Words by: Tess Kent
“Entering my slay era!” is what the girlies claim. What the f*ck does that even mean?
‘Slay’. The defining term of the Gen Z vernacular that lives rent free in our minds. The acceleration of internet colloquialisms have created a language that seems so entwined with young people stuck on TikTok (i.e. you and me!). However, for a term which we love to drop at every inevitable chance we have, it has a greater history and impact than what we could have imagined. How slay.
According to Semrush, ‘slay’ has appeared in over 284.7k search results online and the question “what does ‘slay’ mean?” has over 20 million search results on Google1.
Obviously, many people are curious about our quirky little catch-all term that can be used for any expression of success, happiness and elation. Teachers are making spreadsheets to keep up with our ever evolving lexicon2 and older colleagues are running into trouble misinterpreting younger colleagues’ messages3. Particularly when they all start spouting “SLAYYYY” on their Slack channel in response to great work.
By a dictionary definition, ‘slay’ (verb) means to kill in a violent way. It is entrenched in Germanic roots from the 1800s4, which was more associated with killing mythical beasts or enemies — think ‘Game of Thrones’ vibes.
Yet its progression continues through to the 1920s where the ‘Gatsby’ age of flappers and jazz birthed a new definition for the word. If someone were to laugh and exclaim “you slay me!” you would be wrong in thinking they were causing them physical harm. Rather the definition had evolved to making someone “laugh very hard”4. Next time your friend cracks a joke, try dropping “you slay me” instead, and see how they react. Whilst it may not have the same je ne sais quoi as simply saying “you’re hilarious”, it will make you sound like a distinguished guest of an elusive speakeasy party. Or maybe you’ll just sound a bit pretentious.
What makes the evolution of ‘slay’ so spectacular is its history in emerging from Black African American and Latin American LGBTIQA+ communities. In the period of the 70s and 80s in New York City, ball and house culture was increasing in prominence4. To ‘slay’, just as we define it today, is to do something particularly well or amazingly, and this word is deeply entrenched in this time4. The 1991 documentary, ‘Paris is Burning’, popularised the phrase through its depiction of NYC drag queens and ball culture. Whilst the phrase became more popular through the documentary’s cult-like following, ‘Paris is Burning’, was ground-breaking in its depiction of lived experiences of an under-represented community5.
From ‘Paris is Burning’ came ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, then Ryan Murphy and FX’s docu-series ‘Pose’. All important examples of media which delve further into ball and house culture. The term ‘slay’ only touches the surface of the incredible work the Queens did for these marginalised communities5. It was an emphatic call for how amazing these queens were killing it on stage and off.
Moving to 2016, lord and saviour, the queen her- self (AKA Beyonce), demanded we get into formation. From here, ‘slay’ was reborn yet again. The word was a commandment for her Miami audience in 2016; “if you came here to have a good time, say ‘I slay’6. If you’re proud of where you’re from, say ‘I slay’.” Artist Big Freedia, who featured on Beyonce’s ‘Formation’ track, explained in an interview that ‘slaying’ is an attitude that represents the city of New Orleans, it describes “flavour, fever and fears”7 .
So, for a word which has a longstanding history, why is it that it’s surged again in recent years? Put simply TikTok.
Linguist, Tony Thorne, states that language evolution is natural and the fact we don’t speak in Ye Olde English anymore is living proof of that. However, whilst our methods for adopting new slang is the same, what’s changed is the level of visibility social media provides us with for language evolution8. Expert linguist at Babbel, Jennifer Dorman, states that every generation ‘leaves their mark’ on language but it’s apps like TikTok which heighten our ability to adapt to new linguistic trends so quickly9. Marketing agency, YellowHEAD, explains that once a post with a popular term gains traction, social media algorithms reward that term with even more pub- licity and generate virality10.
But what does ‘slay’ mean now?
Well, it still means to do something particularly well or amazingly. Yet, I like to believe it’s also a state of mind. ‘Slay’ has taken on an entire personality for itself, we use the word to denote our feelings, express delight at others and use it to define a particularly successful period of our lives (eg. ‘slay era’).
But how do you use it? Let’s explore some examples!
Your best friend posts an incredible photo of them- selves? Comment: “Slay bestie.”
You submit two assignments before your Friday 5pm deadline, and make it in time to pre-drinks for your friend’s birthday. You say: “What a slay of a day.”
Got approved for that rental you were eyeing off? Exclaim: “Slay!”
Thinking about those 7% HECS indexation rates? You say: “That’s not very slay.”
Want to channel your inner 2019 Paris Hilton? Easy, you’re “sliving.”
It’s an ever evolving word which is as witty as it is endearing. It’s a shared term by us Gen Z-ers and we know we’re in good company when we hear each other slide it into conversations whenever possible. Whilst this isn’t a discussion on how we could argue that the word has been appropriated from People of Colour and LGBTIQA+ cultures, it is important that our frivolous overuse of slay is used with the understanding of its historical implications.
So go forth with confidence, and slay besties.
References
1) Curtis S. How TikTok Is Changing the Way We Speak [Internet]. The Daily Mail Online. 2022. Available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ article-11262889/TikTok-changing-way-SPEAK-phrases-like-quiet-quitting-le-dollar-bean.html
2) Johnson LM. To “slay” Communication with His students, a High School Teacher Made a Gen Z Dictionary [Internet]. CNN. 2019 [cited 2023 Apr 22]. Available from: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/04/us/gen-z-dictionary-trnd
3) Abril D. Gen Z Came to “slay.” Their Bosses Don’t Know What That means. [Internet]. Washington Post. 2022. Available from: https://www.washingtonpost. com/technology/2022/12/12/gen-z-work-emojis/
4) Dictionary.com. Definition of Slay | Dictionary.com [Internet]. http://www.dictionary.com. Available from: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/slay
5) Lester Fabian Brathwaite. Striking a “Pose”: a Brief History of Ball Culture [Internet]. Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone; 2018. Available from: https://www.rolling-stone.com/culture/culture-features/striking-a-pose-a-brief-history-of-ball-culture-629280/
6) Blake E. 5 Times Beyoncé Gave New Meaning to “I slay” as She Kicked off Her Formation Tour [Internet]. Mashable. 2016. Available from: https://mash- able.com/article/beyonce-formation-tour-miami
7) Lockett D, York a senior editor on the CP at N. Big Freedia on Slaying Beyoncé’s “Formation” — and Being Surprised by Its Release [Internet]. Vulture. 2016 [cited 2023 Apr 22]. Available from: https://www.vulture.com/2016/02/big-freedia-on-slaying-beyonces-formation.html
8) Thompson D. Is the Internet Changing How We Talk about Slang words? [Internet]. In The Know. 2022. Available from: https://www.intheknow.com/post/ slang-words-tiktok-gen-z-linguist/
9) Curtis S. How TikTok Is Changing the Way We Speak [Internet]. The Daily Mail Online. 2022. Available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/arti- cle-11262889/TikTok-changing-way-SPEAK-phrases-like-quiet-quitting-le-dollar-bean.html
10) Fligler L. TikTok Slang Businesses Need to Know [Internet]. yellowHEAD. 2023 [cited 2023 Apr 22]. Available from: https://www.yellowhead.com/blog/tik- tok-slang-and-marketing/
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