Your 2016 Guide to Social Media Slang

Source: mtv.com

Acronyms:

• RN:
  Shortened version for “right now”
  • Example: “i’m just so tired rn”

    ~

• SMH: 
  Shortened version for “shaking my head”, describing disappointment in someone or something
  •  Example: “they got rid of my favourite flavour smh”~
    
•  IMO/IMHO:
  Shortened version of “in my opinion” / “in my humble opinion”, describing the expression of your own opinion on a certain topic
  • Example: “yeah that game sucks, imo”~
• IRL:
  Shortened version of “in real life”, describing the real world and not the online world.
  • Example: “i would never talk to them irl”~
• TBH
  Shortened version of “to be honest”, meaning to expression ones honest opinion
  • Example: “Tbh I liked the other top on you”
    ~
• BTW
  Shortened version of “by the way”, meaning to seek further information
  • Example: “Oh btw what time’s the movie again?”~
• TY:
  Shortened version of “thank you”
  • Example: “Ty for the message”

    ~

• DM/PM:
  Shortened version of “direct message” / “private message”
  • Example: “Just pm me if you’re interested”~
• BRB:
  Shortened version of “be right back”, used when you need to do something quickly
  • Example: “Yeah I’m just having dinner right now, brb”~
• TTYL:
  Shortened version of “talk to you later”, a way of ending the conversation and picking it back up again after
  • Example: “I just got to work so ttyl”~
• IDK:
  Stands for “i don’t know”
  • Example: “Yeah idk why, but she’s been acting a bit off lately”~
• FOMO:
  Stands for “fear of missing out”, to express ones fear about missing out on something great, usually a party
  • Example: “I’m so tired from work but I’ve got FOMO so I’ll go to the party with you”~
•  JK:
  Stands for “just kidding” or abbreviated as “joke”
  • Example: “Jk, jk! You know I love you”~
• DW:
  Stands for “don’t worry”
  • Example: “Dw about it, it’s not a big deal”~

• OTP:
  Stands for “one true pairing”, describing ones emotional investment in a couple
  • Example: “Beyoncé and Jay Z are my OTP”

Abbreviations:

• Ppl:
  Shortened version of “people”
  • Example: “How many ppl are gonna be at the party?”~

•  Srsly:
  Shortened version of “seriously”
  • Example: “No srsly tell me the truth”
     ~
• Y:
  Shortened version of “why”
  • Example: “Y are you being like that?”
     ~ 
• Tho:
  Shortened version of “though”
  
  • Example: “y tho?”
    ~
• V:
  Shortened version of “very”
  
  • Example: “Yeah it was v good”
     ~
• Bc:
  Shortened version of “because”
  
  • Example: “Just bc I don’t want things to be awkward”
     ~
• Pls:
  Shortened version of “please”
  
  • Example: “Pls tell me you’re joking?”
     ~
• Sus:
  Shortened version of “suspect” or “suspicious”, describing a situation/someone as shady 
  • Example: “Just try to sus him out and see how he is”

    ~

• Ship:
  Shortened version of “relationship”, describing ones adamancy in pairing two people in a relationship
  • Example: “I ship them so hard”

Words:

• A1:
  Praising something/someone
  
  • Example: “That food was A1!”~
• Ugh:
  Expressing ones disappointment or disgust in someone/something
  
  • Example: “Ugh I’m so over this drama”
    
     ~

• Snatched:
  Describing something that looks amazing and on point. Snatched is the new fleek. It’s used to describe anything that looks really good or on point.
  • Example: “Girl your outfit is snatched”

    ~

• Savage:
  Expressing someone who doesn’t care about the consequences of their actions; describing something brutally said or done
  
  • Example: “Dude that was so savage of her to say”

    ~

• Roast:
  The act of mocking or humiliating someone with a comeback or joke
  • Example: “My friends roasted me because I couldn’t ask that girl for her number”~
• Lit:
  Expressing hype, excitement or praise
  
  • Example: “The party was so lit!”
    
     ~
• Squad:
  Describing your group of best friends who regularly see each other
  
  • Example: “Let’s go with the whole squad”~
• Fleek:
  Describing something on point, often referring to eyebrows
  • Example: “Your brows are on fleek!”~
• Legit:
  Describing something real and true
  
  • Example: “No this is legit, I’m not kidding” ~

     

• Basic:
  Describing any person, place or activity extremely simple in nature
  
  • Example: “She’s so basic”
    
    ~
• Clapback:
  Throwing a comeback to someone who dissed you, with more attitude than what was received
  
  • Example: “Did you see Rihanna’s clapback on Instagram?”
    
     ~
• Yaass:
  Exaggerated version of “yes”, expressing ones excitement and approval
  
  • Example: “Yaass, girl your makeup!”
    
    ~
    
    
• Slay/slayed:
  To express something beyond amazing and perfect
  
  • Example: “Ariana’s performance at the AMA’s slayed me”~
• Fierce:
  Expressing something of exceptional quality
  
  • Example: “Your outfit! So fierce!”
     ~ 
• Sass/sassy:
  Quality of being impudent and giving someone attitude
  
  • Example: “Rihanna is the Queen of sass”
    
     ~
• Flawless:
  Describing something without any flaws; perfect.
  
  • Example: “Beyoncé is literally so flawless”
    
     ~
• Salty:
  Expressing anger, annoyance or bitterness over someone or a situation
  
  • Example: “I’m still so salty about what happened last week”
     ~ 
• Meme:
  Describing a funny image or video that can be spread virally by social media users who may edit and create different versions of it.
  
  • Example: “Dude did you see those Arthur memes?

    ~

• Feels:
  Describing an overwhelming wave of emotions
  
  • Example: “Watching The Notebook always gives me all the feels”

    ~

• Preach:
  Expressing encouragement to someone giving great advice
  
  • Example: “Preach it girl, you said it right”

    ~

• Fam:
  Describing a close friend you consider like your family
  
  • Example: “Night fam, talk to you tomorrow” ~
• Woke:
  Describing someone being aware and conscious of current events and pop culture
  
  • Example: “Stay woke, dude. You gotta keep up with all this”
    
     ~
• Fire:
  Describing something of excellent quality
  • Example: “Bruno’s new album is hot fire”

Phrases:

• Straight up:
  Describing something as real and right
  
  • Example: “Straight up the best album I’ve heard in so long” ~
• Zero chill:
  Expressing ones inability to be calm or rational
  
  • Example: “I’ve got zero chill with the drama happening right now”
    
     ~
• Throwing shade:
  Dissing someone in a subtle or obvious manner
  
  • Example: “Rihanna was throwing serious shade on Twitter”
    
     ~
• Bye Felicia:
  A phrase said when you no longer care about the presence of a person or nature of a situation; originating from the 1995 movie “Friday” starring Ice Cube.
  • Example: “Alright, bye Felicia”

Hashtags:

• #Blessed
  Expressing ones gratitude for someone or something
  • Example: “New car. #Blessed”

     ~

• #Tbt
  Acronym for “Throw back Thursday”, used to reference to an image from the past
  

  • Example: “#TBT to my trip to New York”~

   

• #OOTD

  Acronym for “outfit of the Day”~

• #OOTN
  Acronym for “outfit of the night”

           ~

• #YOLO
  Acronym for “you only live once”, describing a typically dangerous activity you should be doing. Originating from Drake’s 2011 song “The Motto”.

  • Example: “Yeah I know the consequences, but #yolo”

          ~
  

• #Goals
  Describing ones admiration for something or someone
  

  • Example: “You guys are #relationshipgoals”~

   

• #WCW
  Acronym for “woman crush wednesday”, where Instagram users share photos of the women who they admire or have a crush on, every Wednesday.

  ~

• #MCM
  Acronym for “man crush monday”, where Instagram users share photos of the men who they admire or have a crush on, every Monday.

           ~

• #Fitspo
  Describing ones admiration and inspiration for a healthy or active lifestyle

  ~

• #TransformationTuesday
  Describing ones fitness journey, comparing a current photo of ones body to a previous one

  ~

• #nofilter
  Describing a photo produced without the use of Instagram filters

   

Hopefully you’ve learnt some new words that you can use next time you’re chatting to a friend! Head on over to Urban Dictionary – your go-to online dictionary for all new and up to date slang terms and meanings.