To understand a part of the slang circulating in the United States in 2026 it can be useful to know what Google seeks people when a word does not understand it. A recent analysis of Google Trends data has tried to do so by state and in New York the term that generated more interest was “chud”. They follow «larping», «bird», «chopped» and «unc». The chart was created by Unscramblerer, a site of word-playing tools, and has been picked up in recent days by several American media, including Time Out New York.
It should be specified that the data of the study are organized on a state basis and are not limited to the five boroughs. In addition, Google Trends does not simply provide the absolute number of searches: it uses a query sample and measures the relative interest for a term compared to other searches carried out in a given place and period. Google warns that Trends is not a survey and that its data should not be interpreted as a direct measure of the popularity of something. The list therefore tells above all what words most often required an explanation. And the first one helps to understand the mechanism.
«Chud» is used online as a fairly general insult to indicate an unpleasant, stupid, crude or particularly harassed person. Merriam-Webster reports that in political discussions on the internet can also have a more precise meaning and be used, especially by people on the left, in reference to men of extreme right. Its origin is older than social media: it probably comes from C.H.U.D., a 1984 horror film set in New York, whose title was the acronym of «Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers», creatures living in the underground of the city. From the name of radioactive monsters it became, many years later, an insult from forums and social networks.
“Larping” has taken a different path. LARP is the acronym for live-action role-playing, i.e. live role-playing games where participants physically interpret a character, often wearing costumes and using scene objects. Merriam-Webster registers ‘LARPing’ in this sense at least since 1990. Online the verb has been progressively used in a figurative sense: one can accuse someone of “larping” when it is believed to be impersonating an identity, a social role or a lifestyle that does not really belong to him. It can be the improvised millionaire on Instagram, the revolutionary keyboard or, more simply, someone accused of building a character.
With “bird” the definition is less rigid, and is one of the limits of the rankings that associate a word with one explanation. The study describes it as a term addressed to someone who behaves naively in relationships, for example continuing to attend a person who treats it badly. In recent months this meaning has become very visible on TikTok, often addressed to women and associated with the search for male approval. But “bird” has been circulating for a long time in the African American English and in the slang of New York with meanings that change depending on the context. People who grew up in the Bronx also described it as a way to indicate someone who behaves stupid, exaggerated or embarrassing. Reducing it to the only terminology of relationships is likely to make a word appear new and uniform that is not.
“Chopped” is probably the term of the list with the most direct link to the New York area. Today it is used especially to say that someone or something is ugly, unappealing or put wrong. Merriam-Webster traces its gergal use to African American English and reports that some reconstructions place its origin in the area between New York and New Jersey. The word existed for years, but between 2024 and 2025 it began to circulate much more on social platforms, where it is applied to faces, clothes, haircuts and practically anything can be judged aesthetically.
Finally there is “unc”, abbreviation of “uncle”. In its most recent use it serves to tease someone considered old or out of the lap, and the expression “unc status” jokingly indicates the moment when a person realizes that he has become, at least in the eyes of the younger, the one who talks about how things were ten years ago. Also in this case TikTok has amplified a previous term. In the African American English «unc» has long been used to turn to an older man, even without kinship, often with affection or respect; rap and hip hop have contributed to its spread long before it became an online generational joke.
The most interesting thing about the ranking is that five words are often presented as “new Internet slang”, but only partially are. «Unc» and «chopped» come from African American English, «larping» has existed for decades with another meaning, «chud» even refers to a 1980s film. The Internet has, above all, accelerated the passage of these words from relatively restricted communities to much larger audiences, changing their meaning in the meantime.
L’articolo The words that New Yorkers seek on Google to understand slang proviene da IlNewyorkese.
