Generational Slang Explained: From Boomers to Gen Alpha

Level: B1

Printable: Student handout (PDF | Word) | Teacher’s key (PDF | Word)

Before You Read

Think about these questions or discuss them with a partner.

What is a slang word that you or your friends use? What does it mean?
Can you think of a word that your parents or grandparents say but you never use?
How might slang differ by age, country, or online community?

Reading

You are at a family dinner. Your teenage cousin says the soup is “bussin.” Your grandfather smiles and says that good things were “groovy.” Your mother laughs, because when she was a teenager, she used to say “rad.” All three of them mean the same thing: this is good. Every generation, a group of people born around the same time, has its own slang. These are informal words that people use with friends, but not in a job interview.

Baby Boomers, born from about 1946 to 1964, used to call exciting things “groovy” or “far out,” and a “bummer” was a disappointment. Generation X, born from about 1965 to 1980, used to say “rad” for great and “As if!” when an idea was silly. Millennials, born from about 1981 to 1996, gave the world “YOLO” (you only live once), “FOMO” (the fear of missing out), and perfect eyebrows that were “on fleek.”

Gen Z, born from about 1997 to 2012, says “no cap” when they are telling the truth. A person with “rizz” has charm, and the word comes from charisma. Gen Alpha, born since about 2010, have puzzled many adults. They say “skibidi,” a word made famous by a strange online video series about singing heads in toilets. They also shout “6-7,” which may mean “so-so” or nothing at all. Oxford chose “rizz” as its Word of the Year for 2023, and Dictionary.com chose “6-7” for 2025.

Look closely, and you will see a pattern. Every generation needs a word for “excellent”: groovy, rad, lit, fire, bussin. Every generation needs a word for “not good enough”: square, lame, basic, mid. And every generation needs a way to say “I am serious.” “For real” became “no cap.” The words change, but the jobs they do stay the same.

Why do new words keep appearing? Slang helps young people belong to a group, and it keeps outsiders, like parents, out. This is why a word often begins to fade when adults start using it. When your father says “slay” or a bank puts “no cap” in an advertisement, the word stops feeling cool. Yet a few words survive. “Cool” itself became popular among jazz musicians in the 1940s, and people of almost every age still use it.

Many words called Gen Z slang are older than Gen Z. “Cap,” meaning a lie, and “bussin,” meaning delicious, come from African American English. Others, like “slay,” were common in Black and LGBTQ ballroom dance communities long before TikTok. The internet did not invent these words, but it spread them around the world in months instead of decades.

Slang is not only an English habit. In France, young people have long made slang called verlan by turning words backwards, so “femme” (woman) becomes “meuf.” When some verlan words became too common, speakers reversed them again. Next time you see an older relative, ask what words they used to say at your age. Which of your words will still be alive when you are their age?

Vocabulary

Each word has a frequency score, a rank, and a tag. The score shows how common the word is in modern English: higher means more common, and each full point means roughly ten times more common. The rank is the word’s position on a list of about 321,000 English word forms, from most to least common. The tag shows where you are most likely to meet the word: Current, Formal, Literary, or Dated. The paragraph number shows where the word first appears in the reading. The labels are information, not instructions. Deciding which words are worth your time is up to you. How to read the scores, ranks, and tags.

Every generation has its own slang.
My grandparents’ generation grew up without smartphones.

Teenagers often use slang that their parents do not understand.
“Rad” is a slang word from the 1980s.

Slang is informal language that people use with friends.
The meeting was informal, so nobody wore a suit.

For Baby Boomers, a “bummer” was a disappointment.
The rainy holiday was a big disappointment.

A person with “rizz” has charm.
The small cafe has a lot of charm, and tourists love it.

Gen Alpha slang has puzzled many adults.
The strange noise puzzled us for days.

There is a pattern in the slang of every generation.
There is a pattern: he is always late on Mondays.

Slang helps young people belong to a group.
At my new club, I finally feel that I belong.

Slang keeps outsiders, like parents, out.
Some small villages are not very friendly to outsiders.

A slang word often begins to fade when adults start using it.
The colors of the old photo began to fade.

A few slang words, like “cool,” survive for many decades.
Only a few of the old letters survive today.

The internet did not invent most Gen Z slang.
She wants to invent a machine that cleans windows.

The internet spread new slang around the world.
The news spread quickly through the school.

French speakers reversed some verlan words a second time.
He reversed the letters, so “stop” became “pots.”

Ask an older relative what slang they used to say.
A relative of mine lives in Canada.

Word Partners

Collocations. Match the two halves to make common phrases. Then use three of the phrases in sentences of your own.

1. the younger	a. relative
2. a big	b. like wildfire
3. turn on the	c. fade
4. feel like an	d. pattern
5. follow a	e. outsider
6. memories begin to	f. disappointment
7. spread	g. generation
8. a close	h. charm

Answers

the younger generation (g)
a big disappointment (f)
turn on the charm (h)
feel like an outsider (e)
follow a pattern (d)
memories begin to fade (c)
spread like wildfire (b)
a close relative (a)

Word families. Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word in brackets.

Many teenagers want a sense of __________ in a group. (belong)
The telephone was an important __________. (invent)
We were very __________ when the concert was canceled. (disappointment)
Only three people lived after the crash. The __________ went to the hospital. (survive)
He is a very __________ person, and everyone likes him. (charm)
The question was __________, and nobody could answer it. (puzzled)

Answers

belonging
invention
disappointed
survivors
charming
puzzling

Activity Page

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Speed Challenge

Answer 12 questions against the clock. Every wrong answer adds 5 seconds, and the lowest score wins. Open the speed challenge in a new tab.

Quick Reading and Typing: Generational Slang in Brief

A shorter version of the reading that uses the lesson vocabulary. Read it for a quick introduction to the topic, or use it for reading aloud, shadowing (reading along with a model), and typing practice.

At a family dinner, a teenager says that the soup is “bussin” tonight. Her grandfather says that good things used to be “groovy” in his day. Her mother laughs, because she used to say “rad” as a teenager. They all mean the same thing: this is good. Every generation, a group of people born around the same time, has its own slang. Slang is informal language that people use with friends.

Baby Boomers, born from about 1946 to 1964, used to say “groovy” and “far out.” For them, a “bummer” was a disappointment. Generation X, born from about 1965 to 1980, said “rad” for great. Millennials, born from about 1981 to 1996, gave the world “YOLO” and “FOMO” in the 2000s and 2010s. Gen Z, born from about 1997 to 2012, says “no cap” when they tell the truth. A person with “rizz” has charm. Gen Alpha, born since about 2010, have puzzled many adults with words like “skibidi” and “6-7” in recent years. Oxford chose “rizz” as its Word of the Year for 2023. An online dictionary chose “6-7” for 2025.

There is a clear pattern. Every generation needs a word for “excellent,” like groovy, rad, or bussin. Every generation needs a word for “not good enough,” like lame, basic, or mid. Slang helps young people belong to a group, and it keeps outsiders, like parents, out. So a word often begins to fade when adults start using it. Yet a few words survive. “Cool” became popular among jazz musicians in the 1940s, and people of almost every age still use it.

Many words called Gen Z slang are older than Gen Z. “Cap,” meaning a lie, and “bussin” come from African American English. The internet did not invent these words, but it spread them around the world very quickly. Slang is not only English, either. In France, young people make slang called verlan by turning words backwards, so “femme” becomes “meuf” in verlan. When some verlan words became too common, speakers reversed them again. Next time you see an older relative, ask what words they used to say at your age.

How to practice

Read the text silently once and check any words you are unsure of.
Read it aloud slowly, one sentence at a time. On the typing page, the Listen button reads each line with your device’s voice, so you can listen first and then repeat.
Shadow: read aloud again at a natural speed, trying to keep a steady rhythm without stopping.
Record yourself, listen back, and note one sentence to practice again.
Type it on the typing page below and check your speed and accuracy.

Open the typing practice in a new tab

Comprehension Questions

What does the teenager mean when she says the soup is “bussin”?
What is a generation?
Name one slang word that Baby Boomers used to say and one that Generation X used to say.
What do Gen Z speakers mean when they say “no cap”?
Which slang words were chosen as Words of the Year for 2023 and 2025?
What pattern does the writer see in the slang of every generation? Give two examples.
Why does a slang word often begin to fade?
Where do “cap” and “bussin” come from, and what did the internet do to words like these?
How does verlan work? Give the example from the reading.

IELTS-Style Questions

True, False, or Not Given: “The word cool first became popular among jazz musicians in the 1960s.” Explain your answer using the reading.
Yes, No, or Not Given: “The writer believes that the internet invented most Gen Z slang.” Explain your answer using the reading.
Author’s purpose: Why does the writer begin with a family dinner? Is it (a) to show that people of different ages use different words for the same idea, (b) to explain how to cook soup, or (c) to prove that older people do not understand any slang?

AI Discussion Prompt

I just read an article about generational slang. It covered words from Baby Boomers (“groovy”), Generation X (“rad”), Millennials (“YOLO”), Gen Z (“no cap,” “rizz”), and Gen Alpha (“skibidi,” “6-7”), the pattern that every generation needs words for “excellent” and “not good enough,” why slang helps young people belong to a group and fades when adults use it, where many words come from, and French verlan. I am an English learner at about B1 level. Please ask me one question at a time, starting with a slang word I use with my friends. Use simple language, respond to my ideas first, then briefly correct any language errors, and ask follow-up questions that make me explain my reasons.

AI Vocabulary Prompt

I want to practice vocabulary from an article about generational slang. Please quiz me on the following words one at a time, using a mix of question types: multiple choice, true/false, and sentence completion. Give me feedback after each answer before moving on, and bring back the words I miss later. Here are the words: generation, slang, informal, disappointment, charm, puzzled, pattern, belong, outsiders, fade, survive, invent, spread, reversed, relative.

Discussion Questions

Where do you learn new slang words: from friends, social media, games, or somewhere else?
Which slang words used by older people in your family make you laugh?
Do words that younger people use ever confuse you? Give an example.
Do you use English slang when you speak your first language? Which words?
Is there a slang word you used to say a lot but have stopped using? Why did you stop?
How do you feel when a parent or teacher uses your slang?
Why do companies sometimes use young people’s slang in advertisements? Does it work?
Should slang be allowed in school essays or work emails? Why or why not?
Should English classes teach slang? What are the benefits and the risks?
Many words called Gen Z slang came from African American English. Why is it useful to know where words come from?
Does social media make slang change faster than in the past? Why?
Is slang a sign that a language is healthy, or a sign that it is getting worse? Explain your view.
Which slang words from today will still be used in 50 years? Why those words?
Do labels like Boomer, Millennial, and Gen Z help us understand people, or do they create stereotypes?

Language Focus: Used To for Past Habits and States

What it is: Used to + base verb describes a habit or a state in the past that is not true now. The negative is didn’t use to, and the question is Did you use to…?

Why writers use it: The reading compares what each generation said when they were young with what people say today. Used to shows that a habit belonged to the past and has changed.

Examples from the reading:

“Your mother laughs, because when she was a teenager, she used to say “rad.””
“Baby Boomers, born from about 1946 to 1964, used to call exciting things “groovy” or “far out”…”
“Generation X, born from about 1965 to 1980, used to say “rad” for great…”
“Next time you see an older relative, ask what words they used to say at your age.”

Part A. Sentence starters Finish each sentence so that it is true for you.

Positive (a past habit or state)

When I was a child, I used to …
At my old school, my friends and I used to …
My family used to …

Negative (didn’t use to)

I didn’t use to like …
I didn’t use to be …

Model answers

When I was a child, I used to watch cartoons every Saturday morning.
At my old school, my friends and I used to play soccer at lunch.
My family used to go to the beach every summer.
I didn’t use to like coffee, but now I drink it every day.
I didn’t use to be very good at English, but I practice a lot now.

Part B. Questions Answer each question in a full sentence. Try to answer using used to. Then ask a partner.

What games did you use to play when you were a child?
What words or expressions did you use to say a lot in middle school?
What did you use to watch on TV or online when you were ten?
What food did you use to hate when you were young?
Where did you use to go with your friends on weekends?

Model answers

I used to play hide-and-seek with my cousins.
I used to say “awesome” all the time.
I used to watch cartoons on YouTube after school.
I used to hate mushrooms, but now I like them.
We used to go to the shopping mall or the park.

Online Resources

Jive Talkin’: The Origins of Cool Dudes, Groovy Chicks and Hip Cats (Mental Floss). Where old slang words like cool and groovy came from, as in paragraphs 2 and 5.
List of Generation Z slang (Wikipedia). A long list of Gen Z and Gen Alpha words with meanings and some origins, including cap and bussin.
skibidi (Dictionary.com). What skibidi means, how people use it, and how a video series made it famous.
‘6-7’ named word of the year by Dictionary.com, and people are confused (CBC News). Why Dictionary.com chose 6-7 as its Word of the Year for 2025, and why many people disagreed.
Verlan (Wikipedia). How French speakers turn words backwards to make slang, with many examples like meuf.