DeLauro Slays The ​“House” Down Boots

Don’t understand the headline of this story? Neither do we, really. Our Gen Z correspondent is here to help.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s most recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter) sticks out in the midst of policy-driven proclamations and support for foreign allies. It’s a TikTok-style video, where the 81-year-old congresswoman speaks what to many might be gibberish, but to an entire generation, is perfectly clear.

The video is perhaps a call to reach her youngest constituents with Gen Z‑style vernacular. When my editors asked me to write a translation of the video, I was mildly horrified. Was this my authority as the only person in the office born in a post 9/11 world?

DeLauro’s video wasn’t the first time in my life that I’ve seen someone from a previous generation attempt to appeal to younger audiences by adopting their slang. I got flashbacks to a middle school English teacher using a trending phrase at the time in the middle of a lesson. She attempted to slip the phrase in slyly, but the immediate smirks in the back row of the class made her cheeks flare red. I’ll admit, it was brave of my teacher to do something so shameless in front of a classroom full of narcissistic prepubescents. It was bold. It was gauche. It was also extremely effective. The next day, we all stopped using the phrase.

For any readers who might be as confused as many members of the Independent’s staff, I have translated all of the slang used in the video below. The original text is pasted in a paragraph. And below that paragraph is a line-by-line explanation of each phrase for our audience unfamiliar with these phrases and words.

Original text:

Letting my GenZ Staff write the script:

Yo, this is the Ranking Rizzler on Appropriations serving Connecticut’s 3rd District. It’s time to enter your dark academia Congress era.

All right, besties. House Appropriation is the money moves in Congress. We are not chasing the bag. We are the bag. Democrats are making life smoother through government funding. It’s giving skibidi. Sooooo Sigma main character energy. But Republicans Project 2025 is mad sus. Eliminating the Department of Education? Negative aura points. Basically, the biggest fanum tax on the environment, on your education, and your rights. Big L, posting it online buddy. Democrats understood the assignment, but go off. See how I keep you informed? Very cutesy, very demure.

Annotated text:

Yo, this is the Ranking Rizzler on Appropriations serving Connecticut’s 3rd District.

“Rizzler”

The word ​“rizzler” is a variation on the slang word ​“rizz.” The word ​“rizz” is best understood as a truncated version of the word ​“charisma.” People use the word to compliment someone’s acumen in the realm of sexual or romantic sensibilities. Originally used among African American communities, the word became popularized by Twitch streamer Kai Cenat who used it on a stream in 2021. DeLauro’s staff is likely playing with DeLauro’s title on the House Appropriations Committee as a ​“Ranking Member,” reinventing it as the phrase ​“Ranking Rizzler.”

It’s time to enter your dark academia Congress era.

“dark academia Congress era”

This one is a little bit more difficult to explain. The short phrase combines two different types of aesthetic classifications born of the Internet in the 2010s and early 2020s.

The first phrase — ​“dark academia” — is a reference to the dark academia aesthetic, an internet visual genre that arose out of the mid 2010s social media platform Tumblr obsession with Harry Potter-esque gothic architecture, gray weather, large bookshelves, dark clothes, and an appreciation for literature and the arts in higher education.

I remember scrolling through Tumblr and the early days of Instagram perhaps around 2014 looking at posts that compiled images of this gloomy yet romanticized envisioning of university. While I never identified fully with dark academia, I would be lying if something about it didn’t appeal to me — the mystique of uncovering dark secrets in a large castle that also doubled as my school. A portion of my entire generation, though, was smitten and dreamed of an education with the same visual motifs as Harry Potter’s.

The obsession exploded on TikTok during the pandemic, I assume, due to college students returning home so soon from colleges faraway. They continued their schooling, except, this time, through Zoom and inside their childhood bedrooms. Dark academia, in its initial iteration, represented an ideal to reach. And in its latter appearance, dark academia was an ideal to return back to. Why DeLauro’s younger staff invoked this term here, I’m not quite sure. The punchline is that the two — ​“dark academia” and ​“Congress” — are deeply incongruous and awkward. Perhaps the fact that it doesn’t work is the main point, but the context of the aesthetic paints the phrase in perhaps a more poignant light.

The second phrase, ​“era,” is in reference to a category of words on the Internet that are used to anchor the aesthetics mentioned in the previous paragraph. ​“Era,” in particular, is in reference to a period in time categorized by a specific interest, mood, or aesthetic.

For example, someone might reference their early high school days as their ​“baby era,” to highlight just how young they were when they were 14. Others might use the phrase ​“girlboss era” to underscore that while in the past they were not the most organized or driven, now, they are quite focused and forceful. I used to describe tough periods of my life as my ​“flop eras,” in reference to the negative word ​“flop.” The words ​“baby,” ​“girlboss,” and ​“flop” are all distinct micro aesthetics in themselves, all given credence by the word ​“era.”

All right, besties. House Appropriation is the money moves in Congress.

“besties”

This one is relatively easy. ​“Besties” is an abbreviated version of ​“best friends.”

“money moves”

Finding the origin of the phrase ​“money moves” is a little harder to explain but, in a literal sense, this term relates to the idea that someone is acting in a way that will bring them financial success — often in the context of a competition and at the expense of another player. More colloquially, people use the word to describe an action that brings any type of success. For example, a friend might say ​“I made money moves in the library today.” And after I give them a strange look, I’d intuit that they probably finished an essay or filled out a job application.

We are not chasing the bag. We are the bag.

“chasing the bag”

The ​“bag” has an entire range of definitions in 21st century slang. In this context, the ​“bag” is in reference to financial gain. If someone is ​“chasing the bag,” this means that they are attempting, almost desperately, to achieve monetary success. But more colloquially, the ​“bag” could just mean a successful state of being. Here, DeLauro’s staff says that they don’t need to chase any type of success, because they are already successful, in an attempt to portray a youthful swagger.

Democrats are making life smoother through government funding. It’s giving skibidi.

“giving skibidi”

“Skibidi” is in reference to the internet video series called ​“Skibidi Toilet,” popular with Generation Alpha. The series details singing toilets with human heads sticking out of the bowl in a war against humanoids with CCTV cameras, speakers, and televisions in place of their heads. ​“Skibidi” itself does not have a set definition. And for my dignity, I would like to clarify that this phrase is after my generation and unfamiliar to me as well.

Oftentimes, people use the African American Vernacular English (AAVE) phrase ​“giving…” to mean that something reminds someone of something else. For example, someone could say that this assignment is ​“giving” volunteering in a senior center. When DeLauro says ​“it’s giving skibidi,” I don’t really know what she’s saying.

Sooooo Sigma main character energy.

“sigma”

“Sigma” is in reference to the phrase ​“sigma male.” A ​“sigma male” is an ideal of a man that arose in the late 2010s and early 2020s. The sigma male is a lone wolf, dedicated to ​“self mastery” without letting distractions get in his way. On social media, there are two interpretations of the phrase. One is serious — describing men who are gym-obsessed and prideful of their restraint and focus. The other is ironic — making a mockery of this very expectation that men place on themselves.

“main character energy”

“Main character energy” refers to a lifestyle that someone might have or a series of events that might happen to someone that is interesting — so interesting, that one might expect to find such a series of events in a fictional story. Something a little larger than life, at the center of things. At the same time, this energy can be exuded in a brief moment. For example, a streetlight could fall on a man with a beautiful outfit on the street at midnight in a cool manner, and I, as the witness, could think: ​“Wow, that person has main character energy.”

But Republicans Project 2025 is mad sus.

“mad sus”

“Mad” means ​“very.” ​“Sus” means suspect or suspicious. The slang has been used for years, but was most recently popularized during the pandemic-era game Among Us, which featured many gamers calling out suspicious acting players ​“sus.” In a broader definition, the term has a general negative connotation. Here, DeLauro uses it to criticize Project 2025.

Eliminating the Department of Education? Negative aura points.

“negative aura points”

Aura points refers to a metric of ranking someone’s coolness factor, or someone’s ​“aura.” People can give or take away points from someone else dependent on their actions. If I dropped a cake for my friend’s birthday party in front of them and all our friends, someone might say that I lost ​“aura points.” If someone was about to fall into the train tracks but I grabbed them last second, someone might award me aura points.

Basically, the biggest fanum tax on the environment, on your education, and your rights.

“fanum tax”

I do not know this one. A quick Google says this: “‘Fanum tax’ is an internet slang term that refers to when a friend steals or asks for another friend’s food. It’s often used by Generation Alpha and has become a popular internet meme.”

Big L, posting it online buddy.

“Big L”

Big L means ​“Big Loss.” This is ironic, used in a satirical jabbing way.

Democrats understood the assignment, but go off.

“understood the assignment”

This phrase means that an action done by one is fitting of the situation, and is done exceptionally well. For example, if I went to a Renaissance themed party and I saw someone dressed as Marie Antoinette, I would think, ​“Wow, that person understood the assignment.”

“go off”

“Go off” is a broad phrase commonly used in AAVE that conveys a burst of emotion. The phrase can be used positively or negatively. If I did well on an exam and I was particularly joyful, my friend could tell me to ​“go off,” as an acknowledgement that I worked hard. If my boss at work angered me and I was at my friend’s apartment complaining, they could egg me on by saying ​“go off.” In a sarcastic sense, my friend and I could be disagreeing on a topic and, at a certain point in the argument, I could resign and sarcastically say ​“go off.” In DeLauro’s case, she is responding to potential criticisms of the Democratic party and is using the latter usage of ​“go off.”

See how I keep you informed? Very cutesy, very demure.

“Very cutesy, very demure”

“Demure” is the most recent slang-turned-mainstream trend from TikTok. Demure is in reference to a trend started by Jools Lebron, a TikTokker who used the word to describe lady-like, soft actions in stark contrast to un-lady-like and disruptive behaviors. The word blew up on social media and national news media outlets.

All of this transcribing and translating had me wondering, what is the function of an older politician trying to appeal to younger voters by using their slang? There’s the obvious: to create a viral video, sound bite, or trend to take over social media algorithms. But there is a general sense of exhaustion in seeing a trend like this – seeing a politician try to appeal to younger voters under the assumption that they could only be mobilized through seemingly incoherent or ironic language.

The frustrating reality is that a younger generation has been extremely clear in their demands from politicians, from gun control to the environment, and most recently, on college campuses, to investments in atrocities abroad. DeLauro’s video, in the end, looks trite.