You may have noticed your teen using a whole new pack of words when texting and talking these days. It’s no surprise since a text conversation is fast replacing face-to-face conversations even among adults. It looks strange but you can learn to decode your teen’s texting slang. Here’s the good, bad, and the texting red flags parents need to know about. Don’t stay bewildered, dig a little deeper. You may find some surprising insights that will help you parent more effectively. We’ve included texting acronyms along with verbal lingo or phrases below since both are always changing*.
Drug References
CID = Acid
Lit = Intoxicated, or high, or a harmless, fun term that means just that something was a lot of fun (i.e., that party was lit).
420 = This means marijuana (also look for words like 420 4life, boo, blunt, and Buddha)
Blue Boogers = Term used for snorting Ritalin or Adderal
Pharming = Rummaging medicine cabinets to find drugs
#-) = Wiped out, partied all night
%*} = Inebriated
%\ = Hangover
Spunyun = A young person on drugs
Geeking = Very drunk or high
5-0 = Police
Yayo = Cocaine
Skrill = Money
420 = Marijuana
O = Oxycontin
E = Ecstasy
Hazel = Heroin
Sexual References
ASLP – Age, Sex, Location, Picture (if someone is asking this to your child, dig deeper)
Snuggy = Condom
IRL = In Real Life
LMINRL = Let’s Meet in Real Life
PRON = Porn
8 = Oral Sex
CU46 = See You For Sex
RU18 = Are You 18?
S2R = Send to Receive; used when asking for nude pictures
Np4Np = Naked Pic for Naked Pic
GNRN = Get Naked Right Now
NSFW = Not Safe For Work (refers to graphic or nude content)
FYEO = For Your Eyes Only
DTF = Down To F***
Sugarpic = Suggestive or erotic photo
53x = Sex
ASLMH = Age, Sex, Location, Music, Hobbies
AMA = Ask Me Anything (this can open up good conversations or risky ones)
(Possible) Cyberbulling/Self Harm Slang
Ghey = Gay/homosexual
DIRL = Die in Real Life
Jlma = Just Leave Me Alone
IHML = I Hate My Life
Oreo = Racist slang for black person acting white
Stfu = Shut the f*** up
Foff = F*** off
TBH = To Be Honest (a candid compliment or an insult may follow)
SWYP = So What’s Your Problem?
JBH = Just Being Honest
LBH = Let’s Be Honest
Gtfo = Get the f*** out
Thirsty = someone who is desperate or too eager
Thot = That H** Over There (derogatory term for promiscuous woman)
ALG = Average Looking Girl
Meh = Indifference, don’t care
Trash = Refers to someone as garbage
Cancel = To reject a person, place, or event
Drag = To criticize/insult someone
Prat = Dumb person
Clavicle = Term used by anorexics (success = being able to see your collar bone or clavicle).
#CutFor = Cutters use this hashtag to promote who or what they cut for
Ana & Mia = Anorexia and Bulimia communities
Fugly = F*** Ugly
Miscellaneous Slang & Lingo
DAE = Does Anyone Else? Used when a person wants to know if they are not alone in whatever they are experiencing
FML = F*** My Life
TBH = To Be Honest (a candid compliment or an insult may follow)
HIFW = How I Felt When
IKR = I Know, Right? A term of agreement
#PMHT short for Pardon My Hashtag
INB4 = I Know Beforehand (of mistakes in grammar, etc.)
ICYMI = In Case You Missed It
DM = Direct Message
JBH = Just Being Honest
LBH = Let’s Be Honest
IMO = In My Opinion
SLR = Sorry Late Reply
Boo = Beau or significant other
IDEFK = I Don’t Even F***ing Know
KL = Cool
Slay = To succeed at something
Ghosting = Ignore someone
Gat = A gun or firearm
Fam = Your squad of friends
Woke = be aware of current events
Keep It = Keep it around, a word of approval
High Key, Low Key = Keep the information public or private (low key)
Savage = Something really good; awesome
DJM = Don’t Judge Me
Imho = In my humble opinion
CD9 = Code 9; parents around
POS = Parents Over Shoulder
99 = parents watching
9 = parents no longer watching
PAW = Parents Are Watching
KPC = Keeping Parents Clueless
*Sources for our updates include: NetLingo, current blogs and news articles, and monitoring Twitter patterns and hashtags.
Yes, this is a longer list than usual. Did we leave anything out that you see being used online? We’d love for you to leave it in the comments!
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