Lexical Compendium

Wait... what is this? Sometimes I come across a word, phrase, idiom, quote, reference, bit of slang, person of interest, etc that either I don't know or I find amusing, interesting, etc. This is a collection of those items so that I can refer back to them in emails, texts, etc.

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glaze

To glaze is to excessively praise or flatter someone, often in an over-the-top, cringe, or sarcastic manner. The implication is often that the recipient was unworthy of such praise. This slang word was popularized in online spaces like TikTok.

I first heard it when Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) had the following Tweet exchange:

@sama:
we updated GPT-4o today! improved both intelligence and personality.

@StockLizardKing:
It’s been feeling very yes-man like lately

Would like to see that change in future updates

@sama:
yeah it glazes too much

will fix


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References:

  1. @sama Tweet
  2. Definition: glaze
  3. The Verge: New ChatGPT ‘glazes too much,’ says Sam Altman

Tags: slang , vocabulary , netspeak

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groyper

A groyper is a member of a loosely organized far-right, predominately male, online subculture centered around nationalist, reactionary, and often overtly extremist ideology (antisemitism, neo-Nazism, etc). [3]

In the fall of 2025, this term has been in the news because of an interview that Tucker Carlson gave to Nick Fuentes.[6] Nick Fuentes is considered to be the front man of the groyper group.[7]

The word groyper comes from the name of this group's symbol or mascot -- a cartoon frog. In 2005 Matt Furie created the character Pepe the Frog for his "Boy's Club" comic, which he originally published on his MySpace page.[8] This character became memeified and many variants arose -- one of which was Groyper. The groyper movement is internet-native and this frog is used to signal membership and to mark online posts as “in-group” communications.

How prevalent is this community? In November 2025, conservative writer Rod Dreher made the claim that 30-40% of conservative Gen Z staffers on Capitol Hill and in the Trump administration are Groypers on his Substack and then later in a published piece for The Free Press.[2]

I was inspired to write this entry after listening to Ezra Klein interview John Gan in a piece he called The ‘Groyperfication’ of the G.O.P..[1]


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References:

  1. NYT: The 'Groyperfication' of the G.O.P.
  2. Substack: Rod Dreher - What I Saw And Heard In Washington
  3. NYT: Who Are the 'Groypers'?
  4. The Atlantic: The Nick Fuentes Spiral
  5. Richard Hanania's Newsletter: Groypers Are Just More Honest MAGAs - right-wing personality and contributor to "Project 2025"
  6. YouTube: The Tucker Carlson Show - The Nick Fuentes Interview
  7. Wikipedia: Nick Fuentes
  8. Wikipedia: Pepe the Frog

Tags: politics , slang , internet

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grumbletonian

This archaic word was used to describe someone who was discontent, i.e. someone who grumbles a lot. The origins of the word are in 17th century English politics.

I heard the word in an episode of the podcast The Allusionist.


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References:

  1. Podcast: The Allusionist - Episode 193: Word Play 3: Lemon Demon
  2. Definition: grumbletonian

Tags: vocabulary , slang , podcast

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kayfabe

Kayfabe is the convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic. The word is used primarily in the world of wrestling, but it is also used more generally to just mean a fake presentation. I heard the word being used in the context of politics to describe President Trump and lying.

The exact etymology of the word is uncertain, but there are theories that it is slang (perhaps somewhat Pig Latin-ized) for "be fake." [2]


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References:

  1. Wikipedia: Kayfabe
  2. Merriam Webster word origin: Kayfabe

Tags: politics , vocabulary

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milquetoast

The word milquetoast is used to describe a meek or timid person.

It originated from the comic strip character Caspar Milquetoast, created by Harold T. Webster in 1924. The character was known for his timidity and refusal to participate in controversial discussions. Some time after the character's debut, the term "milquetoast" began to be used to describe people with similar characteristics.

Caspar's last name is derived from "milk toast," a breakfast food that was thought to be easy to digest and was a popular food for convalescents in New England (USA) in the 19th and early 20th century.


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References:

  1. Definition: Milquetoast
  2. Wikipedia: Caspar Milquetoast
  3. Wikipedia: Milk Toast

Tags: slang , vocabulary , eponymous

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rozzer

Rozzer is British slang for a police officer.

"Cripes, the rozzers are after us!"

I first heard this while watching the movie Wicked Little Letters.

The terms rozzers , bobbies and peelers (all slang words for police officers) likely originate from a play on the name Sir Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan Police Service in 1829.


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References:

  1. Definition: rozzer
  2. IMDB: Wicked Little Letters
  3. Why are the police in the UK called "rozzers"?
  4. Wikipedia: Robert Peel

Tags: slang , british

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sawbuck

A sawbuck is slang for a $10 bill. Likewise, a double-sawbuck is a $20 bill.

It has been suggested that the slang originated because a sawbuck (sawhorse) resembles an "X," the Roman numeral for "10."

I came across this slang while watching For All Mankind, S3E2.


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References:

  1. IMDB: For All Mankind
  2. Definition: sawbuck

Tags: slang , vocabulary

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vibecoding

Vibecoding (also vibe coding) is the act of developing software by purely defining a project and letting AI do the work.

The term was popularized earlier this year (in 2025) by OpenAI founding member Andrej Karpathy. It has since taken off and I hear it everywhere.

The NYT's Kevin Roose wrote an article on his experience with vibecoding and also covered it in an episode of Hard Fork.

Update May 2025: added Freethink's piece about the technical and cultural shift happening around vibecoding.


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References:

  1. Wikipedia: vibe coding
  2. NYT: Not a Coder? With A.I., Just Having an Idea Can Be Enough
  3. Tweet: @karpathy 02 Feb 2025 - @karpathy's tweet about "vibe coding"
  4. Hard Fork: Is Google Search Cooked? + We're Getting a U.S. Crypto Reserve? + What You're Vibecoding
  5. Freethink: Vibe coding is rewriting the rules of technology

Tags: ai , software , podcast , slang , netspeak

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wagwan

Wagwan means "what's going on" and is Jamaican/English slang. It seems to have originated from Jamaican Creole wah gwan ("what go on").

I first heard this while watching Supacell, where it's used prolifically in the dialog.


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References:

  1. IMDB: Supacell
  2. What does wagwan mean?
  3. Definition: wagwan

Tags: creole , slang

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