Diary of a Gen Z student: I feel like I’m speaking an entirely different language in front of my parents

Our resident youngster points out how to devour — and how to give her generation the ick

Trinity College student and Irish Examiner columnist Jane Cowan photographed at her home in Dunshaughlin, County Meath. Photo:Barry Cronin

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is where the phrase ‘one fell swoop’ was coined. Shakespeare didn’t just write plays and sonnets; he was into falconry, too. His hobby inspired the phrase. And that phrase is still used today. That’s how language functions, always evolving.

In 2024, we’re still doing the same thing. It may not be Shakespeare, but Gen Z slang certainly bleeds out into the lexicon of other generations too. Our slang moves quickly. Trying to discern what’s ‘in’ and ‘out’ is no small task. My Gen X father, for instance, loves to talk about ‘slaying the day’. The wincing reaction I give him fails to prevent him from using such an out of date phrase. ‘Slaying’ was cool for approximately 34 minutes last summer, Dad. Get with the programme.