00's internet slang dictionary
Welcome, welcome! Come in and take a seat, we shall begin shortly. My name is Professor M, and today we are going to go over some of the language commonly found on the internet between the years of 2000 and 2010, though there may be some 90's terms sprinkled in. You may certainly be familiar with some of the content we will go over, however you will also encounter many phrases that have since left the vocabulary of modern web-users.
LOL
- Short for "Laughing Out Loud". A very common phrase to indicate you have found something funny. Can also be used to indicate you have just made a joke or said something in a sarcastic manner. Varients include LOLZ, LULZ and LAWL. they all mean the same thing, but are a more comedic way of pronouncing it. LAWL is not commonly used today.
Ex: Anyway, that's how I lost my medical license LOL!
ROFL
ROFL:ROFL:ROFL:ROFL
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LOL===__ \
L \________]
I I
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Short for Rolling On the Floor Laughing. Used to represent something of extreme humor, something so funny that you lose control of yourself. A variant includes ROFLCOPTER which was initially a meme but was adopted into the vocabulary. Both are uncommonly used today
Ex: Then he said "Madness?.... THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!" and kicks the dude! ROFL!!!!
LMAO
Short for Laughing My Ass Off. Very similar to ROFL and LOL, all of which can be used interchangeably. A variant of the term LMFAO (Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) was also the name of a band that came to fame in 2008/2009
Ex: Did you see that Keyboard Cat video? LMAO
OMG
Short for Oh My God. OMG is used in a variety of contexts, most often used to express shock or excitement from something unexpected and to express anger or frustration at something. A variant of OMG is ZOMG, they mean the same thing, though ZOMG can sometimes be used ironically or sarcastically.
Ex: OMGGGG!!!! DID YOU GET THE NEW TAMAGOTCHI?!?
JK
Short for "just kidding". A simple way to let someone know you are just teasing!
Ex: I baked you a cookie... but I eated it :( ... JK!! Here ya go x3!
ASDF
ASDF is used to indicate randomness, silliness, and excitement! It's the equivalent of modern-day key mashing. ASDF may have been popularized from the classic YouTube series ASDFmovie
Ex: ASDSDFSDSADSD!!! Have you seen The Room?! It's so bad it's almost good!
WOOT!
Woot is a cheer, it is used to express excitement and often used to indicate a victory.
Ex: Guess who just got Halo 2?! WOOOOT!!
Noob
A common word used to represent someone who is new and inexperienced at something. Often used in a derogatory manner but can still be found to be said casually or even friendly depending on the context. Variant forms of the term include Newbie, Noobie, Nooblet and Newb. Some communities may have specialized terms for the same concept. For example, the Gunbound community refers to new players as Chicks because the game represents new players with a sprite of a hatchling chicken.
Ex: Hey guys, I'm kind of a noob, how do I rocket jump?
Rawr
Rawr means I love you! Rawr is generally understood to be flirtatious, however it is meant in a playful manner rather than a serious expression of love.
Ex: haiiiii ^_^ Rawr XD
Pwned
Pwned is another way of saying owned, however this does not translate to the standard English definition. Within the intended context of gaming, pwned and owned refer to gloating when you dominate someone in the game, i.e., landing a really good headshot.
Ex: Did you see that grenade throw? PWNED!!!
FTW
Short for "For The Win", FTW is often used to express triumph with something in particular. In the context of gaming, one would pair FTW with a particular technique, item, or weapon.
Ex: Energy sword FTW!!
Epic
Used as a prefix to denote significance. Can be used either negatively or positively.
Ex: Epic win! Epic Fail!
1337
Leetspeak term for the word "Elite". Can be used in a variety of ways but often used as a prefix for one's proficiency in a particular skill.
Ex: "I 4M 4 1337 H4Xx0R! F34R M3h!"
BRB
Short for "Be Right Back". Used to indicate you need to step away but will be back soon.
Ex: I got to go eat dinner now, brb!
AFK
Short for "Away From Keyboard". Similar to BRB except in most cases AFK would be used as a status rather than a statement. This was commonly done on chat services such as AIM. It can, however, be used interchangeably with BRB.
Ex: XxSlayerzOfDeathxX (AFK, currently petting puppies)
G2G
Shorthand for "Got To Go". Used to indicate you are logging off.
Ex: It's been fun but I g2g, I have work in the morning D:
CYA
Shorthand for "See Ya".
Ex: Logging out already? Alright, I'l cya tmmrw x3!
PM
Short for "Private Message". Used in a variety of situations to indicate you will contact someone through a private means such as using a /tell [Username] chat command or through a built-in mail system.
Ex: xXTh3MerchantXx: Looking to Buy "The Revolver of 24 Bullets" at a high price. PM me for offers!
GG
Short for "Good Game". It is plainly stated after the conclusion of a multiplayer game as a sign of good sportsmanship. Variants include GR (Good Round) and GG EZ (easy). GG EZ is used in a derogatory manner indicating the opponent is unskilled and posed no challange.
Ex: Player 1: "GG EZ" - Player 2: "But I won?" - Player 1: Exactly! It was easy for you! XD"
Plz
Shorthand for "please". Varients include Pls and Pwz.
Ex: Gold plz!!!
Thx
Shorthand for "Thanks". Also commonly used is TY, shorthand for "Thank You".
Ex: Thx for the gold!!!
BTW
Short for "By The Way".
Ex: BTW, I never really was on your side!
IRL
IRL or In Real Life, is used to indicate anything outside of the net.
Ex: No, Not my Neopet lol, I have to go feed my IRL dog
Avatar
An avatar is the digital representation of oneself. Depictions can vary; an avatar could just be a name, an image, a 3D model or any combination of these!
Ex: Gina is my avatar!
Emoticon
Emoticons or emotes for short, are images or a combination of different text characters/symbols used to convey an emotion. Typically they represent faces but can come in a large variety of forms!
Ex: :) and :( depict a smiling and sad face.
I Can Has Cheezburger?
"I Can Has Cheezburger?" is perhaps one of the first caption memes. What would initially depict cats staring at burgers would grow into an entire format for funny cat pictures. The format was popularized by a website of the same name, which would eventually grow into what is now known as "Know Your Meme". The phrase "I can has?" quickly entered the vocabulary as a way to cutely ask for something.
Ex: I can has your Runescape party hat :3?
Machinima (Mah-Shin-Nah-Mah)
Machinima or Machine Cinema is a term that describes a type of video artform that is staged and shot within the confines of a video game. This basically means using the mechanics of the game to record and act out various scenes. This is often paired with standard video editing techniques such as voice overs, overlays, greenscreens, etc. The term Machinima originated from the YouTube channel of the same name which hosted and monetized various machinima creators. The channel is now defunct given multiple controversies over the years of its operation.
Ex: Hey, Dude! Did you see my latest Half-Life Machinima? It is a retelling of the events at Black Mesa through the perspective of Lamar!
YTP
Will get to this later
Ex: Will get to this later
YTPMV
Will get to this later
Ex: Will get to this later
Screenlooking
Within the context of split-screen gaming, the term screenlooking describes the act of looking at another player's perspective with the intent to gain an unfair advantage. Generally, this is done to find the location of another player during a PVP match
Ex: Huh?! Are you screenlooking?? How did you know I was hiding behind that rock!?
RTD
Short for "Roll The Dice". Often used as a chat command in online games. Modded Source game servers often used this command to randomly select from a set of game changing effects.
Ex: xXHeavyWeaponsGuyXx: !RTD Server: Quad damage enabled for 20 seconds!
RTV
Short for "Rock The Vote". Often used as a chat command in online games. Also used often in modded Source games. If enough players in the server Rock The Vote, a map vote will begin instantly.
Ex: {IcySpai}: Zis map is a disappointment! I propose we all !RTV
NetSpeak Basics!
*COMING SOON* This will be a section dedicated to giving brief overveiws of different typing styles found around the net. It won't be comprehenive as many of these styles dont have formalized names or guidelines!
1337 Sp34K (leetspeak)
- At its most basic operation, leetspeak replaces English characters with their visually closest related number or symbol. The simplest ones to catch are I = 1, E = 3, and T = 7.
L337 has a rich history on the net, primarily originating in hacker circles. One for its cool look and another more practical as it makes searching for things you may want to hide more difficult.
Ex: searching up "Cracked CD" wouldn't bring up "Cr4ck3D (d"
Additional considerations: When writing in 1337, variety is key! Some words can be written entirely without an english character while others can be mixed. It's also common to randomly switch between capital and lowercase. You can also use shorthand or even intentionally mispel! The sky's the limit as long as you can get your point across!
Ex: D1s T0O c4n /|\4K3 U lQok |1Ke 4 1337 HaXx0Rz
