It’s been a few years since Lifehacker looked at the slang of Generation Z—long enough that Generation Alpha has had time to develop and spread some of its own special buzzwords and jargon. Below is an alphabetized collection of slang taken from both Gen Z and Gen A, in case someone younger than you says something you don’t understand. As with all slang, if you need an online list to know what a word means, you are too old to say it aloud.

304: Hoe. (Type “304” on a calculator and turn it upside down.)

4+4: Ate. Four plus four is eight, or “ate.”

Ate/eat: Done particularly well, particularly regarding clothing. ie: “You ate that outfit.” See also: “serving.”

Aura: Someone who is mysterious and cool is said to “have aura.”

Baddie: A bad/wild girl. Meant as a compliment.

Baka: Japanese word meaning “crazy” or “foolish.” Used mainly in the anime community.

Based: Independent in a cool way.

Bed-rotting: Staying in bed all day. You may know it as “lazing around.” See also: “Hurkle-durkle.”

Bop: A girl who sleeps around. Also: a great song.

Brain-rot: A description of the overuse of stupid slang. See also: “Skibidi” Also used to describe the effects of being overly online.

Brat: The contemporary meaning of a “brat” is a person who is edgy, imperfect, and confident. It was coined by pop star Charli XCX who defined it as “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown.”

Bubba truck: A lifted or otherwise modified pick-up truck.

Bussin‘: Very good or excellent.

Cap: A lie. Often used to say “no cap.”

Chad: An attractive man; i.e. an “alpha male.” See “Giga-Chad.”

Chat: A reference to streamers addressing their chat windows aloud. Saying “chat” in real life is an ironic joke. 

Chud: A physically unappealing person. Sometimes used for a man who holds right wing views.

Coomer: A man who masturbates too often.

Corn: “Corn” is algo-speak that means “porn.” Used in online spaces where the word might cause your account to be flagged or banned. 

Coworker-core: A catch-all description for things that are unfunny or uninteresting in a way that appeals to older people.

Deadass: Seriously. Used like, “I am deadass not lying.”

Delulu: Delusional.

Doomer: A person who is overly negative and/or cynical.

Drip: A fashionable or stylish look.

Edgar: A variation of the Caesar haircut worn especially among hispanic males. Also refers to the kind of person who wears the haircut. 

Fanum tax: The theft of food between friends. Named for streamer Fanum, known for “taxing” his friends by taking bites of their meals or stealing fries. 

Fax, no printer: Telling the truth, since “fax and “facts” are pronounced the same. It’s a colorful way of saying “facts, no cap.”

Fent-fold: A description of the bent-over posture of people nodding on heavy drugs.

Fit: Short for “outfit.”

Fuhuhluhtoogan: Supposedly from Baltimore slang, this is a nonsense word used so people will ask what it means but never receive an answer. Often paired with “Jittleyang.”

Gamer dent: The temporary indentation left on someone’s hair or skin after wearing headphones for too long.

Geeker: Someone who uses a lot of drugs.

GIga-Chad: A Chad among Chads.

Glaze: To overly praise someone, often insincerely, or with the hope of getting something in return.

Glizzy: Hot dog. “Glizzy” was originally slang for Glock or gun, but came to mean hot dog based on the hot dog-like shape of a Glock’s magazine.

Green fn: An interjection one might used when someone does something cool or impressive. Often used ironically. 

Gooning: Extended masturbation without orgasm done for the purpose of entering an altered state of consciousness.

Gyatt or Gyat: Once an interjection used when seeing someone sexy, like “god-DAMN,” “gyatt” has come to mean “attractive booty.”

Hewwo: An overly cute way of saying “hello.” Usually used online, and often ironically.

Hurkle-durkle: Based on an archaic Scottish word, “hurkle-durkle” means to lounge in bed after it is time to get up. See also: “bed-rotting.”

“It’s so over”: The situation is hopeless. The opposite of “we’re so back.” See also: “Doomer.”

Jelqing: The use of stretching or weights in an attempt to increase penis size.

Jit: A kid. Used ironically online.

Jittleyang: Supposedly from Baltimore slang, this is a nonsense word used so people will ask what it means but never receive an answer. See also: Fuhuhluhtoogan.

JOMO: A play on FOMO (fear of missing out) JOMO is an acronym that stands for “joy of missing out.”

“Learn Chinese”: Sports slang directed at failing players. They are in danger of being sent to play in China, so they should “learn Chinese.”

Looksmaxxing: Maximizing one’s physical attractiveness through personal grooming, working out, and dressing stylishly. See also: “-maxxing.”

-maxxing: A suffix used with any word to indicate trying to improve. Seeing your friends could be called “friendmaxxing,” working out could be called “gymmaxxing,” making jokes could be called “jestermaxxing” etc.

Mid: Average, bland, expected.

Mewing: A facial exercise meant to strengthen the jawline.

Mirror sex: Using a mirror to watch yourself have sex.

Mog: To be more attractive than someone, usually in an intentional or aggressive way. Example: “I was rizzing up this girl, but he walked in and totally mogged me.”

Neurospicy: A different way of saying “neuro-divergent.”

NPC: Non-player character. Originally describing video game characters, NPC is now used on the internet to mean people who don’t think for themselves.

Opp: Short for “opposition.” Someone who is out to get you. An enemy.

Regarded: “Regarded” is algo-speak for “retarded.”

Rizz: As a noun, “rizz” means charisma. As a verb, rizz or rizz up means attracting someone with your charisma.

Serve: Wearing a particularly stylish outfit. See also: “ate.”

Serve cunt: To act in a powerfully and unapologetically feminine way; to slay.

Skibidi: Named after “Skibidi Toilet,” a popular series of YouTube videos, “skibidi” itself has no specific meaning, beyond ridiculing the overuse of slang itself. See “brain-rot.”

Sigma: A “sigma male” is a lone wolf who is powerful and competent, as opposed to a traditional alpha male stereotypes.

Sweat: A person who tries too hard, usually used in reference to video games. The adjective form is “sweaty.”

Soyjack: a cartoon image of an emasculated man with an open-mouthed smile and an excited expression. Based on “soy-boy,” or weak man.

Spawn point: Mother. Based on the spot you start in a video game.

Spoopy: Spooky.

Striker: Stolen/no-title car.

Tradwife: Believer in traditional married gender roles.

Turnt: Excited or intoxicated, or excitedly intoxicated.

Unc: Short for “uncle,” used to describe slightly older people. Example: “The class of 2024 are unc-status to the class of 2028.”

Twelve: Police.

Twin: Best friend.

“We’re so back”: Opposite of “it’s so over.”

Yapping: Describes a presentational style often seen on online streams of talking a lot and/or quickly while not saying anything worthwhile.

Zoomer Perm: A curly on top, short on the sides haircut popular among young people. 

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for August 15, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for August 15, Wordle #1,153! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

They’re almost all common letters from our mnemonic today. Only one isn’t, and it’s also pretty common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

This falls from a tree.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There are two vowels.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with A. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with N. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is ACORN.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, which gave me four letters and only two solutions—I guessed ACORN, which was correct.

Wordle 1,153 3/6

🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was easier. The hint was “this is found alongside a lake or river” and the answer contained all common letters.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was SHORE.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

You can get a digital download for Minecraft: Java and Bedrock Editions on sale for $24.99 right now (reg. $39) right now. The Java Edition, suitable for desktop use on Windows, macOS, and Linux, is known for its extensive customization options, including community-made mods and downloadable skins; and the Bedrock Edition supports cross-platform play across consoles, mobile devices, and PC. Bedrock may run more efficiently on less powerful hardware, and it offers access to the Minecraft Marketplace for add-ons and skins. Bedrock also supports controller play and can also work on Chromebooks. Worlds and saves from the Java edition are not compatible with the Bedrock edition. 

You can get Minecraft: Java and Bedrock Editions on sale for $24.99 right now (reg. $39), though prices can change at any time. 

You can get this Dell UltraSharp 32” video conferencing monitor on sale for $699.99 right now with free shipping (reg. $1,199.99). The adjustable webcam has AI auto focus, noise-canceling microphones, and ear-level 14W speakers. It also has 4K clarity and exceptional color contrast with IPS Black technology, as well as picture-in-picture or picture-by-picture modes. The monitor also supports Dell ExpressSign-in via Windows Hello and an automatic camera disable function for extra security. You’re saving 41% on this monitor because it’s an open-box item—customer returns in new condition with a 90-day warranty. 

You can get this open-box Dell UltraSharp 32” video conferencing monitor on sale for $699.99 right now with free shipping (reg. $1,199.99), though prices can change at any time.

Working with text is annoying sometimes, especially when you’re copying-and-pasting something with wonky formatting. Boop is a free and open source Mac application from developer Ivan Mathy. The idea is to paste text in here, transform it in some way with just a few keystrokes, and then copy it again in whatever app you’re using it in.

This is a little hard to grasp, so let’s talk about an example. If you have a chunk of text that’s all capital letters, and you wish it wasn’t, you can paste the text in this application apply the “Downcase” script to change it over. In an instant, your text will be in lower case.

You can choose a script using the keyboard shortcut, CMD+B, or you can click the Select your action box at the top of the window. A pop-up box allows you to search for a script, browse using the arrows, and hit Enter to apply the script to your text.

If you want to get an idea of the scripts that are offered you can open the pop-up and type an asterisk—you’ll see a complete list. You’ll also notice a lot of scripts that are related to programming, which is the real target audience of the app. I think it’s useful for writers too, though. My personal favorite scripts do things like remove unnecessary line breaks, convert color codes, and replace smart quotes.

And there’s also a collection of custom scripts, which are easy to install—you just need to set up a folder for scripts in the settings then download the scripts you want to use to that folder. The best one I found can convert CSV-formatted tables into markdown; another one can turn any string of text into a hashtag.

This is the kind of application you probably won’t open often but will be thankful for when you do. That’s the best kind of application, in my opinion: something that does a few jobs very well and doesn’t ask for your attention otherwise. Note that there’s a ported Linux version, in case you’re not a Mac person.