When you walk through the bustling halls of Northwestern Lehigh HS, you might find yourself overhearing phrases you may not understand. Someone exclaims “holy chopped!” when their friend shows them a picture on their phone. Someone calls “clock it” down the hall after their classmate aced a test. Even as a teenager who spends eight hours a school day in this environment, the most current language can be hard to keep up with.

Most of the time, students pick up a new word from their friends and form an understanding of it just from context clues. But the main way this terminology gets perpetuated is through social media, the web of information that connects this country’s young people – and the young people of New Tripoli in turn.

Although this shift in how we receive new social information has changed drastically over the years, the process is nothing new. You yourself might have said something was “totally tubular” – or maybe things were “really far out, man.” While you might have heard your slang on TV or read it in a magazine, teenagers in 2026 get it from TikTok videos, Instagram reels or YouTube shorts.

Although we live in a time where we are increasingly aware of the world around us and are more connected than ever, we seem to understand each other less and less. To help bridge the generational gap in communication, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most-used slang within the golden walls of Northwestern Lehigh HS.

Eat/Ate – V. To do something very well. When someone “eats” very hard, they “leave no crumbs.” “She ate up her solo in the musical.”

Aura – N. The “energy,” coolness, or aesthetic someone gives off. When someone does something embarrassing, they “lose” aura – also known as “negative aura.” “She has so much aura for doing that.”

Based – Adj. Being confident in oneself and one’s opinion. “I could never say that, he’s so based.”

Crash out – V. A negative emotional outburst or breakdown. “I was crashing out after the test scores went out.”

Glaze – V. Insincerely flattering or praising someone. “Stop the glaze, it wasn’t that good.”

Sweat – N. A try-hard, someone overly competitive in a casual game or setting. “He scored 11 points in gym class; he’s such a sweat.”

Cooked – Adj. Exhausted, doomed or in trouble. Not to be confused with “cooking.” “They want me in the office, I’m so cooked.”

Cooking – V. Doing something impressive or showing talent. “She’s cooking up on this project.”

Chopped – Adj. Very unattractive. “This new haircut makes me absolutely chopped.”

Clock – V. To notice or observe something. Can also mean strong agreement. “Clock that!”

Lowkey – Adv. Moderately or “kind of.” “This movie’s low-key good.”

While these are the most commonly heard phrases for now, that will change soon. Social media algorithms are constantly pushing content, and new vocabulary emerges every week – altering both the way we speak and the way we treat each other. It can be tiring trying to keep up with modern vocabulary, but it’s ultimately needed to help decipher young people’s conversations.

Hopefully, with the help of this list, the next time you overhear a conversation by your teen or tween, you might have a better idea of what they’re talking about – but don’t tell them where you found out.