MINNEAPOLIS Researchers have tracked down the slang words that Minnesotans were curious enough about this year to turn to Google in their quest to broaden their cultural vocabulary.
The folks at Unscramblerer.com used data from Google Trends and the marketing intelligence tool Ahrefs to narrow down the top 10 most searched words in the state:
- Dei – An acronym meaning “diversity, equality and inclusivity.”
- Understated – Popularized by TikToker Jools Lebron, it is a word of unknown origin and means “reserved or modest in nature,” according to Merriam-Webster.
- Sigma – The 18th letter of the Greek alphabet that now somehow refers to “an independent, self-reliant individual who operates outside traditional social hierarchies, often described as a ‘lone wolf,'” according to Unscramblerer.
- Skibidi – Let’s see, where do we start with this? Okay, it’s those videos from Eastern Europe where scary heads pop out of toilets for some reason that forced Michael Bay to make a big-screen adaptation, according to Variety.
- SMH – An internet acronym meaning “shaking the head.”
- Oeuvre – From the French for ‘a substantial oeuvre that constitutes the life’s work of a writer, an artist or a composer’.
- Nickname — Slang for ‘nickname’, derived from the French word for ‘nickname’.
- Schmaltz – From the Yiddish word for “made fat,” referring to “extremely or overly sentimental music or art.”
- Katz – Ancestry.com says it is derived from the Hebrew for “priest of righteousness.” It’s also a common Jewish surname, a legendary Manhattan deli, and now apparently “a term for anything pleasant, fun, or agreeable,” according to Unscramblerer.
- Hawk Toea — Sorry, but please research this NSFW term elsewhere.
Eight of Minnesota’s most searched slang words were also among the most searched words in the United States.
Unscramblerer says the other two that made the national list were “sen,” meaning “self,” and “smooth,” defined as “a kid trying to act like a teenager.” Merriam-Webster doesn’t move with the times, as it defines “preen” (of Middle English origin) as “to dress or preen oneself.”
WCCO’s Jeff Wagner tackled the topic of snake in this edition of last year’s Good Question.
