Deciphering Unusual Internet Slang: Making Sense of Seemingly Meaningless Language

It's easy nowadays to feel 'out of the loop' when frequenting chat rooms or forums with so much unusual internet jargon. I'm going to show you what some of these common sayings mean so you can use them yourself, or at least be able to understand if you're being insulted or not. While most are silly, some really are funny. Most of these come from humorous forums and communities and spread like wildfire over the internet. The reasons behind why they spread and are used so often, the world may never know.

So I herd you like Mudkips?

This silly quote came from a story posted on a popular internet message board. This seemingly false story involved a school boy humping a mudkip doll. Mudkips are a character on the video game and animated series Pokemon. Apparently, if someone says this to you, they are implying that you like romantic encounters with stuffed dolls.

Plox?

The word "plox" means "please". Origins of this word seem to center around making fun of people who use the terms "pls" or "plz" for the word "please".

FTW / FTL

"FTW" stands for "for the win", while "FTL" stands for "for the loss". While these also have other meanings in places like first person shooter games online, these are the most common uses.

Pool's Closed

This often means "stop" or "ending" in one form or another. Someone saying this can be an indicator that they think things in the discussion are getting stupid. Originates from forum members raiding an online game that features real life actions like swimming in a pool. These forum members crowded in the online games' pool so that no one else could get in and said "pools closed".

Fail

The word "fail" is often used to disapprove of a person or said persons' activity, opinion or behavior. Can also be blended with other words for variations like "failboat". This can mean that someone thinks whatever you are doing is not good.

Win

"Win" is used as the opposite of "fail" in most situations.

Owned

The word "owned" used in internet conversations means you've been defeated, humiliated or anything similar. Spellings can vary such as "PWNED", "Pwn3d" or "Pwnage".

Oh Gode

This one is not used as much. Often used with "wryyyy" after it. "Wryyy" is known as a sound effect in a video game. Either way it is used, this saying often indicates sarcastic dramatic false worry.

O RLY? / YA RLY / NO WAI!

These sayings are short for "oh really?" and "yeah really". Made popular by people distributing photos of owls with the saying printed on them. While one can argue that these are used commonly for sarcastic comebacks, they are mostly used generally wherever "oh really?" or "yeah, really" might be used. Can be followed by "no wai!" which means "no way!" and is just an extension of silliness.

O NOES!

Sarcastic remark to indicate dramatic false worry.

HAI2U

Means "hi to you". Originates from a shock site that shows a particularly disgusting porn photo at its entrance. I would say that this saying is used to jokingly remind you of that site, but now it is commonly used as a greeting as well.

Zomg!

Used as a dramatic form of the abbreviation "OMG" which stands for "oh my god".

kk

This means "okay".

An hero

A reference to suicide or committing suicide for an insignificant reason. Originates from a tragic story about a young boy who killed himself after his parents took away his iPod.

Lulz

This word is a play on "LOL" which means "laughing out loud". Presumably, "lulz" is referring to something substantially funnier than "lol" would call for.

> or

These are the symbols "greater than" and "less than" and mean the same in internet conversation. For example, if someone says "me>you", this means that person thinks they are better than you. The symbol "=" is related and means "equal to" and is used as such in conversation.

/

The "/" character means "end" or "stop". Origins are from coding HTML where the "/" symbol is used to stop an action. For instance, if someone says "/whining" it means they want you to stop whining.

New internet slang pops up every day, but perhaps these definitions will help you decipher some of the more unusual internet conversations you come across.