Lately I've received a huge influx of online dating jargon so I just
had to compile this crazy new Top 50 List of Online Dating Terms! Back in the day, online dating was the largest segment of paid content on the Web (other than you guessed it, online porn). As Executive Editor of NetLingo, I knew the online dating jargon was proliferating but I had no idea how funny, yet super insensitive, it's become... check it out! How many of these things have happened to you?
1.
airplane mode - when someone cuts themselves off from the world by not
checking their smartphone or social media.
2.
bae - An acronym that means Before Anyone Else... there’s
also beob (babe) and baesbo (so back off).
4.
banksying - It's when you're going to break-up with someone and decide to plan an
elaborate act far in advance.
5.
benching - Someone who is kept on the sides just in case it doesn't work out
with the person you’re already dating.
6.
bird boxed - From the Netflix movie, it’s when someone you’re dating treats you
badly and you’re blind to it.
7.
bonk - It used to mean to have sex or hook up in
generation x lingo, but in generation y lingo it means you’re too tired!
8.
breadcrumbing - Giving a person just enough attention so they’ll keep
interest, but you don't have to invest in a relationship.
9.
buzzerflies - The feeling you get when your phone buzzes, and it is
potentially the special someone you want to hear from.
10. caking - When you’re extra sweet to someone you’re really interested in; flirting,
either on the phone or in person.
12. caspering - A variation of ghosting but doing it nicely by letting people down
gently before you ghost them.
15. cushioning - It's when you're in a relationship with someone, but you still chat
and flirt with other people on the side.
17. DTR – It means Define The Relationship, that big awkward chat where people
discuss "where things are going."
18. exaggerdate - A portmanteau to describe the act of embellishing a
date so as to suggest it went way better than it did.
19. faux beau - A guy who acts like a boyfriend, but just as a ruse to continue his
string of hookups.
20. feels - Millingo for feelings. Sample this, "OMG! I’m starting to have
the feels for my umfriend."
21. force quit - In online dating it's slang for breaking up, as in "They force
quit that relationship last week, about time.”
22. gaslighting - Slang for when an abuser manipulates in such a way as
to make a victim question his or her sanity.
23. going down in the DMs - When two people begin flirting
through direct messages on a social media platform.
24. grandeing - When a person is grateful for their past lovers and the things they
taught them, inspired by Thank U, Next.
25. haunting - When they aren’t in your life anymore but linger on with their
digital presence on your social media.
26. heart bargain - An intellectual who tries to reason their way into or
out of an emotional decision.
27. HSAY - As in How Single Are You? Many will say they’re single but there is
often someone texting them good morning...
30. instagrandstanding – Posting photos and videos to your
Instagram story tailored to appeal to a specific person.
31. iPhony - Online jargon that describes when someone constantly tells you they
will text you but you never hear from them.
32. kittenfish - Less drastic than catfish, it’s when someone uses steps to make
someone else like them better.
33. on ice - When you decide to pause the pace of a relationship and chill out for
minute, you're putting it “on ice.”
34. on the team - A dating candidate squad, singles should have three in
rotation until you decide to come off the market.
35. popsicle - It's when your instinct is to play it the opposite of cool, but you
try too hard to play hard to get.
36. romanceting - It involves texting words or images, but instead of
demanding sex, you express appreciation and admiration.
37. scrooging - When you break up with your girlfriend or boyfriend just before the
holidays so you don’t have to buy a gift.
38. situationship - It's when you're not in a committed relationship but
you can’t exactly say you’re single either.
39. slow fade - When you decide you don't want to continue dating someone, and you
slowly start becoming less available.
41. Snap trap - If you’ve sent texts but bae doesn’t reply, you then Snapchat them
and if your SO opens it, they’re trapped.
42. SO stalemate - In a relationship, it's when neither party will start
the DTR (define-the-relationship) conversation.
43. social squatter - Someone who breaks up with you but
wants to keep seeing your friends platonically (!)
44. soul-mining - When someone tries to cram three months of emotional
intimacy into your first three hours together.
45. stashing - Stashing means to date someone, while not telling anyone about them.
It's like having a guilty secret.
46. textual chemistry - When your text connection is hot off-the-charts
but in person, your chemistry barely registers.
47. three-dot disappearing act - ...The act of starting to type a
text message on your smartphone and then stopping...
48. throning - When a person dates someone to elevate his or her own social status,
wealth or reputation.
49. you-turn - Slang for someone who goes from one extreme relationship to the next
in the blink of an eye.
50. zombieing - Similar to ghosting, but the dater reappears in your life and acts as
nothing happened after a period of time.
-
Erin Jansen,
Internet Specialist, Social Psychologist, Founder of NetLingo.com
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