If your kid just told you dinner was "bussin, no cap" and you nodded along with no idea what happened — welcome, you're in the right place. Here's the thing to hold onto before you scroll: most slang is completely harmless. It's the same thing we did with our own slang — it's meant to be theirs, not ours, and half the fun is that we don't get it.
So this page isn't a list of things to panic about. It's a translator. The big green majority of these words are banter, gaming talk and in-jokes. A small handful are worth understanding properly — codes for hiding chats, drug shorthand, and language that drifts in from uglier corners of the internet — and for those we've told you plainly what to look for and how to start the chat without it turning into an interrogation. (If you're already worried about something specific, the warning-signs guide is the companion page.)
One rule from us: never confront a kid over a single word or emoji. Context is everything, and the fastest way to lose the plot (and their trust) is to accuse first and ask second. Ask what it means. Worst case, they roll their eyes at you. Best case, you've just shown them you're someone they can talk to.
Harmless banter
Green — the majority. Banter, memes, gaming ritual.
Depends on context
Amber — worth knowing. Fine among peers; different with strangers.
Check in soon
Coral — self-harm, drugs, sexual codes, radicalisation signals.
also: PIR, PAW, P911
Means: "Parent over shoulder" / "parent in room" / "parents are watching"
Context: Code to hide activity from parents. Older but still seen — most kids just switch apps now.
Worth a conversation if you spot it alongside other secretive behaviour — ask what's so private, gently, not as an accusation.
Means: "Keeping parents clueless"
Context: Hide-from-parents code. Older but still seen.
Worth a conversation if it turns up with new contacts you don't recognise.
Means: 9 or CD9 = "parents nearby"; 99 = "parent gone, all clear"
Context: Hide-from-parents code. Older but still seen.
Worth a conversation if you see the pattern repeatedly with the same contact — the 9→99 pair means a conversation is being paused until you leave.
also: NIFOC, WTTP
Means: "Get naked on camera" / "nude in front of camera" / "want to trade pictures?"
Context: Sexting request codes. Older but still seen.
Worth a conversation if it appears at all — ask who sent it and reassure them they're not in trouble for telling you. These are direct requests for nude images — a legal as well as safety issue for under-18s.
Means: "Let's meet in real life"
Context: Moving an online-only contact to an in-person meeting. Older but still seen.
Worth a conversation if you don't know the person on the other end — ask how they met. Fine between school friends; a classic grooming step from online-only "friends".
Means: Capitals (old): "age/sex/location?" — a stranger-chat opener. Lowercase (current): "as hell" ("I'm tired asl").
Context: Two totally different meanings. The intensifier is harmless and far more common now.
Worth a conversation if someone unknown is asking your kid their age and location — only the stranger-chat version matters.
Means: "Kill myself" / "kill yourself"
Context: Usually dark hyperbole between mates ("that test made me want to kms"). Sometimes not.
Worth a conversation if it's repeated, aimed at them, or paired with low moods — check in properly, don't panic. Even as a joke it normalises self-harm talk, and KYS aimed at your child is bullying.
Means: "If you know, you know"
Context: In-joke marker. Mostly harmless; occasionally used to gatekeep or reference something hidden.
Means: "To be honest" / "not gonna lie" / "for real" / "on God" (I swear)
Context: Everyday truth-emphasis fillers. Pure banter.
Means: Penis / bum / sexual fluids / oral sex
Context: Sexual in flirty DMs; often just silly in group-chat banter. Context is everything.
Worth a conversation if they appear in one-on-one chats with someone older or unknown — standard sexting shorthand when paired with flirting.
also: "corn"
Means: Porn — because it rhymes and dodges content filters
Context: Algospeak: lets porn be discussed in comments without triggering moderation.
Worth a conversation if "corn" jokes keep appearing in their feeds — a low-drama opener about what they're being shown. On its own it's just corn; in teen comment threads it usually isn't.
Means: Marijuana / drugs generally
Context: Drug-code emoji.
Worth a conversation if it appears next to meet-up plans or money talk — well-documented drug shorthand.
Means: Cocaine (snowflake, snowman, 8-ball) / pills / meth
Context: Harder-drug code set. ❄️ also just means "cold" or an "easily offended person" — context matters.
Worth a conversation if they cluster together or appear with 🔌 and cash emojis — these are the documented dealer-chat symbols.
Means: "The plug" — a drug dealer or source
Context: Drug-supply code (see "plug" below). Also literally a charger, so don't panic at one emoji.
Worth a conversation if it appears alongside drug emojis or slang — combined with those it means a source.
Means: "I'm watching this drama" / "interested" — in DMs, can mean "send pics"
Context: Mostly harmless nosiness; occasionally a nudes prompt.
Worth a conversation if paired with 🍆/🍑 or requests to move to Snapchat — the DM version is the one to know about.
Means: "Hot" / "spicy" (risqué) / frisky
Context: Flirty-to-sexual tone markers.
Worth a conversation if the other party isn't a peer — normal teen flirting among peers; a different matter with strangers or adults.
Means: Red circle = "red pill" signalling; 🔥/💪 used to praise manosphere takes
Context: eSafety flags these as manosphere signalling — agreement with "men need to wake up" content. 🔥 and 💪 are 99% innocent; it's the combination with that content that matters.
Worth a conversation if it appears under influencer content about women or "alpha" self-improvement — emoji signalling is how these communities recruit in plain sight.
Means: "Cap" = a lie; "no 🧢" = I'm serious
Context: Harmless banter.
Means: "I'm dead" = that's hilarious
Context: Harmless — it's laughter, not morbid.
Means: Dramatic, usually comedic sadness ("failed my quiz 🥀")
Context: Harmless irony in almost all cases. (A pattern of genuinely sad posts is a different thing than one wilted rose.)
also: "GGs", "gg ez"
Means: "Good game" — sportsmanship sign-off; "gg ez" is a cheeky "that was easy" taunt
Context: Harmless gaming ritual.
Means: Pulling off a win at the crucial moment
Context: Gaming praise. Harmless.
Means: Win / loss; "dub" = a W. "Took the L" = lost, had a bad day.
Context: Everyday scorekeeping talk. Harmless.
Means: "Opposition" — an enemy or rival; from gaming and drill music
Context: Usually gaming or banter about rival friend groups; occasionally a real person they're in conflict with.
Worth a conversation if the "opp" is a real classmate and the talk sounds like an actual feud — the word itself is fine, real-world beef isn't.
also: "W rizz", "unspoken rizz"
Means: Charisma — being smooth with a crush
Context: Banter. AU-confirmed.
also: "aura points", "aura farming"
Means: Your vibe/coolness score; "aura farming" = doing things just to look effortlessly cool
Context: Banter.
Means: "Delusional" — happily unrealistic ("I'm delulu about my chances")
Context: Self-deprecating banter.
Means: Someone cut off all contact without explanation
Context: Normal (if painful) social vocabulary.
also: "D1 crash out"
Means: To lose it — a meltdown or reckless overreaction
Context: Usually hyperbole ("I crashed out over the wifi dropping"). Axis notes it can mean genuinely reckless behaviour when someone's not coping.
Worth a conversation if they say it about themselves often and seem flat or wound up — fine as drama-talk; a pattern of "I'm going to crash out" about themselves can be a stress flare.
Means: "Non-player character" — calling someone background-character boring, scripted, mindless
Context: Mostly a throwaway insult; eSafety flags it as dehumanising language that features in manosphere put-downs.
Worth a conversation if it comes with "normie"/"sheep" talk about people who disagree — casual use is normal; using it to write off whole groups is the drift to watch.
also: chuzz, bruzz
Means: "Hoes" — girls/women, said in ironic internet-humour tone ("chuzz" = unattractive version)
Context: Framed as a joke, but it's casually demeaning; SmartSocial notes it objectifies.
Worth a conversation if it's how they routinely refer to girls — a "would you say that to her face?" chat.
also: alpha, beta
Means: "Sigma" = cool lone-wolf; alpha/beta = top/bottom of a made-up male pecking order
Context: Often just meme-speak among younger kids. The ranking system itself comes straight from manosphere content.
Worth a conversation if it comes with talk about what men and women "really are" — ask who they watch. The joke version is everywhere; the worldview behind it is the concern.
also: black-pilled
Means: "Woke up to the truth" that society is rigged against men; black-pilled = bleak "nothing can change" version
Context: Core manosphere vocabulary. eSafety explicitly lists "red-pilled" as extreme slang worth acting on.
Worth a conversation if it appears at all in their own posts — gentle curiosity about what they're watching, not confrontation (eSafety's advice too). This is a radicalisation marker, not banter.
also: femoid/foid, Chad/Stacy, normie
Means: "Involuntary celibate" — a community blaming women for their loneliness; femoid = dehumanising word for women; Chad/Stacy = stereotype attractive man/woman
Context: "Incel" as a schoolyard insult is usually fine. "Femoid"/"foid" in their own vocabulary is a genuine warning sign.
Worth a conversation if these words describe real people in their life — self-identifying or using "femoid" signals immersion in incel spaces.
also: mewing, mogging
Means: Trying to maximise your looks; mewing = tongue-position jaw exercise; mogging = out-looking/ranking someone's appearance
Context: Mewing is mostly a classroom joke. eSafety notes looksmaxxing can escalate to extreme methods (facepulling, "bonesmashing") and appearance-ranking feeds body anxiety.
Worth a conversation if they're miserable about their jawline, rating faces, or buying "maxxing" products — fine at gym-and-skincare level.
Means: A romantic thing that's deliberately never defined
Context: Normal modern dating vocab.
Means: A secret hook-up, or the person you're secretly meeting
Context: Deliberately hidden meet-ups — sometimes just "don't tell the group chat", sometimes genuinely risky.
Worth a conversation if your teen is the one with a "sneaky link" you know nothing about — especially someone met online. Secrecy is the point of the term.
Means: Number of people someone has slept with
Context: Common teen talk; also used to pressure or shame.
Worth a conversation if they seem stressed about theirs — good opening for a values chat.
Means: "Friends with benefits" — friends who hook up, no relationship
Context: Sexual arrangement talk.
Worth a conversation if the age gap or age itself doesn't sit right — unremarkable at 17, different story at 13.
Means: "Down to f***" — openly proposing casual sex
Context: Direct sexual proposition.
Worth a conversation if it appears in their DMs at all — who, and how old? Sent to your kid by an older person, this is a serious flag.
Means: To have casual sex ("would you smash?")
Context: Sexual banter, very common.
Worth a conversation if it's aimed at your kid as pressure — mostly it's just talk.
Means: Exclamation at someone's body, especially their bum ("g*ddamn")
Context: Everywhere in gaming streams; it's still sexualised commentary about bodies.
Worth a conversation if it's directed at real people/classmates rather than yelled at a screen.
also: "segsy"
Means: "Sex" — respelled to dodge content filters
Context: Algospeak. Usually jokey; means they're consuming content where the word had to be disguised.
Worth a conversation if it's in their own captions and they're young — the disguise is for algorithms, not parents, but it flags what's in their feed.
Means: A drug dealer or supply source ("got a plug?")
Context: Drug-supply slang. Also occasionally means a "hookup" for anything (concert tickets), so read the context.
Worth a conversation if it appears with 🔌/🍃/cash talk or unknown contacts — two major trackers list it as dealer slang.
Means: Weed — or "to hype someone up" ("gassing you up"), or just "amazing"
Context: Genuinely dual-meaning; the hype meaning is more common in feeds.
Worth a conversation if it's clearly in the drug context — don't pounce on "gassed", but "getting gas" with 🍃 means what you think.
Means: Marijuana reference (also 4:20 as a time-of-day wink)
Context: Older but still seen — decades old and still universally understood.
Worth a conversation if it shows up in bios or plans alongside 🍃 — recognition value only.
also: "sewer slide" = suicide
Means: Kill/die — respelled to dodge TikTok/YouTube moderation ("he unalived himself")
Context: Algospeak, now everyday teen vocabulary — kids use it even in schoolwork. Usually NOT a personal red flag; it's just the word they've learned for the topic.
Worth a conversation if they use it about themselves or a friend — treat that exactly as seriously as the real word. Flagged for the topic, not the word.
Means: "Mental breakdown" / "depressed" — jokey shorthand
Context: Ironic-casual mental-health talk, mostly harmless venting.
Worth a conversation if "menty b" jokes cluster with withdrawal, sleep changes, or dropping mates — the joke version is fine; it can also be how a kid floats something real to see how you react.
Means: Amazing, fun — or drunk/high at a party
Context: Overwhelmingly means "great". The intoxication meaning exists but needs party context.
Means: Nothing. Genuinely nothing — a viral nonsense interjection shouted whenever anyone says a number
Context: The most-searched slang of 2025. It's a joke about having a joke adults can't decode. AU-confirmed.
Means: Nonsense meme word — can mean cool, bad, or nothing, from the "Skibidi Toilet" YouTube series
Context: Brainrot-humour filler, mostly younger kids.
Means: Low-quality junk content — or the state of having watched too much of it ("I've got brain rot")
Context: Self-aware joke about their own screen habits. Handy conversational door-opener, not a danger.
Means: Exhausted, doomed, or in big trouble ("I'm so cooked for this exam") — heavy AU usage
Context: Everyday AU teen talk.
Means: "Okay / deal / you're on"
Context: Agreement. Harmless.
Means: Suspicious, dodgy
Context: Harmless (from Among Us; fully mainstream).
Means: Cap = a lie; no cap = I'm serious
Context: Harmless. AU-confirmed.
Means: Mediocre, disappointing — now a fairly cutting dismissal
Context: Harmless (unless your cooking is the thing being called mid).
Means: "Get off the internet and go outside"
Context: Banter-insult; honestly good advice. AU-confirmed.
Means: Get focused, knuckle down ("I need to lock in for exams")
Context: Harmless — arguably the most parent-friendly slang of 2025.
Means: AU-only: a kid adopting the streetwear-and-attitude "eshay" subculture look (Nautica polos, TNs, bumbag); mostly used as a meme/joke now
Context: Australian-specific. In 2025-26 it's mostly costume and memes, not actual delinquency.
No — breathe first. Almost every term on this page, including the flagged ones, is used as a joke far more often than it's used seriously. "KMS" after a maths test is teen hyperbole; the same word alongside withdrawal, sleep changes or losing interest in their mates is different. Look for the pattern, not the word. If the pattern worries you, ask open questions ("I saw something I didn't understand — can you help me out?") rather than opening with an accusation. And if it's about self-harm and your gut says something's wrong, trust your gut: talk to them today, and loop in your GP or Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) if you need backup.
Almost certainly not — these words are schoolyard memes now, and most kids using them couldn't tell you where they came from. But they did come from somewhere: the "manosphere", a network of online communities pushing the idea that men are victims of women and need to "wake up". The eSafety Commissioner's advice, and ours, is to watch for the drift: joking about being "sigma" is nothing; talking about being "red-pilled", calling women "femoids", or repeating what men and women "really are" is worth acting on. Even then — gentle conversation, not confrontation. Ask who they watch. Radicalisation feeds on kids feeling dismissed at home.
Less than the scary Facebook posts suggest, honestly. Those codes (POS, KPC, CD9) are old — some predate smartphones — and today's kids are more likely to just flick to another app when you walk past. We've kept them on the list because they do still appear, and because the pattern matters more than the term: a kid who hides one chat is probably just being a normal teenager who wants privacy; a kid hiding everything, with contacts you've never heard of, is worth a curious conversation. Privacy is normal. Secrecy plus new unknown adults is the combination to watch.
The Talk to Kids scripts give you the exact words, by age.
See the scriptsWhat the patterns behind the words look like — mood, sleep, screens.
See the warning signsLast updated: July 2026.
Slang has the shelf life of a supermarket avocado — some of these terms will be embarrassing to say out loud within a year (and if you say them out loud to your kids, they'll die faster; that's actually a feature you can use). We review this page every school term (roughly quarterly) against the eSafety Commissioner, Bark's tracker and current AU usage, retiring dead terms and adding fresh ones. Spotted a term we're missing, or one we've got wrong? Tell us — a wrong meaning is worse than no meaning, and we'd rather fix it than pretend.
