Words Of The Millennium

Fo shizzle

Back in the early 2000’s, the phrase fo shizzle was used (or overused) by pretty much everyone. It means “for sure,” such as “we are going to have a slamming time, fo shizzle.”

The popular rapper, Snoop Dog, used this term in his songs, ahem: fo shizzle ma nizzle.

Cray-cray

These days, we hear the word cray all the time. If someone uses this word, they are usually referring to something as “crazy” or “insane.”

But, back in the later 2000’s, it was cool to tack on another cray to really get your point across. If your friend was acting overly dramatic about her boyfriend not calling her—super cray-cray.

Peeps

Nope, not those colorful marshmallow candies you get during Easter. The word peeps was used during the Millennium to refer to your friends.

Instead of calling up your “girl squad” or texting your “crew” to go out, you’d check on your peeps—and most likely use your old-school Nokia to do it.

Pimp juice

In 2002, rapper Nelly inspired everyone to use the term, pimp juice, thanks to his popular song (with the same name). The Online Slang Dictionary says this expression is used when a certain item (money or looks) helps “attract the opposite sex.”

During the time this song came out, a drink called Pimp Juice—which Nelly still co-owns—was on the market. It stemmed from the song and was usually used as a cocktail mixer when, you know, you needed a little extra something.

Bling-bling

Oh, the 2000s. A time of statement necklaces (think huge, sparkly dollar signs hanging from your neck) and bedazzled jeans (you know the kind with the studded back pockets). It was definitely a decade full of some serious bling-bling.

The term means “over-the-top glitz” and was used a lot of times by hip-hop artists. Quickly, the expression became popular among regular folks, using it to describe one’s own bling or someone’s who they envy.

Biotch

We here at Dictionary.com, define the word biotch as both a negative and positive term. It can be used to describe a woman who isn’t liked (“she’s acting like a real biotch”) or to refer to a woman who is well liked (“I’d do anything for my biotch”).

Even though the term was born back in the 80s, (only it was biatch with an a), it grew its popularity in the 2000s when just about everyone and their grandmas started using it. Sneaky way to say that infamous b-word, no?

Baller

If you were cool in the 2000s (we know you were), chances are you were considered baller (even if you were the only one that called yourself that). This expression was used to describe someone who was well-liked and well-known.

Slipped through the velvet rope at the hottest club? Well, that’s because of your baller status, which is a fancy way of saying you get treated like a VIP because . . . you know a guy (or you are THE guy). Ballerrrr!

Sketchy

The word sketchy has many meanings: incomplete, dangerous (such as a bad neighborhood), shady, unreliable.

In the 2000s, this word was popularly used to describe all of the above, especially if someone was “acting sketchy.” This means you probably couldn’t get a good read on a person because they were masking their true feelings . . . or they were just acting out of the ordinary.

Word

In the 2000’s, many people tossed out the expression word after hearing something they approved of. The expression means “well said” or “in agreement.”

However, it can also be used as an informal greeting when you meet up with your peeps. Don’t forget to add up to the end, either . . . to give it that real nod of agreement.

Hella good

Not just a well-known song from the band, No Doubt, the expression hella good became popular slang in the Millennium, too. The word hella means “to the extreme” and when put in front of the word good, it translates to something that is “extremely good.”

Not to be confused with hella cool, which was a 90s staple. Instead, hella cool morphed into hella good in the 2000s, like any good little catch phrase that wants to stay relevant should do.

And, hella still remains a Bay Area vocabulary staple (so, don’t be shocked if your friend from San Francisco continues to throw this word your way).

Words from the 90s

Want to continue your journey down memory lane with words from another decade? Check out Words of the 90s: Fly Slang That Should Be Used Today.

It’s a phat list, we should know.

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Word of the Day

Can you guess the definition?

biblioklept

[ bib-lee-uh-klept ]

Can you guess the definition?

Word of the day
biblioklept

[ bib-lee-uh-klept ]