The slang term 'cheugy' — used to define someone who follows out-of-date trends — has taken off and become the new 'basic' after being coined by a Los Angeles high school student nearly a decade ago.
Hallie Cain, 24, from Los Angeles, introduced the word on TikTok on March 30, explaining that graphic tees and hats, Herbal Essence shampoo, and Instagram captions like 'thank u, next' are all cheugy (pronounced chew-gee).
While the Gen Z-associated term seems to be geared toward millennials and the things they like, the copywriter — who is on the cusp of being a millennial, herself — pointed out that a person can be cheugy at any age.
New slang: Hallie Cain, 24, from Los Angeles, introduced the word cheugy on TikTok on March 30. Cheugy is a term used to define someone who follows trends that are no longer in style
FYI: Cain explained that graphic tees, 'girlboss' energy, and Herbal Essences are all cheugy. Gaby Rasson, a 23-year-old software developer in Los Angeles, coined the term in 2013
'Okay, TikTok, I have a new word for you that my friends and I use that you clearly are all in need of,' Cain said at the start of the TikTok, which has become a slow-burning success with over 640,000 views.
She went on to reference videos mocking 'people who get married at 20 years old' or have 'girlboss energy,' saying there is an all-encompassing word to describe them: cheugy.
'It's the opposite of trendy, stylish in middle school and high school — maybe, maybe not. The timelines don't really matter. It's no longer in style,' she explained. 'It's used when someone follows these out-of-date trends or something falls into that category.'
Cain used the green screen function on TikTok to pull up the 2018 Urban Dictionary definition of the term as well as the Cheug Life Instagram page, which is dedicated to all things cheugy.
The New York Times’s tech culture reporter Taylor Lorenz published an in-depth article on the origin of the word and its spread on TikTok last week. She spoke to Cain and Gaby Rasson, who coined the term, among others.
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The new basic? The Cheug Life Instagram page is dedicated to all things cheugy
Cheugy checklist: The slang term can be used to describe a person of any gender or age, but similar to the term 'basic,' it is mostly associated with millennial women
Don't do it: Cheesy Instagram captions are cheugy, according to Cheug Life
Rasson, a 23-year-old software developer in Los Angeles, told Lorenz that she started using the word as a Beverly Hills High School student in 2013. She was looking for a word to describe people who were off trend.
'It was a category that didn’t exist,' she said. 'There was a missing word that was on the edge of my tongue and nothing to describe it and "cheugy" came to me. How it sounded fit the meaning.'
Rasson's classmates and camp friends started using the word, and then they brought it to their college campuses with them.
Abby Siegel, 23, a producer and former student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told Lorenz that everyone in her sorority knows the word — which she learned at a summer camp that Rasson had also attended.
The word is mostly associated with women, with things like chevron prints, Gucci double 'G' logo belts, and Rae Dunn pottery all being deemed cheugy — but men can be cheugy too. Sneaker culture and Barstool Sports are also decidedly cheugy, according to the people Lorenz interviewed.
Millennial TikToker @Rod has done a deep dive into the new identifier in a series of TikToks on Wednesday, sharing that blanket scarves, energy drinks, and cloth flip-lips are cheugy
Owning it: 'Girls Next Door' alum Holly Madison, who is a Gen Xer at age 41, has embraced the word and filmed her own video naming the top cheugy things she loves
Unlike its predecessor, 'basic,' the term isn't meant to be negative. In fact, any person of any age with any income can be cheugy. What's defined as cheugy is also subjective.
'Everyone can be cheugy,' Siegel said. 'Everyone has something cheugy in their closet. We didn’t intend for it to be a mean thing. Some people have claimed that it is. It’s just a fun word we used as a group of friends that somehow resonated with a bunch of people.'
However, that hasn't stopped some people from seeing it as another Gen Z attack on millennials. Over the past year, Gen Zers have mocked millennials for wearing skinny jeans, rocking side parts, and using laughing emoji.
Cain's video in conjunction with Lorenz's New York Times piece led the word to spread like wildfire over the weekend.
'People love to bash this specific type of person, a privileged white person, and especially sorority types,' Lorenz told Vox. 'Any time you can name that backlash or articulate it, it pops off.'
Caching on: People have been taking to Twitter to share their thoughts on the term as well as examples of things they deem to be cheugy
Millennial TikToker @Rod has done a deep dive into the new identifier in a series of TikToks on Wednesday, sharing that blanket scarves, wood signs as home decor, energy drinks, and cloth flip-lips are cheugy. His first video defining the term has been viewed more than two million times.
'Girls Next Door' alum Holly Madison, who is a Gen Xer at age 41, has embraced the word and filmed her own video naming the top cheugy things she loves, including a sun hat with words, Disney as an adult, and tiny cardigans.
Meanwhile, people have been taking to Twitter to share their thoughts on the term as well as examples of things they deem to be cheugy.
'If I could buy stock in a word... cheugy is going to go up in value to be one of the words of the year,' one person tweeted.
'Cheugy is getting married at 24 and having His & Hers bath towels in THAT font. You know what I mean,' someone else shared.
But not everyone is on board with the term. One Twitter user insisted: 'I will not learn what cheugy is. I will let it pass me by, like a river flowing past a stone. I am at peace.'
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