Since its publication in 1843, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” has been retold in a zillion different ways, from serious stage plays to animated musicals to a Muppet movie to a horror miniseries. The role of Ebenezer Scrooge (or his character equivalent) has been played by famous actors such as Michael Caine, Bill Murray, Jim Carrey, Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney and Ryan Reynolds. Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with Tiny Tim and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, but the beloved holiday tale has never seen a plot summary quite like comedian Richard Franks’.
Franks has been delighting his audience with Gen Z slang summaries of Shakespeare’s plays, and now he’s doing the same with the classic Dickensian Christmas ghost story. Acting as a teacher in front of a classroom, Franks goes through the plot of “A Christmas Carol” in Gen Z speak with hilarious accuracy. Parents of a teens and young adults will likely recognize a lot of these terms, though they may not know what they actually mean.
Watch how naturally he speaks the lingo:
The best part is that it’s actually a perfect summary of the story, though only Gen Z would fully understand it. Older folks may roll their eyes at how younger folks are changing how words are used, but every generation has its own version of language manipulation. The Boomers coined “groovy” and Gen X had “totally radical,” after all. Millennials and Gen Z have a lot of crossover between them, but the youngsters have established their own flavor (much of which comes from African-American Vernacular English, or AAVE).
People of all generations are loving Frank’s comic take on it all, though.
“You’ve done it again, bruh.”
“I haven’t finished watching it, I am already laughing. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂”
“Literally the only reason I understood what you’re saying is because I know the plot already, otherwise I’d be done for 😂”
“I love these sketches, they are just genius!! 🙌”
“This is Christmas cheer! (still laughing at ‘full on Miley Cyrus and buy yourself flowers’)”
If you watched the video in complete befuddlement because you aren’t regularly around Gen Zers and have no idea what Franks is saying, here’s a glossary to help you out with some of the terminology:
Straight up = truly
Vibes = feeling or mood
No cap = no lie/for real
Tea = gossip/information
Salty AF = very bitter
Throwing shade 24/7 = expressing contempt all day every day
Be giving = is giving off a vibe or feeling
Walking ick = undesirable person
Hella = extremely OR a large amount of (depending on usage)
Pulls up = arrives
Sesh = session
Massive simp = being excessively attentive or affectionate toward someone who’s less interested
Nah, bruh = no thanks
Toxic mad riz = manipulative charisma
Ate and left no crumbs = did something perfectly
YOLO = You Only Live Once (same idea as carpe diem)
Bet = yes, I’m in
Slay = do something exceptionally well and with confidence
Low key = basically/undramatically
Understood the assignment = fully grasped the expectation and successfully met it
It’s one thing to understand Gen Z’s language and it’s another to be able to speak it. Some parents like to mess with their kids by attempting to use slang terms and using them completely wrong—always a good laugh. One middle school teacher is on a mission to help parents out by sharing some Gen Alpha slang terms, and another teacher admits to making up slang words to try to convince his students that they’re real.
Language is fun, and finding the humor in the way different generations use it makes for excellent comedy. If you want to see more of Richard Franks’ Gen Z slang literature lessons, you can follow him on Instagram.
