Dating Glossary | Dating Trends

1. 143-ING
   Telling someone that you love him/her.
2. ADVODATING
   Bonding over shared moral causes.
3. BACKPEDALING
   Getting back with an ex after instigating a breakup.
4. BEER GOGGLE-ING
   Being so inebriated (aka drunk) that a person thinks that his or her crush at the bar is more good looking than he or she is in reality.
5. BENCHING
   Benching is when you keep someone "on the bench" or on the "sidelines" or the "back burner." You're not that into them, but you're not ready to completely cut all ties, either - they like you, and you want to keep them as an option. Unlike ghosting, it can be tricky to know when you're being benched. After all, if you're not in a committed relationship, you might not be able to tell if someone is "taking it slow" or "benching" you.
6. BIRD BOXING
   Blind to just how bad your partner (or the person you're seeing) is (from the movie "Bird Box").
7. BLUE-STALLING
   The act of one person actively dating while claiming to be unready for any sort of label or commitment. Like the (made up) problem of blue balls, the other one is stuck at the starting line, having been given the go-ahead, only to question what was actually going on. It will also leave you feeling blue.
8. BOO THING-ING
   A "boo thing" (or "boo thang") refers to your love interest. You guys may already be in a relationship, or are casually hooking up. It falls in the grey area between a one-night stand and a full-fledged commitment.
9. BOOMERANGING
   When a someone you don't remember matching with replies to a message you sent months ago, as if no time had passed at all. They probably started dating someone and it didn't work out, so they've boomeranged right back to where they left off.
10. BREADCRUMBING
    Breadcrumbing is to leaving a trail of flirtatious messages that lead to nothing. A breadcrumber will send countless messages, whetting their match's appetite and creating a hunger for more, but they'll never meet you in person.
11. BUZZ-ERFLYING
    A feeling you get thinking it's that special someone you've been waiting to hear from, after your phone buzzes (you get buzz-erflies).
12. CATCHING & RELEASING
    Catch and Release is a common tactic used while chasing someone. If that someone is reeled in, this commitment-phobe suddenly gets bored and, without any hesitation, will throw that "love object" away, and hunt down someone new.
13. CATFISHING
    A catfish (and not the swimming kind) is a person who pretends to be someone they're not, and often uses social media to create a false identity in an effort to mislead. Catfishing, therefore, is typically when a person uses this fake identity to build a relationship with another person online.
14. CAUSE-PLAYING
    When a casual relationship fizzles out, only to have one person later circle back with a favor to ask (usually about supporting a good cause).
15. CLOAKING
    It refers to being stood up and also be blocked on any and all apps you might have been communicating on.
16. CLOUTLIGHTING
    It combines the word "clout" (to be famous or have influence) with "gaslighting" (manipulation and abuse that leads victims to question their own beliefs, feelings and reality): people abuse other people for clout online (a guy steals his gf's food and, despite she cries, mocks her on video that is then uploaded online for his followers' entertainment).
17. COLLABOR-DATING
    Bonding over creative projects or co-created content (like making TikTok videos or Spotify playlists).
18. COLLECTING
    People swiping on dating apps purely for the instant dopamine-hit of getting a match (yet rarely - if at all - converting these matches to conversations) are collectors.
19. COOKIE-JARRING
    Keeping someone as a back-up in case it does not work out with your current partner.
20. CREWSING
    Finding a group or squad on a dating app.
21. CRYPTOMANCING
    They are male, and after about three introductory questions, will say: "I have been investing in a lot of bitcoin recently".
22. CUFFING
    During the fall and winter months people who would normally rather be single or promiscuous find themselves, along with the rest of the world, desiring to be "cuffed" or tied down by a serious relationship.
23. CUPCAKING
    Here's a cute term for being boring. So when couples stay in, instead of going out - they can feel better about themselves by proclaiming that they are just "cupcaking". More to staying in then, yaass!
24. CURVING
    The same thing as ghosting, except the person may communicate that they are rejecting your advances. They sometimes are so sneaky, someone probably won't even recognise it as rejection.
25. CUSHIONING
    A dating technique where along with your main piece you also have several "cushions", other people you'll chat and flirt with to cushion the potential blow of your main break-up and not leave you alone.
26. CUTE-A-GORY-ING
    Categorizing based solely on looks! This system lets you rate from 0 to 10, and then helps you decide whether they are out of your league or not! Suppose, you consider yourself a 7, you are not going to be interested in someone who is a 4!
27. DATING DOWN
    When one is involved romantically with a person considered physically inferior to them on a scale of general attractiveness, often leading others to question the motive of the more attractive party.
28. DEEP LIKING
    A proven method for showing a crush that someone likes them. Scrolling back in time on their feed and like something on the past, to subtly indicate there's an interest.
29. DEFLEXTING
    Some people like to ignore questions asked via texts and intentionally change the subject by bringing up a different topic (and that feels kinda awkward).
30. DFMO-ING
    DFMO or Dance Floor Make-Out is the kind of thing you see people do in rom-coms! It is sloppy and has a lot of saliva involved.
31. DIAL-TONING
    Different from ghosting, dial-toning is ignoring someone before a relationship ever begins. It's the act of giving someone your phone number only to ignore them when they reach out.
32. DRACULA-ING
    When someone hits you with a "You up?" text only in the middle of the night.
33. DRAKING
    It is the act of wallowing in your sorrows caused by the opposite sex, and, very recently, sleeping with women who are in relationships with other men (from Drake, known for sleeping with other rappers' partners).
34. DREAMSCAPING
    Dreamscaping is building a surreal relationship that fools the other one into thinking it was not only something real but something fantastic.
35. DTF-ING
    Down-to-fucking, or willing to put out. A pervasive desire to do away with commitment, plunging straight between someone's legs.
36. DTR-ING
    DTR, or Define the Relationship. If we are terrified of commitment, and love ambiguity, we feel the need to label our romantic relationships. This concept reflects a more complex issue of how we try to forge a romantic bond while trying to evade the obligations of commitment.
37. ECLIPSING
    Adopting the interests or hobbies of someone you're dating and pretending you like them too.
38. ELSA-ING
    When someone "freezes you out" without explanation (named after the Frozen movie character).
39. EMAILSHIP
    People who are in a relationship without ever meeting, only exchanging emails.
40. EXAGGER-DATING
    It is sort of embellishing dates to let other people know they went way better than they actually did.
41. EXING
    Exing simply means being obsessed with or addicted to your ex and all the attendant drama.
42. FBO-ING
    FBO stands for Facebook Official. This of course involves changing your Facebook relationship status to mirror your newly confirmed relationship.
43. FIZZLING
    Slowly displaying a lack of interest in a potential love interest's messages in the hopes that they feel undesired, and subsequently end all further communication without the need for an actual face-to-face conversation.
44. FLAKING
    Pulling out of dates that someone agrees to go to.
45. FLATLINING
    When a conversation between prospective mates goes totally dead.
46. FLEABAGGING
    Dating people who are wrong for you.
47. FUCKBOY-ING
    It is a sleeping with women without any intention of having a relationship with them or perhaps even walking them to the door post-sex. Womanizing, in a callous way, typical of a loser.
48. GEO CUTE-A-GORY-ING
    Categorizing based on looks and geographic location! This system lets you rate your "love interest" (see CUTE-A-GORY-ING) and decide if geographically undesirable to you (different areas, cities, regions, countries, etc.).
49. GGG-ING
    GGG (good, giving, and game) is what sexual partners should strive to be for a healthy relationship
50. GHOSTING
    Ghosting is when you get dumped via vanishing act. No more calls, no more texts, no responses to attempts at communications. There are degrees of ghosting - it could happen after a few dates or after a full-fledged relationship. Ghosting often feels like a blindside - so much so that you might spend a few days panicked that something bad has happened to the person. That is, until they post a photo of themselves at a party on Instagram.
51. GLAMBOOZLED
    Getting fully done up for a date only to have them cancel or your plans fall through at the last minute.
52. GOBLING MODE DATING
     Going into every first date 100% yourself and unapologetically so
53. HAUNTING
    The ghost returning through social media interactions without being directly in touch with you, is haunting! Coined in a tweet by Alyson Shontell of Tech Insider, haunting happens when someone actively likes your posts on FB and Instagram, cares to view your stories on Snapchat, but gives you mixed signals all along.
54. INSTA-GATORING
    Implies initiating contact or first making a relationship official via social media by tagging, DM-ing, or posting a photo of two people.
55. INVESTIDATING
    Inspecting images, text, smileys, emojii and other profile details for conversation starters on dating apps.
56. IPHONY-ING
    The constant promising to text someone made by a nasty guy or girl (who never actually does that).
57. JEKYLLING
    When someone seems nice at first but turns nasty or weird.
58. JELLYING
    Telling someone he/she is getting too much jealous.
59. KANYE'D
    When your date spends the entire time talking about themselves.
60. KITTENFISHING
    A light version of CATFISHING (see above) - when you pretend to be a totally different person online - Kittenfishing can be as simple as using profile photos that are out-of-date or heavily edited; or, more severely, straight-up lying about your age, height, interests or accomplishments.
61. (GOING) IRL
    Going "In Real Life" is when you take the relationship from online/app to the real world.
62. LAYBYING
    A laybe is someone who's in a relationship, but not happy about it, so laybe-ing is the act of scoping potential hookups for later, maybe even flirting. A laybe isn't altogether available right at this moment but plans to be soon and s/he likes to have someone waiting in the wings because, generally, a laybe doesn't enjoy being single for even half a second.
63. (DOING THE) LEMMING
    A lemming is someone who is happily exclusively dating, but as soon as their friends come out of relationships, they follow blindly into singledom.
64. MARLEYING
    Refers to people who contact their ex over Christmas in the hopes of rekindling their romance for a fling - or more.
65. MEGADATING
    Juggling numerous potential partners at once in non-exclusive relationships.
66. (BEING A) MEME MISTRESS
    A 2017 way of online flirting, when all someone does is continuously tag you in/send you relevant memes.
67. MOONING
    When someone moons you, they turn off the notifications for your messages because they don't care about what you have to say right now (the term refers to the half moon icon that appears when you stick your phone on Do Not Disturb).
68. MOSTING
    When someone convinces you that you're "the one", and then ghosts (see GHOSTING) you.
69. NEGGING
    It is a weird pick-up tactic where someone approaches you and, instead of just being friendly, they give you a backhanded compliment. The idea is to bring your confidence down a bit, which is somehow meant to make you more interested in the person doing the negging.
70. NETFLIX & CHILLING
    Watching Netflix together or more as a euphemism for some form of sex.
71. NON-DATING
    It includes plenty of alcohol, intense eye contact, a subtle flirty vibe, and lots & lots of confusion! Is this person being friendly? Or just cordial? Or flirty? You need to spend on a few more rounds during Happy Hour to find out!
72. ORBITING
    When somebody is not quite a part of your life but makes sure to keep themselves relevant to you (for example, by popping up on your social media).
73. OSTRICHING
    Blocking someone who didn't reply within 24 hours so to avoid to deal with rejection.
74. PAPERCLIPPING
    Disappearing after a few dates only to follow up months later to see if you'll still respond to their superficial questions (from Clippy, the Microsoft help tool known for popping up whenever you didn't need him).
75. PASSIVE GHOSTING
    Suppose you got matched with someone on Tinder or Bumble. But when you message them, they act passive. You cannot get through to them, although the two of you have indicated your interest in one another by matching. The conclusion you draw from this frustrating experience is: They have been swiping just for fun, and are passive ghosting!
76. PEACOCKING
    This is the somewhat offline version of catfishing. Peacocking is when someone uses their external appearance, clothes, car and other "props" to make themselves look more attractive. Yes, we all dress up for a date, and put our best foot forward. But while most of us up our style by a notch or two, peacocks either show off, or beg, borrow, steal so they can look a certain way.
77. PIE HUNTING
    It is the act of deliberately seeking out singletons with a disastrous dating or relationship history. "Pied Pipers" are the "hunters".
78. ROACHING
    It occurs when a new partner hides the fact that they're dating around.
79. SCROOGING
    Avoiding to get too serious with a partner just before Christmas so that they don't have to buy them a present.
80. SHACK PACKING
    Packing a small overnight bag of the essentials, typically used for a one-night-stand and includes things like a toothbrush, condoms, and a hairbrush.
81. SHIPPING
    To "ship" a couple is to support or approve of their courtship.
82. SIGNIFICANT OTHER STALMATING
     Aka s. o. stalmating, it happens when none of the people involved in a relationship wants to have that "define-the-relationship conversation" which leads to no relationship progress whatsoever.
83. SITUATIONSHIP
    A relationship that has no label. More than FWB but less a stable dating.
84. SLAYING
    Daters who are slaying are not chatting with you for the conversation. They also don't fall in love. They have just one goal, and that's scoring, in the biblical sense. They consider themselves to be sexual hunters and the people they flirt with are their prey. Oh, and they want that roll in the hay with no strings attached.
85. SLIDING
    A form of social media flirting, sliding happens when someone you never knew existed starts sending personal messages to you on these platforms. They "slide into" your DMs. While seemingly inoffensive, sliding is a little abrupt. It happens before you throw any hints showing your interest, though the two of you may publicly be interacting on Twitter.
86. SLOW-DATING
    A blend of deeper conversations and more romance through digital and virtual dating
87. SLOW FADING
    Similar to ghosting, it's where someone you are chatting to or seeing gradually cuts you off, making less and less effort with being in touch.
88. SOFT GHOSTING
    When someone isn't replying to your messages - and probably going to disappear - but continue to send reactions (such as likes or emojis) to any comments you make on their posts or messages.
89. SOFTBOY-ING
    It is posing as a complicated person with emotions, but is ultimately being selfish.
90. SPEED-ROOMING
    Daters who rush into going to live together (especially after pandemic times).
91. STASHING
    It happens when someone doesnt introduce you to anyone, while you've let them meet everyone important in your life.
92. SUBMARINING
    It is the thing where someone you've been seeing disappears for an extended period but then randomly resurfaces with some version of a "Hey, what's up?" message. It's in the same family as ZOMBIE-ING (see below) but you don't get even a half-assed apology for them being MIA. They just pop back on the radar as if nothing odd has happened.
93. SWAYZING
    For (Patrick) Swayzing, see Ghosting
94. SWERVING
    Popularised by Kanye West's song Mercy, it essentially implies dodging someone you're not interested in. Now, we've all done this at some point, and honestly, sometimes it is the only way out (like when you're trying to shake off a weirdo at a bar), but it's best to avoid this whenever possible. Simply say "No", and of course, expect the same.
95. SWIPING LEFT
    Dismissing someone as a romantic opportunity in a nanosecond.
96. TALKING
    A casual way of saying that you two have started "seeing each other". This helps limit expectations as you are kind of saying, "Let's see". You are doing this so that neither of you end up wretched if the relationship does not work out.
97. TEXTLATIONSHIP
    People who are in a relationship without ever meeting, only exchanging emails.
98. (BEING A) THING
    Two people are "a thing" in the period before they are officially dating.
99. THIRST TRAPPING
    This term is most commonly used to describe a social media photo that's posted to intentionally create attention. For example, if a person was to caption an image "I love my new watch", but the photo is zoomed in on their half-naked body, that would be considered a "thirst trap".
100. THIRSTY-ING
     Act of showing a need for attention, to the point of desperation.
101. THOT-ING
     Acting like you are somebody's "that hoe over there".
102. THREE-DOT DISAPPEARING
     The act of of starting to type a message and then stopping. At that, the three dots in your conversation keep popping up and vanishing.
103. THUNBERGING
     Bonding over their passion for the environment climate change.
104. TINDER CREEPING
     Using dating sites as an opening to troll, objectify, harass, and/or berate targets; lashing out in an unsolicited and inappropriate manner. This term kind of proves that most people on these online dating sites are not in search of true love! They make you want to delete your account!
105. TINDERING
     More than having a profile on Tinder, it actually refers to being active on it.
106. TINDERSURFING
     The act of traveling while finding accommodation through Tinder.
107. TINDSTAGRAMMING
     A blindly persistent Tinder user sneaking into someone's Instagram DMs after being turned down on the dating app.
108. TOUR GUIDE SEEKING
     Landing in a new country and using apps to find a local to show them around whilst dating at the same time.
109. TUNING
     Online flirting that skirts the chances of being rejected. It can lead to a text or a booty call. This person will drop hints in the form of likes on Instagram or Facebook. Once there has been a back and forth confirming interest, a DM is sure to follow suit in the late hours of the night!
110. TYPE-CASTING
     Exclusively dating people based on Myers-Briggs Type or "Love Language" compatibility.
111. UMFRIENDING
     When a friend asks you "Who was sneaking out from your apartment last night?" and you answer "That's my, um, friend", you are surely talking about your fuck buddy, booty call or friend with benefits.
112. WHEELING
     Attempting to attract a potential sexual partner for one evening, usually in locations, such as a bar or party, that are typical set for affairs or flirts.
113. WHELMING
     When matches spontaneously lament about how overwhelmed they are by their other matches instead of flirting with you.
114. WHITE CLAWING
     The act of staying with someone who you find basic and boring only because you find them attractive.
115. WILDER-DATING
     Experiencing the great outdoors as a way to get to know their match.
116. WOKEFISHING
     Someone pretending to be interested in progressive/woke politics or topics just to lure other people in to get them to date them.
117. YELLOW CARDING
     When someone is called out on their poor dating behavior.
118. ZOMBIE-ING
     To be zombied is to have someone you care about disappear from your life altogether only to have them bring a relationship back from the dead with an out-of-the-blue text or interaction on social media. It doesn't have to be a text or social media contact; some people go full-blown - a phone call, an old-school letter, or showing up in person somewhere you know they'll be.