Emerging Slang and Cultural Trends in Australia
For those grappling with contemporary vernacular, rest assured, you are not alone. Even Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan recently exemplified this quandary when she inadvertently used the term “six-seven” during a media engagement.
An insightful analysis of Google search data from 2025 reveals that the most queried slang term in Australia is “sigma.” While one may initially consider it merely the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet, within the lexicon of Gen Z and Alpha, it denotes a specific archetype of an individual.
According to Unscramblerer.com, “sigma” refers to “an independent, self-reliant person who operates outside traditional social hierarchies, often encapsulated by the phrase ‘lone wolf.’”
In a TikTok video featuring American students, the term was humorously rephrased: “You’re all that and a bag of chips.” It can also signify “exceptionally good,” and is occasionally employed to express incredulity, as in: What the sigma?
Additional frequently sought-after slang includes “delulu” (abbreviated from delusional, describing someone with unrealistic expectations), “unc” (a playful shorthand for uncle, often hinting at aging), and “glazing” (excessive flattery).
Unscramblerer.com highlights that the dominance of TikTok, Instagram, gaming, and streaming continues to shape popular slang among younger demographics.
A spokesperson elaborated, “Trends proliferate swiftly through memes and viral challenges. Enhanced by technology, our linguistic evolution adapts to new slang trends at an unprecedented pace. Slang serves as a captivating reflection of our culture.”
Notably, one term that surfaced in this analysis is “gaslighting,” a phrase tracing back to the 1938 British play Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton. This work portrays a manipulative husband driving his heiress wife to question her sanity.
In contemporary discourse, gaslighting refers to prolonged psychological manipulation and has gained prominence, especially in discussions surrounding unhealthy relationships. Indeed, Merriam-Webster declared it as the word of the year in 2022.
Linguistic evolution is often remarkable; for instance, Merriam-Webster notes that the term “magna male,” once linked to far-right activism and misogyny, has been recontextualized through parody videos and memes circulating on TikTok in the 2020s.
Further trending terms identified by Unscramblerer.com relate to personal aesthetics. “Looksmaxxing” aims at optimizing one’s appearance, while “mogging” involves outshining another by virtue of attractiveness, skills, or success.
There’s also “huzz,” used to reference an appealing female group, and “big back,” denoting an individual with a more robust physique.
A particularly amusing entry is “fanum tax,” which denotes the playful theft of a friend’s food without prior consent. This term originated from American content creator Roberto Escanio, known as Fanum, who humorously charges friends a mock tax in the form of a bite.
Additionally, there’s “aura farming,” a term that intriguingly has no connection to agriculture. According to The Guardian, which illustrated the concept with a photo of Dune star Timothée Chalamet, “aura farming” pertains to “cultivating the most captivating version of oneself.”
In August, an 11-year-old boy named Rayyan Arkan Dikha went viral for his exuberant dance as he cheered on rowers in a traditional Indonesian boat race.
The footage was widely disseminated with the catchy moniker “the aura-farming boy,” inspiring countless remakes across social media.
Lastly, the term “six-seven,” predominantly used by Gen Alpha and younger Gen Zers, seems to have been popularized by rapper Skrilla’s track Doot Doot, which features the recurring lyric “six-seven.”
This phrase is also associated with NBA star LaMelo Ball, who stands at an impressive six feet seven inches (two meters).
Unscramblerer.com articulates, “There is no definitive meaning to six-seven; rather, its absurdity is its charm, exemplifying the ‘brainrot’ internet humor where randomness itself becomes amusing.”
Source link: Indailyqld.com.au.
