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Dating Slang from 2017 You May Have Missed

Two young girls throwing confetti being happy.

With 2018 right around the corner, I’ve been thinking back on 2017 and some of the dating slang terms that once seemed weird and now are just part of our vocabulary. When I think about the dates I’ve gone on over the past year and the way I’ve met and interacted with people, dating slang has helped develop and define my experience. And maybe they’ve done the same for your too.

Here are the top dating slang terms of 2017 that may have played a role in your dating life. 

1. Breadcrumbing
This is probably the most common and most well-known of all the new dating slang. Breadcrumbing is just a click away from ghosting. But instead of stopping communication altogether, the breadcrumbs the person you’re dating doles out are tiny bits of dialogue, as if he or she is trying to maintain your interest via the most minimal effort possible.

Example:
OMG Sarah, he texted you all week, and all you’re doing is answering back with the word ok…. You’re totally breadcrumbing him.

2. Draking
Drake managed to capture our hearts by being one of the most sensitive men alive, especially in his music. Because of this “draking” is used to describe moments where we feel just as emotional as he does.

Example:
I’m so into this guy, I don’t know what to do. I start draking every time he says my name.

3. Stashing
Stashing is something you’ve probably experienced at least once in your dating life. It refers to the act of dating someone seriously, only to have them hide and “stash” you away from everyone they know.

Example:
David and I have been going out for two months, and he still won’t introduce me to his friends. I think he may be stashing me.

4. Slow Fade
The slow fade describes the act of disappearing from a former romantic interest’s life passively over a prolonged period.

Example:
You’re still talking to that dude? I thought you realized you didn’t like him.
Don’t worry, I’m doing the slow  fade—easing my way out.

5. Emotional Affair
You’re hardly renting a hotel room together—at least not yet—but when you’re in an emotional affair you’re going out to lunch every weekday and trading intimacies with someone. Or, maybe you haven’t met in person yet, but you chat online for hours at a time. When this person, and not your significant other, is the one you’re always thinking of and it’s their opinion that matters most, watch out because you may be wrapped up in the middle of an emotional affair.

Example:
I’ve been having lunch with Clarissa every day for the past two weeks. It’s starting to feel a bit like an emotional affair.

6. Backburner Relationship
A backburner is, “a person to whom one is not presently committed, and with whom one maintains some degree of communication, to keep or establish the possibility of future romantic and sexual involvement.” So basically, it’s someone you keep around just in case you feel lonely and need a little attention from someone later.

Example:
Ya, I’m still talking to James but he’s on the backburner while I figure out what’s going on with Eric.

7. Un-cuffing Season
Unlike cuffing season, where people get together to ward off the winter chill, un-cuffing season is the time of year when people end their relationships to play the field, typically in the spring and summer months.

Example:
Spring break is coming up, looks like it’s time to uncuff myself from Jen.

8. Mooning
Is someone texting you too much? That’s usually when people moon. No I’m not talking about pulling down your pants to show someone your backside. Mooning someone is putting your phone on Do Not Disturb when someone calls you, so named because of the little half-moon icon on the iPhone.

Example:
I can’t handle all of Jake’s texts right now, I’m going to moon him.

9. Monkeying
When it comes to dating, monkeying means bouncing from relationship to relationship, without having time for yourself in between. Monkeying can lead to repeating old patterns and developing bad habits when it comes to the type of people you go out with.

Example:

Erin, stop monkeying and give yourself a break from dating for once.

10. Catch and Release
This refers to the (ongoing) act of hooking up with people without becoming emotionally  attached to them.

Example:
We slept together Friday, but I don’t know if I’ll see him again. I’m more about the catch and release than dating right now.

11. Gatsbying
Much like Jay Gatsby from the famous Fitzgerald novel, Gatsbying is when you post on social media with the end goal of getting one person’s attention or multiple people’s attention. You’re hoping to catch that certain someone’s eye while making yourself seem important, popular, and impressive.

Example:

Kim, you’ve posted every second for the last 15 minutes.
I know, but I’m trying to Gatsby Tom.

12. Kittenfish
A kittenfish is someone who looks more attractive in their filtered profile pictures than they do in real life—so much so that you doubt they’re even the same person. It’s not as bad as a catfish, who just uses someone else’s photo, but it’s still deceptive.

Example:
Pauline is a kittenfish. Her Instagram makes her look like a different person.

13. R-bombing
When you read someone’s message and don’t respond to it, you’re r-bombing them.

Example:
Alex is totally r-bombing me. I can see he read my text two hours ago and he still hasn’t responded.

14. Situationship
This is a relationship that’s not quite a romantic relationship but is definitely more than a platonic friendship. You know what I’m talking about, those relationships you can’t quite define and don’t even feel comfortable calling a relationship… but they’re still something. That’s a situationship. 

Example:
I really don’t get your relationship with Justin.
I don’t get either, that’s why it’s a situationship.

15. Leads and Accounts
If you work in sales or marketing, you probably have a better idea what these next two terms are. To have leads or new accounts means you have new potential dates for the week. Leads are potential dates with people who seem promising, and accounts are people you’ve already scheduled a date with.

Example:
Any new leads this week?
I have one lead and four new accounts.

16. Drafting Season
This is the period that precedes cuffing season, where single people evaluate their pool of leads and accounts and find someone to settle down with for the coming fall and winter months.

Example:
What are you doing this week?
Um, it’s drafting season—I’ll be going on a date every night to try and figure out who to cuff.

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