TikTok teacher breaks down the latest Gen Z slang – as he deciphers popular phrases from ‘rizz’ to ‘pick-me energy’
Having trouble deciphering the latest Gen Z lingo? Well, this might help.
Philip Lindsay, 29, who works as a special education math teacher in Payson, Arizona, has captivated TikTok with his school skits.
The social media star, who has more than 162,000 followers on the video-sharing platform, recently appeared on The Today Show with hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Willie Geist.
During the chat, Philip decoded some of the most popular phrases currently doing the rounds, including “rizz,” “pick me girl” and “do it for the plot.”
Philip Lindsay, 29, who works as a special education math teacher in Payson, Arizona, fascinates TikTok with his school skits
The social media star, who has more than 162,000 followers on the video sharing platform, recently appeared on The Today Show with hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Willie Geist
The segment started with Jenna gushing over the guest before asking if he ever thought his videos would prove so popular on social media.
“I didn’t, but I had some useful things to say and I put them out there and here we are,” Philip replied candidly.
Jenna joked that he was “doing a public service for all of us parents” by deciphering some unusual phrases used by Gen Z.
And the first one unpacked was ‘rizz or the rizzler.’
He explained, “This one means charisma. It means you have charm… an old word to refer back to is ‘you have game’.
‘They love this one. They’re obsessed with this one.’
The educator explained that there were several variants of the word, such as Rizzly Bear, Rizzler of Oz and Rizzasaurous Rez.
“I have kids who have come to me and told me they got their PhD in ‘quantum rizziques’ as a professor of Rizznomics,” he added.
During the chat, Philip decoded some of the most popular phrases currently doing the rounds, including ‘rizz’, ‘pick me girl’ and ‘do it for the plot’.
He explained that a ‘pick-me girl’ was a ‘try-hard’ – someone who may want to get attention and seek attention more than is sincere to herself’.
Philip then turned his attention to the phrase “choose me girl or choose me energy.”
He explained: “Think of a try-hard – someone who might want to get more attention and seek attention, and then be honest with themselves.
“You don’t want to single me out. It’s kind of an insult.’
The teacher went on to explain that the qualities of a “pick me” are also “noisy and obnoxious.”
Jenna intervened and joked, “I’m afraid I was a picky person and I want to apologize to all my high school teachers.”
But Philip wasn’t done exploring Gen Z lingo.
‘The next one we have is “do it for the plot” – I really like this one.
‘This one is: ‘Life is a movie, my whole life is a movie, there is a story, there is struggle, there are obstacles and I have to make my own story.’
He said young people are now using the phrase as a “new version of YOLO – you only live once.”
“It’s like, ‘I’m about to do something risky or challenging, I’m going to hype myself up’ by saying, ‘do it for the plot.’
‘Do it for the memories, for the story.’
Philip then picked out the phrase ‘W in the chat’.
‘This one comes from livestreaming culture. The comments that scroll through the live stream are called the chat.
After his appearance on the show, the teacher shared a snapshot on Instagram as he stood among the presenters
“(If) someone does something good in the chat, like sending a big gift to the livestreamer, it’s like, ‘W in the chat’ (which) means you’re pumping someone up.
“It’s moving out of livestream culture and into the real world. If someone does something hyped, they’ll say, “W in chat.”
Other terms the trio touched on were ‘mid’ (meaning something is just medium) and ‘preppy’ – which now represents a whole range of style cues, including ‘bright, pink and smiley faces’.
When asked whether ‘preppy’ is good or bad, Philip admitted: ‘It depends on how they say it. Sometimes it’s good and it’s a compliment. Sometimes that’s not the case.’
After his appearance on the show, the teacher shared a snapshot on Instagram as he stood among the presenters.
He added a caption: “The connection between student and teacher and student and parent is one of the most important tools for student success.
“Understanding how they talk is a big part of that connection.
“Incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share information that connects students, parents and teachers on The Today Show!”