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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   2922 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 24, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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GenZ neologisms. Every passing day I slowly find myself using more and more of them. The latest addition to my arsenal is "rizz", and its variation of "w rizz" and "l rizz". To those unaware rizz is what the millenials called "game", the ability to swoon the other gender. I dont think any such proper phrase exists that succintly sums up the concept of win rizz and lose rizz. New phrases for new things.

In my headcannon, neologisms dont replace old words/ideas, they come into existence to describe a subtle variation of a situation/experience that the old phrase didnt demarcate well enough. Rizz is not the same thing as game or even charisma, its a superset of those concepts. Bussing isnt delicious, it means delicious and addicting. These specialized neologisms might just dilute over time into their old vague versions. And the day I cant keep up, ill look like an old man using old language.

Honestly, I have no clue how people older than me keep up with the pace at which this is progressing - I already seem to be an old man using old language despite the fact that I am in the age range of Gen Z. I simply haven't picked up on many of their neologisms, and even with those I do understand, I have real difficulty using them in a seemingly natural way (and often come off incredibly awkwardly).

I think it mostly just helps to be on certain platforms. Not the really big and visible ones like Twitter or YT, but places like Twitch or Tumblr. There's also always Urban Dictionary, for however much weight you can place on that.

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