Far from being the purview of your grandparents’ generation, people on TikTok are now encouraging young white people to embrace “Caucasian American Vernacular English” rather than attempting to incorporate and subsequently butchering, African American Vernacular English into their vocabularies.

The latest example comes from @6asscat, who posted a video imploring white people to stop saying “gyat,” a shortened form of “goddamn,” particularly because so many people seem to be using it incorrectly (e.g., as a noun). Instead, he offers up some alternatives: “I say cowabunga, Krakatoa, tubular, you know, crack-a-lackin’, all that shit. Fucking hoodwinked! I say fucking hoodwinked! There are good caucasian words we can use without taking a big fat fuckin’ shit on other dialects, bro.”

@6asscat #gyat ♬ original sound - 6asscat, the 38 year old hero

@misstheodore #stitch with @igotazma ♬ original sound - Laura Theodore

A point well-taken, and it’s one that many others agree with. @sundaycrossword offered up some of his favorites in a stitched video: bamboozled, skedaddle, “what’s the damage” when looking at a bill, “newsflash buddy,” “that’s just the way the cookie crumbles” and “livin’ the dream” as a response to being asked how you are. Basically, we should all embrace talking like our dads, assuming our dads are from 1950s America.

@sundaycrossword #stitch with @crazydiamondfan6455 ♬ original sound - Ian

Other TikTok users have made similar points over the years. @Igotazma’s a fan of “take a hike, pal” while @grabbaranks has a lengthy list featuring some of the best examples of white people slang, including “look what the cat dragged in,” “I don’t give a rat’s ass” and “hold your horses.” (Sidenote: What’s with all of the animal references?)

As a Back to the Future fan, my personal contribution to the dictionary of white people slang is, “Why don’t you make like a tree, and leave.” Don’t get it wrong, or you’ll run the risk of pissing off your future self.