Hey GenY, here’s a satirical field guide for decoding the ancient slang, pop culture obsessions, and behavioral quirks of your GenX parental unit.
So You Were Raised by a Gen X-er…
Congrats! The original masters of sarcasm, skepticism, and snack-pack lunches parented you. GenX grew up watching MTV when it played music videos, drank from garden hoses without dying, and still thinks The Goonies is peak cinema.
Now they’re parenting you—GenZ, fluent in TikTok and emoji, and completely baffled by their mixtape collections and phrases like “take a chill pill.”
This guide will help you understand your GenX parents: what they say, what they mean, and how to navigate their glorious, analog quirks without losing your cool.
GenX to GenZ – Vocabulary Translator
Because “phat” doesn’t mean overweight, and “bogus” isn’t about bank fraud.
| GenX Phrase | What It Meant Then | GenZ Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| “Take a chill pill” | Relax, you’re doing too much | “No cap, calm down.” |
| “Talk to the hand” | I’m done listening to you | “Blocked.” |
| “As if!” | No way, absolutely not | “Be so for real.” |
| “Whatever!” | Dismissive disagreement | “Mid.” |
| “Psych!” | Just kidding | “Gotcha lol.” |
| “Don’t have a cow” | Stop overreacting | “It’s not that deep.” |
| “Totally tubular” | That’s amazing | “Fire.” |
| “Wicked” | Super cool | “Slaps.” |
| “The bomb” | Incredible, top tier | “Goated.” |
| “All that and a bag of chips” | More than enough, over the top | “Extra A*.” |
| “Bogus” | Unfair, lame | “That’s an L.” |
| “Grody” | Disgusting | “Cringe.” |
| “Tool” | Try-hard, embarrassing | “NPC.” |
| “Poser” | Fake, wannabe | “Capper.” |
| “Going steady” | Dating exclusively | “Hard launch.” |
| “My boo” | Romantic partner | “My sneaky link.” |
| “Cruisin’” | Driving around aimlessly for fun | “Vibing.” |
| “Word” | Agreed, facts | “Real.” |
| “No duh!” | Obviously | “Obvi.” |
| “Home skillet” | Close friend | “Bestie.” |
| “Catch you on the flip side” | See you later | “Bet.” |
Quiz – Can You Speak GenX?
How fluent are you in the language of your parental units?
A five-question, self-scoring quiz that lets GenZ readers test their knowledge—and laugh at the results. Grab a pencil, a snack pack, and maybe a cassette tape you can throw ironically. Let’s go.
Time to test your skills, young grasshopper.
1. Your GenX mom says, “He’s such a tool.” What does she mean?
A. He fixes things
B. He’s trying too hard and it’s painful to watch
C. He works at Home Depot
D. He’s her new favorite TikTok creator
Answer: B. And yes, she probably also uses “dweeb.”
2. Your GenX dad says a movie is “totally gnarly.” You should…
A. Say “Same.”
B. Look confused and concerned
C. Assume it’s awesome or gross
D. Yell “Cowabunga!”
Answer: D. It’s their version of “based.”
3. Your mom says, “That outfit is all that and a bag of chips!” What now?
A. Run and change
B. Assume you’re snack-level stylish
C. She’s hungry
D. She found your DoorDash history
Answer: B. Take the win.
4. Your dad calls your music “noise.” How do you respond?
A. Mute it
B. “Your generation gave us Nirvana”
C. Turn it up
D. Ask Alexa to explain it to him
Answer: B. He can’t argue with Cobain.
5. They reference The Breakfast Club. You should…
A. Ask if it comes with pancakes
B. Tell them detention sounds traumatic
C. Watch it and act like it’s deep
D. Say you prefer Euphoria
Answer: C. You’ll earn cool points.
Results:
0–1 Correct:
You’re basically a Tamagotchi. Cute, but lost.
2–3 Correct:
You’ve heard a few things. There’s hope.
4–5 Correct:
You may be Gen Z, but your soul is flannel.
Pop Culture Decoder – What Your GenX Parent Thinks Is Still Relevant
Prepare to be confused, mildly entertained, and maybe forced to watch a John Hughes movie.
To truly understand your GenX parent, you must accept this reality: they still believe the peak of pop culture occurred between 1983 and 1997. Everything since then is just “okay, but not as good as the original.”
Here’s a cheat sheet for their sacred pop culture canon:
MOVIES THAT SHAPED THEIR IDENTITY
1. The Breakfast Club
Plot: Five teens from different cliques get detention and become BFFs by trauma-bonding and dancing badly.
Why they love it: “It’s deep.” (It’s mostly detention and dad issues.)
What you say: “I see the Gen Z remake is coming out.” Then run.
2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Plot: One teen skips school and somehow paralyzes the entire city of Chicago.
Why they love it: He’s a rebel. He talks to the camera. And he got away with it.
What you say: “So he’s basically the OG vlogger?”
3. The Goonies
Plot: A group of unsupervised kids finds a pirate treasure map and goes full Indiana Jones.
Why they love it: Adventure, friendship, and zero helicopter parenting.
What you say: “This is like Stranger Things without the trauma.”
4. Top Gun
Plot: Fighter jets, volleyball, and one very dramatic pair of aviators.
Why they love it: It made them believe they could be pilots (or at least own cool sunglasses).
What you say: “I liked the remake better.” Watch their soul leave their body.
TV SHOWS THAT THEY CONSIDER “CLASSICS”
1. MTV (when it played music):
“Back in my day, we had to watch music videos on TV. On purpose.”
Translation: They watched TRL and called it a lifestyle.
2. Friends:
They will still argue about Ross and Rachel. Don’t engage. It’s a trap.
3. Saved by the Bell:
Every character was a stereotype, and they ate it up like cafeteria pizza.
4. The X-Files:
If they say “The truth is out there,” just nod and back away slowly.
MUSIC THEY SWEAR WAS BETTER
1. Mixtapes:
Literal cassette tapes they had to record off the radio. If you messed it up, you ruined the whole vibe.
Modern equivalent: A Spotify playlist, but 400x more work and with occasional static.
2. Grunge:
The holy trinity: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden.
Dress code: Flannel, angst, and not caring about anything (except justice and being misunderstood).
3. Hair Bands:
Big hair, tight pants, power ballads. You will be forced to hear Don’t Stop Believin’ at every family cookout.
TECH THEY STILL MISS
1. Blockbuster:
A Friday night pilgrimage where you’d fight strangers for the last VHS copy of Speed.
2. CD Binders:
Massive trapper keepers filled with burned CDs labeled things like “Jams Vol. 6” or “Car Ride Mix (Summer ’99).”
3. Dial-Up Internet:
Yes, they waited for the internet. It made robot noises. And it was normal.
Final Survival Tips – How to Coexist with Your GenX Parent (i.e., Me)
So, dear GenY: you’ve made it this far. You’ve decoded the slang, survived the pop culture crash course, and (hopefully) passed the quiz with at least partial dignity. But knowing the phrases isn’t enough—you need to understand how to live with someone who still thinks Space Jam (the original) was a cinematic masterpiece.
Here’s how to keep the peace with your GenX parent—yes, the one writing this and lovingly roasting their own people.
1. Nod and Pretend to Get the Reference
If we say, “Wax on, wax off,” just nod. Even if you don’t know who “Bueller” is, just say “here.” You don’t have to get it—you just have to respect it.
2. Accept That We Think We Invented Everything Cool
We brought you punk rock, grunge, rap, and sarcasm. You brought us Skibidi. Let’s call it even.
3. Laugh at Our Memes (Even If They’re Boomer-Adjacent)
Yes, we still send Minion memes. Yes, we think they’re hilarious. Just fake a LOL and throw us a bone—we’re doing our best out here.
4. Don’t Underestimate Our Cultural Clout
We survived rotary phones, dial-up internet, and Y2K. GenXe grew up with MTV when it played music and still quote The Breakfast Club like it’s scripture. We didn’t have influencers—we had influence.
5. We May Be Cringe… But We’re the Blueprint
We were raised on sarcasm, snack packs, and Saturday morning cartoons. We may not understand your TikToks, but we did invent the mixtape—and that has to count for something.
Parting Words from One GenX-er to GenY:
We’re not mad that you don’t get our jokes. We just want you to know that we were cool once. Like, totally tubular cool. So the next time your GenX parent calls something “rad,” just smile and say, “Thanks, home skillet.” It’ll make their day.
Next:
Genz: Why Your GenX Parent Still Thinks Napster Was Revolutionary
Additional Reading for More Insights into a GenXer: