Temu
Temu, the online marketplace known for its questionable quality, is also a word that has slipped into common use to describe when something is particularly busted, ugly or useless.
Earlier this year, I heard a couple of children on the playground say "you have Temu teeth," to one of their mates — they were calling the child’s teeth ugly.
Another way Temu is being used is to describe some of the older generation (not all) as "Temu victims".
These will be the people addicted to the campy home decor, akin to the classic "live, laugh, love" stickers for the wall (maybe slightly misspelt), or the dads buying their kids strange gadgets from the website (for example, mine bought me an e-reader page-turner remote that did not have a power source).
Brat summer
Having a "brat summer", or being a "brat" simply means that you may be going through the wars, but you are still having a great time doing whatever you want.
The term comes from Charli XCX’s album, Brat, which proved to be a global smash hit.
Charli’s album was based on the carefree, grungy and hedonistic vibes of the ’80s and ’90s mingled with 2024 millennial and Gen Z anxiety.
The world is on fire, you are doing your best, but you have decided to throw social conformity, expectations and your bra out and be your own version of "cool".
Gyatt
It’s a simple term, it means someone has a big behind and comes from the classic saying, "Goddamn".
Sometimes this term is sandwiched into the sentence "sticking out your gyatt for the rizzler." "Rizz," is short for charisma — as in someone can have "rizz", and "the rizzler" is someone who has rizz.
"Sticking out your gyatt for the rizzler," literally means "sticking out your ass for the one who has romantic charisma".
Chat
If you are a teacher, this one may be driving you slightly barmy.
The term "chat" refers to when someone is speaking to a group of people, but references as if you were addressing a group of people commenting on something such as a Twitch stream.
Twitch is a new-age platform for strangers to video themselves live doing something (such as gaming, eating, or just plain ol’ talking) and a bunch of strangers on the internet are dropping their thoughts in a live comment section that the creator and audience is able to see.
You may hear teenagers say "chat, did you hear what she said?"when addressing a group of their mates.
Diddy party
Sean "Diddy" Combs is a disgraced rapper and music producer currently facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
His Los Angeles mansion was raided by police in March, where police seized supplies that were allegedly intended for use in "orgies", (better known as "freak-offs).
Notably found were 1000 bottles of baby oil.
If someone famous does something deplorable, you could put money on teenagers making fun of it — such is the way of the world.
"Diddy" has become synonymous with the boogeyman for younger generations with many poking fun by saying things like "If you leave you’re going on Diddy’s list," — it is classic dark humour.
However, the more allegations that come to light, the more the mood is soured — perhaps this one won’t be sticking around for long.
Skibidi
This one is quite young, you might not hear teenagers dropping this in their everyday lingo — but you might hear your 11-year-old spouting this one out.
It originates from the YouTube series called "Skibidi Toilet"made by the creator "Dafuq!?Boom!".
The videos are about people with long necks and scary faces who live in toilets and are attempting to take over the world.
The word "skibidi" has multiple meanings, including cool or bad, or can refer to someone who is obsessed with a minor issue or problem.
If you hear your children saying something along the lines of "skibidi dob dob dob yes yes," and it grinds your gears, you should probably check their YouTube history.
