The march of time is ruthless, one moment you are young and cool and the next you are ‘the old people’. It starts slowly and creeps up on you, suddenly you no longer recognise the names of artists in the charts and a whole glossaries-worth of new slang terms are being used here, there and everywhere.
If you’ve started noticing your kids using the hip new slang words they’ve come across on the internet - or TikTok, they have probably come from TikTok - you might be wondering what they mean. And more importantly if they are saying things that are not age appropriate!
So we have dived into the depths of urban dictionary and KnowYourMemes to find out what some of the hottest internet slang words actually mean! Make sure to click through all the pages of our gallery below!

5. Yap
Chit chat, chatterbox, prattle, yakking, every generation has its own slang for when someone won’t stop talking. To yap is to talk too much and for those who keep on yapping, they might be called a yapper. Guess we will have to think up a new word to describe the barks of small dogs. | Astarot - stock.adobe.com Photo: Astarot - stock.adobe.com

6. Glazing
Apparently nothing to do with baking, glazing is used to describe when someone is overhyping something. For example: England fans are glazing Jude Bellingham’s goal. According to KnowYourMeme it has exploded in popularity after it migrated to TikTok in the last year or so. | A_B_C - stock.adobe.com Photo: A_B_C - stock.adobe.com

7. Ick
If someone or something gives you ‘the ick’ it means they turn you off. It is a phrase that gained popularity from Love Island - particularly fan favourite Olivia Attwood used it. It has become part of the Gen Z lexicon and maybe even older Gen Alpha kids use it. | tatsianamaphoto - stock.adobe.co Photo: tatsianamaphoto - stock.adobe.co

8. Do it for the plot
This one apparently means to try something out just for the experience. For example if you are suggesting to your kid about trying out for a team or club at school, they might say “ok, I’ll do it for the plot”. | sezer66 - stock.adobe.com Photo: sezer66 - stock.adobe.com