Bisson: Enjoy holiday, as you navigate ‘sus’ comments at dinner

Charlene Bisson is the president and CEO of Independent Newsmedia.

Happy Thanksgiving to our valued readers who make it worthwhile to publish community digital and print publications.

We appreciate your enduring support during this holiday season.

If you’re like me and have teens, you may often wonder how the modern language keeps shifting into shortened words or lingo that doesn’t quite make sense.

I’m still trying to understand the phenomenon of 6-7 and why my kids and/or their friends try to bait me to say it. And, not so surprisingly, it became the word of the year and appeared in an NFL commercial. Huh?

Moving on, I recently learned that if something is “fire,” it means it’s cool and that “crashed out” doesn’t mean passing out on the couch. Apparently, it means a person is mad or frustrated about something.

I asked artificial intelligence to list other popular slang words for teens and young adults in 2025. Here’s the quick hits:

• Bussin’ — Describes something as really good or amazing
• No cap — Means “no lie” or “for real”
• Ate that — Used to praise someone for doing a great job, especially in a performance or presentation
• Sus — Short for “suspicious”
• Rizz — Short for “charisma,” a term used to describe someone’s charm or skill in romantic situations
• Bet — Used to show agreement or confirmation
• Iykyk — An acronym for “if you know, you know”
• It’s giving — Used to describe the vibe or energy something is exuding (e.g., “It’s giving ’80s”)
• Drip — Refers to someone’s great style or fashionable outfit
• Bae — An abbreviation for “before anyone else” or “baby,” used to refer to a romantic partner or close friend
• Cap — Means “lie” or “false” (the opposite of “no cap”)
• Glow-up — A significant improvement in someone’s appearance or confidence
• Mid — Describes something that is mediocre or unimpressive
• Big yikes — An expression of embarrassment or secondhand cringe
• Touch grass — An insult telling someone to go outside and be more in touch with reality
• Delulu — Short for “delusional,” used to describe someone with unrealistic expectations

I’ve heard about half of the above but not as much as late as 6-7, which is the 2025 word of the year from Dictionary.com.

Best wishes during the Thanksgiving holiday.

P.S.: If you’d like to share your thoughts on slang language that’s not inappropriate, please email me at cbisson@iniusa.org.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.