Real Talk: Decoding Teen Slang

Real Talk With Susan & Kristina

In this week's episode of 'Real Talk,' Susan and Kristina take on the daunting task of deciphering the ever-changing slang of today's kids. From navigating linguistic rollercoasters to tackling new words and phrases that pop up daily, they show that staying in the know is not just essential but also a fun challenge. Join them for some laughs and linguistic acrobatics as they take on today’s latest trends.

TRANSCRIPT:

Susan Stone:

Welcome back to Real Talk with Susan Stone and Kristina Supler. We are full-time moms and attorneys bringing our student defense legal practice to life with real candid conversations.

Have a fun podcast today, Supler.

Kristina Supler:

What are we talking about?

Susan Stone:

We are going to talk about decoding teen slang and trends.

Kristina Supler:

Oooo, fun, I like it.

Susan Stone:

Yeah. Before we launch into our podcast today, can I just say it is so flipping cold out.

Kristina Supler:

Oh my gosh. It is freezing out. To our listeners out there, We are in Cleveland where it's a balmy four degrees or one degree, depending upon the device you look at, and it is just frigid.

Susan Stone:

Okay, So hubby last night noted that there are no terms for cold and it's been called an ‘arctic blast’. You ever thought that we were experiencing…

Kristina Supler:

I feel like I've heard like local weather people use different iterations of Arctic blast. Arctic freeze. I don't know.

Susan Stone:

All I know is I was trying to walk the dogs yesterday and it was truly a miserable experience for me and the dogs. They didn't even want to go out and go to the bathroom. It was awful.

Kristina Supler:

Funny, I had the same experience this morning when I took my two dogs out. It was like quick rush, take your business and get back inside. But even inside, Freezing. Freezing, freezing, freezing.

Susan Stone:

Yeah, and didn’t you have… What happened with your uh… was it your, was it your water heater? Your power? What happened this weekend?

Kristina Supler:

So, Cleveland got a big storm over the weekend and yeah, I didn't have power for 24 hours so I was, we were away. It's fortunate that we were away but it was a little nerve racking in terms of, I don't know, bad things happening in the house. Fortunately, my husband informed me that power has no impact on our heating system because we have steam.

I didn't really know. Yes, but yeah, food in the fridge, all those fun issues that Midwesterners deal with, so on and so forth. But here we are today and hopefully we've got something light and funny that can warm things up.

Susan Stone:

Yeah. You know what we did yesterday? I took my youngest and we went and saw Mean Girls.

Kristina Supler:

Oh I read about the like re- uh, relaunch of that movie. I’ve never seen it. Tell me about it.

Susan Stone:

Well, I love the original. And the original was amazing. Rachel McAdams, Lindsay Lohan,

Kristina Supler:

I was gonna say isn’t Lindsay Lohan in it. That's. Yeah, the two comes to mind.

Susan Stone:

Yeah. And that was one of her. And she's in the remake.

Kristina Supler:

How’s she looking these days?

Susan Stone:

She's looking gorgeous.

Kristina Supler:

Really, good! Good.

Susan Stone:

Shout out to you, Lindsay. You are aging fine. But I will say, Tori, my 18 year old, did not like the movie at all.

Kristina Supler:

Really? Why? Now, did she had she seen the original or. No?

Susan Stone:

No, she had. She just thought.

Kristina Supler:

the remake was not hitting her right?

Susan Stone:

No. She thought it was insulting to her intelligence.

Kristina Supler:

Why is that?

Susan Stone:

Well, she felt like it didn't capture the original flavor of bullying.

And she thought bullying is such an important topic that they sort of made fun of it and made light of it and made it seem ridiculous.

Kristina Supler:

So let me ask you, was there any, like redeeming message or takeaway for viewers of the movie? Any lessons to be learned?

Susan Stone:

I mean It was the same lesson be kind, be nice, blah, blah, blah. I'm not trying to put down.

Kristina Supler:

Sure that's and that's a good one, but it's a little basic.

Susan Stone:

But the way it was delivered, that's the word

Kristina Supler:

Basic.

Susan Stone:

It was basic. Yeah. So, you know, I wanted to love it. I want it to because I love the original and I know there's now the musical and, you know I love me a Musical.

Kristina Supler:

You love a Musical.

Susan Stone:

Oh my gosh. I mean, there isn't a musical that I don’t rush and see.

Kristina Supler:

I think it's so funny that we're talking about this because I have to imagine while and I've experienced that, sometimes people think that as lawyers we’re, you know, reading the news and thinking about Supreme Court opinions and all these, you know, intellectual things, and here we are, “Hey, Supler I saw Mean Girls yesterday”.

Susan Stone:

But on to our topic about the way kids talk and how language changes. So I was, I did a little research. Truthfully, I forgot the fun terms I used when I was in high school or were popular in the eighties.

Kristina Supler:

Okay, lay it on me.

Susan Stone:

Okay. Ready?

Kristina Supler:

Ready.

Susan Stone:

Gag me with the spoon. Did you say that?

Kristina Supler:

Never. No. I can honestly say no. I never said Gag me with a spoon.

Susan Stone:

Ready?

Kristina Supler:

Ready.

Susan Stone:

Eat my shorts.

Kristina Supler:

Uh that, that I'm familiar with through one, Bart Simpson. You really said that? You said eat my shorts.

Susan Stone:

I didn't, but others did.

Kristina Supler:

I just. What does is it really mean? Like, like.

Susan Stone:

Do you think it means Bug off? Maybe. I think that's what it means. Eat my shorts.

Kristina Supler:

Okay.

Susan Stone:

And gnarly.

Kristina Supler:

Now, Now. Okay. Who doesn't know? Gnarly. Sure. I think gnarly still kind of with us. The West Coast vibe a bit. I don't know.

Susan Stone:

So, Let's talk about some of the terms. I didn't know that well. Proposed by our fine marketing department.

Kristina Supler:

Let me ask you, though, what's what generation were you? Are you?

Susan Stone:

I am the beginning of Gen X.

Kristina Supler:

Ohhhh.

Susan Stone:

Babies baby

Kristina Supler:

Sure, sure, sure, sure.

Susan Stone:

Madonna spoke. You can't see me Voguing. Voguing, guys.

Kristina Supler:

Best music video ever. Ever! What's interesting about that is I think of myself as a Gen Xer, but actually, I shudder to admit this. I don't want to admit this, but I must. I am technically the beginning of millennials.

Susan Stone:

There is nothing about you that’s a Millennials

Kristina Supler:

I don't identify that way. I really see myself as a Gen Xer like the nineties vibe, but I guess according to the internet, according to Wikipedia or what have you, I'm technically a first year millennial.

Susan Stone:

That's interesting that I’m a Gen Xer. I was a latchkey kid, and for those of you who don't know what that is, my mom went to work and I had a, what was it, a shoestring with a key.

Kristina Supler:

You literally had a key on a shoestring.

Susan Stone:

I literally had a key on a shoestring.

Kristina Supler:

I didn't know that was a real thing.

Susan Stone:

That's why they called it ‘latchkey kids’ Supler. It's a real thing.

Kristina Supler:

Well, I have to confess, I grew up in a house that we never locked. I never had a key.

Susan Stone:

That's a beautiful thing.

Kristina Supler:

It actually is.

Susan Stone:

That’s a beautiful thing .And I was the MTV generation who didn't remember Tabatha Sorenson. So cute. And I was on MTV once.

Kristina Supler:

No.

Susan Stone:

Yeah, I danced.

Kristina Supler:

Tell me more.

Susan Stone:

There's not that much to tell.

Kristina Supler:

On the Grind? Were you on MTV on the Grind?

Susan Stone:

It was one of those shows, you literally waited in line and when they told you to dance, you danced. It's hilarious.

Kristina Supler:

But was it the Grind? Yes or no?

Susan Stone:

I don't think so.

Kristina Supler:

Because I really hope that it was.

Susan Stone:

And my roommate in college had a picture of Ronald Reagan above her bed.

Kristina Supler:

(Laughing) What did she love him?

Susan Stone:

She loved him.

Kristina Supler:

Was she attracted to him?

Susan Stone:

I don’t know Ronny was hot. Ronny was hot.

Kristina Supler:

Sensible citizen. Oh my God. Now that is the funniest thing.

Susan Stone:

Okay, guys Let’s talk about some words and then we can respond to what this generation is "saying. And I am going to mispronounce it, but ’gyat’.

Kristina Supler:

I, I just can't with this one. With this one, I just can't. I am told, so for all of our listeners out there, I've only recently come to learn this, this word, this phrase, and apparently it is a high compliment. It is a major, major compliment to give someone indicating that their derriere is large.

Susan Stone:

Yeah. I asked my daughter, do you know what ‘gyat’ is? She’s just like ass. I'm like, okay.

Kristina Supler:

Yeah. So I guess it rhymes with squat or bought

Susan Stone:

or fiat.

Kristina Supler:

And then it can also be, I guess I'm told, an acronym for something about the backside being thick. I don't know.

Susan Stone:

But I have to be honest, I've never heard it used in my house.

Kristina Supler:

I've never heard it used. I've never seen it. I mean, in our work representing students, we read a lot of text messages and social media posts. I've never even read it in a text, so I personally am very circumspect about this word and its use and popularity. I feel like a journalist or someone Internet writer out there just like made it up or heard one person use it and then said, oh parents, hey, you need to know this word. And it's really not a thing.

Susan Stone:

I don’t even like the way it sounds. But you know, you have a question for you. Why? When we read and we read thousands of text messages in our case, what's the point of Bruh B.R.U.H

Kristina Supler:

I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I've got nothing for you on that. And we see it literally every day and it's constant, It's constant. Like every other thing is ‘bruh’. And then the other question I have for you is ‘lol’, after everything, even after stuff that's not funny, you still put ‘lol bruh’. That you see a lot as well. I don't know. That is more with people, our clients who are a little bit older. It's not like high schoolers, but that I see all the time and I feel like it's just a habit because it's literally like on text where there's not even something funny said.

Susan Stone:

I don't get it, I don't get it. I agree.

Kristina Supler:

I think for parents, the key is… And parents out there, Please don't please don't say gyat.

I mean, that would just be mortifying to your child.

Susan Stone:

Yeah, you really will look like a total loser.

Kristina Supler:

Way to not mince your words.

Susan Stone:

I know. Okay, parents try it and then they'll tell you your kids that you're a total loser.

Kristina Supler:

Yeah. No they won’t, they won't want to go in public with you.

Susan Stone:

Now, this is all from our marketing department, so shout out to Amanda for doing the research on this. But the next word is…

Kristina Supler:

Well, hold on. Drum roll, please. For the 2023 word of the year.

Susan Stone

Rizz

Kristina Supler:

Susan, what does Rizz mean?

Susan Stone

Charisma.

Kristina Supler:

Ohhhhh the ability to charm someone or woo someone. Now, have you ever So I have not heard my children use this. My kids are a little bit younger. What? You have a senior in high school?

Have you heard her use it?

Susan Stone

No, I've never heard her use Rizz, but I did. Again, just like I am curious her and she says it's more used in the negative, like she doesn't have Rizz.

Kristina Supler:

Oh. Okay. I guess I see it. I don't know. Some of these things. Truly. I feel like you're just, like, made into things for internet writers to launch off on. But we'll have to see if Rizz continues on to 2024.

Susan Stone

Don't think it's going to make it.

Kristina Supler:

I'm inclined to agree. But let me ask you, though, 2024 word that's going to become, you know, plastered all over text messages. Do you think it'll be like a compliment, an insult, a rhetorical turn of phrase? What were you going with this?

Susan Stone

No clue, guys. I don't know.

Kristina Supler:

Come on bruh, come on bruh!

Susan Stone

But what I do know is that, you know, what's the point of this podcast is important, and it's because we don't want parents running around saying ‘Rizz’ and ‘Gyat, and ‘Bruh’.

Kristina Supler:

Yes, let's be clear. We are not advocating for that on any level. We are talking about this though, because I think it's just important for parents to know what these things mean. So I don't know. For instance, you go snooping, you read your kids, you know, messages in the phone. It's sometimes you literally can't tell what they're talking about. And so it's important to know words and phrases.

Susan Stone

Well, on our case, I have to say I use the Urban Dictionary a lot.

Kristina Supler:

Oh yeah. I mean, I can't I can't deny having had to turn to it on more than one occasion. And also, I'll tell you what else I really am uninformed about and trying to do better with is emojis and what they mean.

Susan Stone

Oh those are hard.

Kristina Supler:

Those are hard. I mean, obviously, we know like happy, sad, so on and so forth, but some of them are very confusing to me. And again, we go through text in cases all the time and it's like literally have to Google what certain emojis mean.

Susan Stone

I even know, you know, about peaches and eggplant. You had to tell me.

Kristina Supler:

I was going to say, I definitely feel like I knew that.

Susan Stone

But you did. But I went to you. And once it was explained, I kind of saw the Peach.

Kristina Supler:

You saw the booty,

Susan Stone

I saw a tush, but it wasn't intuitive to me.

Kristina Supler:

Sure, sure. Well, and you have a very good vocabulary, so, you know, you're like pulling out your dictionary words, not Rizz, but, you know, the fancy dictionary words. And so

Susan Stone

I do I pride myself on that. And, you know, I like to think of myself as a reader.

Kristina Supler:

Sure. Me too. Me too.

Susan Stone

I started the new James McBride book. so good. Anyways, that's a sidetrack. Let's talk about one last topic of what's going on in Teen Trends, which is different. It's kind of like a redo from my gen. What is preppy?

Kristina Supler:

Well, I think we've come full circle with our mean girls theme and like redos, re- rehashing something out because preppy is back and alive full well now and it's interesting

Susan Stone

It is different.

Kristina Supler:

It is different, and I see preppy now this I have familiarity with through my daughter and her friends. And back in my day, growing up, when I thought I was a Gen Xer, but apparently I'm not heartbroken. Preppy was like Lacoste and you had your Gap, Argyle, V-neck Sweaters and…

Susan Stone

The Gap, the Izod, with the collar turned up.

Kristina Supler:

Pop the collar, baby.

Susan Stone

Pop the collar and Bermuda backs.

Kristina Supler:

Oh no, I don't know what that is.

Susan Stone

They were these cute little purses where you could change the outer side and little button them on there. They’re cute.

Kristina Supler:

Penny loafers, suede bath box. Do you remember those? That was hot in Catholic grade schools.

Susan Stone

I didn't go to Catholic grade school, but I know you did. But yeah, preppy was the and the preppy handbook that was really big.

Kristina Supler:

I do not know what that is.

Susan Stone

It was a book on how to be preppy. I mean, it was a how to, but today it seems very expensive, what preppy is.

Kristina Supler:

Yeah. Well I mean I guess it probably was back in the day as well with, you know, buying your Lacoste shirt and whatnot. But so for the youngsters now, it's interesting. It's sort of I would say it's like a lifestyle. It's a look and a lifestyle.

Susan Stone

Is it like Goop, a lifestyle brand?

Kristina Supler:

Yeah, I mean Goop is, kind of in a way. But Goop is for what middle aged women be. So think lots of pink and…

Susan Stone

Like Barbie pink?

Kristina Supler:

Yes, Barbie pink. But before it was a thing. Before Barbie was the Barbie remake. Sure. Lululemon, there's no point getting dressed if you don't have on Lululemon.

Susan Stone

But see I think of Lululemon as middle age housewife.

Kristina Supler:

Well, you think of it athleisure.

Susan Stone

I do.

Kristina Supler:

And I do too, actually. But for the young ones out there, it's just what you wear. It's what you do. You always have your water bottle you're carrying around your Stanley thing. But that's not like, I don't know, I, I funny enough, I was doing some reading the other day and came across something on like how Stanley got big and it was a few like Instagram accounts that really made Stanley, like become a huge, huge thing more recently

Susan Stone

That Laneige…

Kristina Supler:

Lip balm?

Susan Stone

Yeah!

Kristina Supler:

Lip Mask? Yup.

Susan Stone

My daughter’s

Kristina Supler:

Yeah.

Susan Stone

The oldest one. Hey, Alex bought it for me and I have say, shout out to Laneige epically now in this bad cold weather.

Kristina Supler:

Yeah.

Susan Stone

I really like it. Oh my gosh. I meant to ask you, you know how I bought you. Just as a you're the best business partner in the world, Jones Road Balm?

Kristina Supler:

Yes.

Susan Stone

I am loving it this winter. Do you notice I have a little on?

Kristina Supler:

A little a little subtle glow.

Susan Stone

a little subtle glow. But it does keep you moisturized in this weather. So I bought you that gift. Are you using it? I'm putting you on the spot.

Kristina Supler:

Well, now that it's cold out, I might, I might bring it back in the summer. It just. It didn't do me right. But now it might be time. Now that my skin's dryer. I will tell you another example of, like, the penultimate preppy brand for girls now is the Aviator Nation sweat wear. And I so I actually, coincidentally enough this weekend was driving and listen to the how I built this podcast.

Susan Stone

I love that guy, Raz.

Kristina Supler:

Who doesn’t, who doesn’t!

Susan Stone

Shout out to him too.

Kristina Supler:

And they had on the founder of Aviator Nation who, by the way, her brother was the founder of Tom's. Think about that family gene pool. Isn't that interesting? But Aviator Nation is essentially like very high-end sweat- sweatshirts, sweat pants, so on and so forth, known for like applique, essentially sewing on stripes of things like that.

Susan Stone

I'm looking at it on a website because I didn't know about it. I don't get it.

Kristina Supler:

Well, you know, it's just like it's a thing. What makes the sweatshirt worth $150? I couldn't really tell you, but kids want it. Parents are paying for it.

Susan Stone

I don't get it.

Kristina Supler:

I think it's like a status thing, too. But it's supposed to be very like colorful. And again, it's a lifestyle. It's an aspirational brand. And the young ones are all about it now. So I don't know that these are kind of like the key, I shouldn't say the key, but brands that come to my mind in terms of like, what the tweens now or viewing is like preppy and what is preppy and skin care. They're very they're very intense in skin care

Susan Stone

Oh my gosh and I think that's a good thing.

Kristina Supler:

Sure, why not?

Susan Stone

I think that establishes really good lifelong habits. But I got to share something. My, in my day, it was either Gloria Vanderbilt or Jordache jeans.

Kristina Supler:

Oh yeah.

Susan Stone

I've got to tell you, my mother would not buy them for me. We were out of my family's budget and I remember crying over it

Kristina Supler:

in my day. It was Guess jeans.

Susan Stone

Yeah, but.

Kristina Supler:

But you wanted the Gloria Vanderbilt pencil pouch. That was like the hot item at my school.

Susan Stone

My parents didn't cater to that.

Kristina Supler:

Mine didn't really. But like, my mother understood why it was important to us. And so we always had to like we had chores and allowance and we had to save our money and then go buy it ourselves.

Susan Stone

So yeah. And you know what? I really try not to capitulate and rush out to every trend.

Kristina Supler:

Sure. No, I think that and that actually by the way, I think that is those are words of wisdom for listeners of any age, because a trend is just that, a trend here today, gone tomorrow. And so, I mean, if you're going to jump on board with the trend, go for it. But I wouldn't, you know, do so in an expensive way.

Susan Stone

No, no. Because, you know, we know what that creates.

Kristina Supler:

And parents, we all know here today, gone tomorrow in terms of what our kids are interested in, what they want. So what they're saying. Right.

Susan Stone

And what they're saying. So for us, it's a necessity. We can't get, do our job unless we can read their texts.

Kristina Supler:

Yeah, I mean, kidding aside, of course, this was obviously we were being light with the topic. But truly, there are often times in many cases where we're going through social media communication and there's text back and forth and they're really important. There, you know, relevant to the case and who did what, said what, when, where, so on and so forth. And we need to understand what's being said. And we don't always.

Susan Stone

Okay, bruh.

Kristina Supler:

Thank you, bruh. LOL. Until next time.

Thanks for listening to Real Talk with Susan and Kristina. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our show so you never miss an episode and leave us a review so other people can find the content we share here. You can follow us on Instagram. Just search our handle at Stones hoopla and for more resources, visit us online at Student Defense, Dot.com.

Thank you so much for being a part of our real talk community. We'll see you next time.