Life

Watch Professors Try To Guess Millennial Slang

I think watching the members of older generations try to figure out the lexicon of younger ones is always funny, so it's probably not surprising that I find this video of Lehigh University professors guessing what Millennial slang means absolutely hilarious. You know what is surprising, though? Lehigh's YouTube channel actually has quite a few of laugh-out-loud funny videos hidden deep within it. I wasn't aware of this fact until now, but you guys? We all have a reason to follow the university's video output now, because seriously. The only thing better than watching professors reading reviews of themselves on RateMyProfessor.com is watching them struggle to define “on fleek.”

To be fair, I can't really give them that hard a time about their lack of knowledge about common Millennial slang words; technically I'm a Millennial (albeit an older one), and I still don't always know what the cool kids are saying these days. I'm generally aware of new terms when they pop up, though, and even I don't use them myself, I'll likely still go to the trouble of Googling them. That's the beauty of the Internet, after all — having the tools necessary to answer even the most inane of questions at your fingertips at any time of day or night. Is it essential that I look up the meaning of “squad goals” at two o'clock in the morning? Of course not — but I could if I really wanted to, and that's what matters.

So here. Check out a few of my favorites, and scroll down to watch the full video. It's definitely worth it.

1. FOMO

What the professors thought it means: A sign that no parents are home (“father's out, mother's out”).

What it actually means: “Fear of Missing Out.” To be honest, I'm kind of surprised they weren't more familiar with the term; more than just a slang acronym, it's a psychological phenomenon backed by a growing body of research. I guess none of the professors in the video were psych profs.

2. Slay

What the professors thought it means: To kill; to dominate something; what one does to a dragon.

What it actually means: Killed it; succeeded in something amazing; the act of doing something of great skill. One Urban Dictionary definition specifies that it “excludes anything in relation to shuffleboard, steel drum, golf, etc.,” implying that “slaying” only happens if you do it to something cool. That same Urban Dictionary definition describes it as comparable to “swag.”

3. On Fleek

What the professors thought it means: The pinnacle of perfection, particularly with regards to one's eyebrows; the name of an up-and-coming social network. My favorite response was, “I couldn't even begin to tell you, but poor fleek. Everybody's jumping on it.”

What it actually means: On point; to be “on fleek” is to look good, to have perfectly executed something like eyebrow grooming, etc. As Bustle's Olivia Muenter put it, “It's just another way to compliment someone else… or yourself. Why not?” Well played, professor who knows what “on fleek” means!

4. Mupload

What the professors thought it means: Something to do with the Muppets.

What it actually means: One of them actually got it (the same lady who nailed “on fleek,” as a matter of fact): It's a particularly ridiculous portmanteau meant to replace the phrase "mobile upload.” Because apparently we are too busy to trouble ourselves with a four-syllable phrase when we could just use a two-syllable nonsense word instead.

Watch the full video for more — because come on. You know you want to see them puzzle out what "bae" means.

Images: Lehigh University/YouTube (5)