takes far too much effort. So why not shorten it? ‘Facts’ simply means that you concur.

FINSTA

You’ll have heard of Instagram, the photo sharing social media platform. But the last thing a Gen Z-er wants is for their parents to know what they really get up to. Chances are the lovely wholesome images you’re seeing on your little darlings’ Instagram is actually their Finsta… t he fake Instagram account they set up to fool you.

FLEX

Is Geoff next door always flexing his BMW? Does his wife flex her Kitchen Aid mixer? Flex means to show off and brag about t he desirable and expensive things you own. But should you choose to ‘flex your ex’ that means looking your best to show a former partner what they are missing.

GOAT

This acronym, first introduced t o us by millennials, remains a firm favourite among Gen Z-ers. If something is GOAT it means it is the ‘Greatest Of All Time’. It’s not to be taken too literally though. That cheese and pickle sandwich you had at lunchtime could be GOAT – until you have another one next week that will be even more GOAT.

GUCCI

Of course, Gucci is the luxurious Italian fashion brand but if you’ve learnt anything so far it’s that Gen Z words and phrases do not mean what you think they do. Gucci means good. Try saying ‘It’s all Gucci’ when your boss asks how you’re getting on with a project or report.

GRAFT

If you ever got sucked into watching Love Island then you’ll be familiar with this expression.

Just like the original meaning, graft means to work hard but refers explicitly to the process of flirting with the opposite sex – ‘to woo’, in dinosaur speak.

If a boy is texting, emailing and Facebooking a girl he fancies then he is grafting her.

LITTLE/BIG MAD

Did you use full fat instead of semi skimmed milk in your wife’s tea? Was she mildly irritated? If so, then she would be little mad. Did you forget your wedding anniversary? Has your wife refused to speak to you for the past week as a result? She is big mad.

I’M FINNA DIPSET

Next time you’re at a dinner party and you think the time has come to go home, announce to the group that: ‘I’m finna dipset.’ This means that you are going to leave. Finna is form of ‘fixing to’ while dipset means to dip out of a situation.

LET’S GET THIS BREAD

Not to be confused with sending your other half to the corner shop for a loaf of sliced white. ‘Let’s get this bread’ started off meaning ‘let’s make some money’ but Gen Z speak is a fast- evolving l anguage and now more commonly means ‘let’s make this happen’.

LIT

You may have an O-level in this, but when Generation Z-ers use it they are not talking about literature. When something is lit it is: cool, amazing, the best. A new pair of creps (have you been paying attention?) would almost certainly be lit.

MELT

Did you put a red sock in with your white wash? Then you, my friend, are a total melt. It means that you’re a fool but is generally used with a smidgen of affection.

MUGGY

If someone is being muggy towards you then they haven’t nicked your wallet. Instead they said one thing to your face but did something else behind your back. For example: ‘I can’t believe Christine has applied for the job when she told me she wasn’t going to, she’s so muggy.’

UNSALT

‘You look absolutely amazing… for your age.’ That’s an ‘unsalt’ – in other words a backhanded compliment. It’s a twist on the word ‘insult.’

SAUCE

This is not something you put on your chips. To have sauce means that you have an air of confidence and a certain cocky swagger. Back in the day, Frank Sinatra would have had sauce – in fact, he had so much sauce he was ‘drippin’ sauce’.

SALTY

What is this Generation Z

obsession with condiments, you may be wondering?

When someone is salty towards you it means that they are offhand because you have done something to upset them.

SKSKSKSK

Sksksksk is an excitable phrase often associated with

VSCO girls (see right) as an exclamation. It is supposed to represent a keyboard being violently smashed and can be used in place of OMG.

SNACC

Ladies, who is your idea of a total snacc? George Clooney perhaps? Or Maybe Hugh Jackman? What about you chaps?

Jennifer Aniston? Helen Mirren? A snacc is an extremely attractive person who looks good enough to eat.

SNAPS

If you refer to the pictures in your photo album as ‘snaps’ then it’s unlikely anyone under 30 will have a clue what you mean. The new meaning is ‘good job’. Passed your driving test? Got a promotion? Won a tenner on the lottery? ‘Snaps!’

SUH

You can’t possibly expect someone who doesn’t have the time to read a lengthy text to greet you with ‘hello, how are you?’ Far too time-consuming. Instead they’ll say suh – it’s a variation on the once cool but now horribly uncool s’up.

SWIPE RIGHT

The very same people you consider to be snaccs would also be swipe rights. On the dating app Tinder, when you see somebody you like, then you would swipe right, so in this case it means that you approve of somebody’s looks.

TEA

If someone asks you for ‘the tea’ they are not requesting a cup of PG Tips. In this context, tea is gossip. ‘Did you hear about Caroline’s affair with her personal trainer? Let’s meet and I’ll spill the tea.’

THICC

Kim Kardashian, above, is thicc. In fact she’s the poster girl for thicc. Holly Willoughby is less thicc than she used to be. Thicc means having killer curves and, believe it or not, is a compliment.

THIRSTY

Office Christmas parties are a good time to identify thirsty people. They’re not the ones t aking advantage of t he free bar, rather people who are wearing something revealing or dancing inappropriately. Thirsty people are those who try far too hard to be noticed.

VSCO GIRL

Named after a photo filtering app that makes images stand out, VSCO girls are teenagers who dress and act in the same way. They are what millennials would refer to as basic (lacking any originality and are merely a sheep following the flock). They shop in Urban Outfitters, wear white Vans trainers, carry a reusable water bottle at all times and accessorise with a hair scrunchie on their wrist. A typical VSCO girl wants to s ave t he pl anet… but more than anything she wants ‘likes’ on Instagram.

YEET

Possibly the most versatile word in the Generation Z lexicon. Yeet is a positive word typically used to convey excitement. ‘Six weeks until Christmas… yeet.’ If you’re super excited you could double yeet. ‘ Ye e t yeet, Tom has a s ked me o n a date.’ However, it also means: Yes, OK, fine, wow.