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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   2921 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.

As a Millennial, the older I get, the more I slowly build up a desire to purge my personal lexicon of current-day slang--it's just gonna be cringey once I'm biologically older, and there's little avoiding that. I figure I might as well embrace my age and go for oatmeal-plain language, or even retreat to 90's-speak.

It can be fun to insert up to the minute slang into a longer expression. The key is to use it correctly, but carefully enunciated as though gently placing the phrase into your statement with verbal tongs, and without breaking your normal flow. Appending "as the kids say" is just gilding the lily, however.

I'm personally a fan of "in the ragged parlance of the youth," as coined by Penny Arcade one time.

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