Parenting Friday: Your Guide to Gamer Slang

Welcome to Parenting Fridays! Every Friday (or almost every Friday, since I’m a Gemini, after all, and get distracted), I’ll post a parenting tip, parenting video, or a funny story. Today, I figure we’ll start with some gamer slang.

Do your kids play video games? Are you totally confused about the gamer slang they use when they talk to their friends? Do you wonder what the heck they mean when they say things like, “I’m gonna flex on those noobs before I W key them”? Never fear, I’m here to help.

The slang I explain below is Fortnite-centric, because that’s what my kid and I play for the most part. However, this slang applies to almost every online or battle-royale-style game out there, such as Call of Duty Warzone, etc. Here we go.

Dub (n.) – e.g., “I got the dub.” (def.) a win at the game, derived from the letter W, which stands for “win.” In a battle-royale format, this means you and/or your team are the last players alive.

Rush (v.) – e.g., “Let’s rush these guys!” (def.) to take the initiative to quickly and aggressively engage opponents, placing opponents on the defensive.

Aggro (adj. or adv.) – e.g., “You play way too aggro, “or, “You’re too aggro.” (def.) aggressive or aggressively, such as when you rush opponents and take the offensive. Usually connotes a player who is impatient and rushes too much and, as a result, gets himself and/or his teammates killed or weakened.

Camp (v.) – (def.) To remain in the same place and hide from opponents instead of engaging in fighting. Sometimes used derogatorily, e.g., by scoffing and saying, “He’s a camper.”

Bush camp (v.) – (def.) To camp inside a bush as cover.

Laser (v.) – e.g. ,”Laser him!” or, “Let’s laser the wall!” (def.) To repeatedly spray gunfire, usually in order to destroy an opponent’s build or to overwhelm an opponent in order to make it impossible for the opponent to react and defend. Note: lasering is not derogatory and is usually a tactic that is part of an overall strategy, e.g., to laser a wall, then shotgun the opponent hiding inside.

Spam (v.) – e.g., “He’s a spammer,” or, “he’s just spamming,” or, “he spammed me.” (def.) To laser your opponents by randomly spraying gunfire. “Spamming” in this sense is usually derogatory, with a semantic range that suggests that the spammer lacks technical or strategic skill and makes up for the lack by spraying and praying.

Spray and pray (v.) – (def.) To laser or spam an opponent or an opponent’s build without aiming or planning of any kind, in the hope that, by the sheer volume of firepower, you down the opponent and end up alive.

Trash (adj.) – e.g., “He’s trash.” (def.) A derogatory term that means that the player has poor technical and/or strategic skill at the game.

Vibe (v.) – e.g., “We’re vibing.” (def.) To be at a comfortable, relaxed position in the game, where you have an appropriate amount of health and shield, a good amount of ammo, and an adequate amount of building materials; to be well-prepared for battle.

Noob (n., adj.) – e.g. “He’s a noob,” or, “He has a noob skin.” (Def.) A brand new player to the game; a default skin that requires no monetary expenditure to acquire.

Flex (v.) – e.g., “I’m going to flex on those guys.” (def.) To show off, usually by showing other players that you have a rare skin or emote, or by dancing after you score a kill or a win.

Clutch, clutch it up (v.) – e.g., “Let’s clutch it up!” (def.) To win, usually to win by coming back from a position of weakness, such as when you are outnumbered by opponents or have low health.

Clutch it up in the gulag (v.) (def.) To clutch it up; this phrase derives from Call of Duty, where players who are killed get one last chance to remain in the game by fighting one-versus-one in the gulag. The winning player gets another chance to return to the main game. This phrase has come to mean defying the odds and winning the game when coming back from a position of weakness.

No skin, default skin (n.) – e.g., “He’s a no skin.” (def.) A player whose avatar uses a randomly generated default skin which requires no monetary expenditure to use.

Tick (n.) – e.g., “This storm is a two-tick.” (def.) As the battle royale game progresses, the storm, which weakens players’ health, grows stronger and decreases players’ health at gradually increasing rates. “Tick” refers to the amount of damage to health the storm does per second, e.g., “two-tick” means that the storm decreases health by two points per second.

Sweat, sweaty (n., adj. v.) – e.g. “He’s a sweat,” or, “This game is so sweaty,” or, “I’m sweating so hard in this game.” (def.) (n.) A gamer who is working very hard to win by moving quickly, building relentlessly, and going aggro to rush opponents. (def. adj.) Exhibiting the previously described characteristics. (def. v.) Taking a game seriously by making every effort to win, such as by continually rushing and lasering opponents.

Tryhard (n.) (def.) See sweat.

Rev (v.) – e.g., “Rev me, bro!” (Def.) To revive a fallen teammate who is about to die.

Pop off (v.) – e.g., “pop off the rev,” or, “pop off this shield potion.” (Def.) To be able to complete the action, usually when you are under duress, such as revive a teammate in the middle of a battle or fully drink a shield potion without getting shot.

Build battle (n.) – to battle an enemy by repeatedly building walls and structures to defend yourself and get the high ground.

Skybase (n.) – a construction built by players that is very high over the map, but that can usually be easily knocked down.

Toxic (adj.) – e.g., “He’s so toxic.” (Def.) Negative or bullying; describes a player who makes fun of others derogatorily and takes pleasure in being a bully.

OG (adj.) – e.g., “He has an OG skin.” (def.) “OG” stands for “Original Gangster,” and denotes something that is original or near-original to the game when or shortly after when it was first released, such as a skin that was only available during the first season of the game several years ago. Having an OG skin, emote, or other accessory denotes status and/or technical skill at the game.

OP (adj.) – e.g., “The drum gun is OP.” (def.) “OP” stands for “overpowered,” and generally denotes a firearm used in the game that does much more damage than other firearms, such that players use extra caution when engaging enemies who are in possession of such firearm. This term is sometimes used derogatorily to denote a firearm that should not be allowed in the game because it gives players who use it an unfair advantage over others.

W key (v.) – e.g., “He just got W keyed!” or, “W key that guy!” To aggressively knock down or kill an enemy, usually by lasering him. Derives from the use of the W key on the keyboard to shoot when playing on a PC.

Have I missed anything? Tell me in the comments below! And Happy Gaming 🙂