What is ‘cheugy’?

By Danni Deibe

The term (pronounced chew-gee) has been growing in popularity associated with the description of Millennial women.

Another day, another plight in the life of the millennial woman.

If you have a side parting, still wear skinny jeans, have anything with a chevron pattern in your home and have ever referred to yourself as a ‘girlboss’, chances are, a Gen Z girlie is calling you Cheugy.

The term was coined in America in 2013 as a pejorative description of early 2010s culture, but has been popularised of late, courtesy of TikTok. In a nutshell it means ‘trying too hard’ or ‘the opposite of trendy’.

It’s like ‘basic’, but a bit more specifically targeted at Millennials.

If you dig a bit deeper, it really means that us Millennials are clinging on to the trends we hold dear, and Gen Z think it’s funny. It means that Gen Z think the way they do things is a bit cooler.

Gen Z are great. They’re more confident than we were at their life stage. They prioritise their mental health and wellbeing, they are political, they care about the environment. However, what they also care about is relentlessly trolling Millennials.

The term Cheugy is just their latest line in their trolling campaign, and a reminder that they view us as old hat, out of date and exceptionally untrendy.

Unfortunately, if you’re reading this and feel unable to identify what is and isn’t cheugy, then I am afraid, dear HLN’er, you may be a cheug.

But don’t worry, I’ve done my research (which is probably a cheugy thing to have done) and this Millennial is here to help.

The definitive list of what is Cheugy.

• Using the crying laughing emoji (you should use the skull to indicate laughter)
• Pumpkin Spiced Lattes
• Calling yourself a Girlboss, or worse #Girlboss
• Infact, saying ‘hashtag’ before anything
• Using phrases like ‘but first, coffee!’ or ‘no way, rose!’
• Watching re-runs of friends
• Wearing skinny jeans, trainer socks, or Gucci belts
• Having your hair in a side parting
• Referring to your pet pooch as a ‘doggo’
• Being obsessed with Autumn

We’ve got two choices here – we can choose to be offended by this, or, we can choose to rise above it, and I choose the latter.

As trends move on, and generations grow older, there will always come a time in your life when the things you hold dear become ‘old hat’ – but that doesn’t mean they aren’t great. And that doesn’t mean you should stop loving them.

Of course, there are things we can take from Gen Z (admittedly, my centre parting and flared jeans are MUCH more flattering than my old style), but you don’t need to throw your ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ sign in the bin just because someone younger than you says it’s no longer trendy.

You do you, hun. One day their renewed 90’s aesthetic will be laughed at by Gen Alpha, and we shall sit in our rocking chairs and enjoy the fall out.

Now, don’t mind me. I’m off to light my pumpkin spiced candle and put on some re-runs of Friends. But first, coffee…

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