Oxford Dictionary recently decided on the newest Word of the Year, ‘brain-rot’, which seems fitting as new slang has become increasingly popular among younger generations, particularly Gen Z. This new slang essentially consists of made up words and phrases that are either shortened versions of actual words, or completing made up words that only mean something to those “in the know”.
These new words and phrases are described as ‘brain rot’ due to their simplistic and superficial meanings. Shortened versions of words such as charisma is now “rizz”. And while these terms are most commonly used among middle schoolers, they have also become popular with adults. Adults should be careful though when using the rotten words, as they will be “cringe” to the younger set.
“Honestly, I have no idea what it is. Should I know because this is the first time I have ever heard about it,” teacher Paul Marquez said.
Few people actually know where or how ‘brain rot’ words originated, but many have come from social media platforms like TikTok. Take, for example, a viral video featuring Tyler “Ninja” Blevins whose account blew up after his rendering of the “low taper fade” that he took from another TikTok user’s, “Lopez”, live stream. Ninja took the phrase and ran with it, making the phrase insanely popular for the better part of last year.
Other words and phrases have also originated from various comment sections on social media posts such as “those who know”. Many people did not like how often people would use this comment under a post. Eventually, “those who know” began to be used in an ironic fashion, which led to others using it in real life. The real meaning behind this saying is unknown but it became a regular and quite popular piece of vocabulary.
Yet another popular term that found it’s origin in brain-rot comes from famous Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, and his phrase “Fanum Tax.” This term became popular when Cenat’s roommate, Fanum, came into his room and stole his food. It grew in popularity through people who are considered to be TikTok famous, like Cornwallace, who is a popular TikTok with over half a million followers through multiple accounts. Now when teenagers ask for food from a friend they almost always say “Fanum Tax”.
“There are just a myriad of emotions when I think about brain rot, the impact it’s made on society has turned into something ineffable,” junior Barrett Pendergast said.
There are hundreds of other terms including, but not limited to, words such as rizz, sigma, Ohio, mewing, mogging, Baby Gronk, etc.; many of them actually have similar meanings. Now, there are thousands of brain rot quizzes all over TikTok and YouTube that test a person’s knowledge.
