When talking and using brain rot, how much do you think the teachers pick up on? For common words such as lock-in or cook, it’s a no-brainer, but what about big back or Fanum tax? In celebration of brainrot being the 2024 word of the year, I’ve gone around asking the important questions that everyone wants to know. I asked Mrs. Brown, Mr. Jackson, Mrs. Gregory, Mrs. Williams, Señora Carmen, and freshman Sam Sutton to define key brainrot terms. After they answer, we will see if they passed the AP brainrot exam.
The first word they were asked to define was Brainrot.  Mrs. Brown described brainrot.
“It’s stupid videos that add no value but are entertaining.” And Mr. Jackson says, “It’s stuff that rots your brain.” Both of these answers are not far off if not correct. As the most Brain rotten, I would describe it as a term used to describe new slang that comes from TikTok. Brainrot started to be used in 2023 to define people who are on their phones way too much.
The next word they had to define was Fanum Tax.  Mrs Gregory and Señora Carmen said, “It was a hidden cost.” Mrs. Brown uses Fanum tax in her everyday vocabulary, “Don’t Fanum tax him.” Mr. Jackson said, “When you go steal because you are entitled to a percent,” Mr. Jackson said exactly what I would say to describe Fanum Tax. The word comes from Fanum, Part of a famous Streaming group with Duke Dennis and Kai Cenat called AMP. Every time one of the members would have food on stream, Fanum would come into their room and take their food.
The next brainrot is Ohio. Señora Carmen said, “It’s a town. No, it’s a state.” She then proceeded to say it was a town. She struggled with her answer for about three minutes before deciding it was a state. In her defense, she wasn’t born in America. Mrs. Gregory said, “It is a bleak and cold place.” She is not wrong, but this is not the answer I was looking for. Ohio is a nefarious state where deeds take place. This became popular in 2022 due to videos of weird things happening with the caption “Only in Ohio.”
The next word, the da big drop, is unknown to most people. Mrs. Williams said it was a “New Year ball drop.” Mrs. Gregory said it was “LeBron,” which is a close guess. Mr. Jackson, on the other hand, nailed it by saying, “Duke Dennis.” Duke Dennis is a member of the AMP house and a streamer. Da big drop comes from a man in 2022 who called Duke this. It started catching on when his chat began using it as his name. Duke is known for his immense aura.
Speaking of aura, everyone roughly said the same thing when told to describe it. Saying that it’s a type of vibe that a person gives off. But Sam Sutton, part of Gen Alpha, has the best definition. “Someone’s status and energy are what they give off.” which is perfectly accurate. Some people with aura are Darth Vader and Hercules from Greek mythology, Spiderman, giga chad, or even Mable from Gravity Falls. Aura started when soccer fans started talking about Virgil Van Dijk, a defender for the Netherlands. They said that he couldn’t make mistakes because of his aura. This later turned into “aura loss” with a “negative aura” and a “Level 1 aura” meme.
Mango is not one of the words that someone uses daily, but it is still a part of the word catalog. Everyone guessed a fruit or said they had no clue, which is fair. To understand the meaning of the word, you need to know the origin. A man was cooking a dish of mangos and got clipped up (recorded) LDRR! The artist then used his voice as a key piece of his phonk song Mangos, which was released in 2024. The song then blew up because people say it would be perfect to listen during a workout, which later turned into a massive meme. It blew up again when someone was told to “put down the mango” and said, “this is for my winter arc.”
Winter arc is another brainrot word that you might hear in the hallway. Most people failed to answer correctly, and some got close but not close enough. Señora Carmen said it was “when it was freezing,” and Mrs. Williams said, “It was a room with AC.” Mr. Jackson said “that it was locking in,” and Ms. Brown said, “It was a glow-up.” They both were pretty close.  Winter arc is used to describe the wintertime when you lock-in and start to bulk. It comes from the gym world and blew up recently this winter, probably because of Sam Sulek (he’s Yoked) and the population of gym videos online.
Good comms is one of my favorite brainrot words. It’s used very rarely, but it feels so good to use right. I only asked a couple of people what good comms is, and they both answered pretty spot on. Sam Sutton said that it’s “when you help someone out so they know what’s going on.” Mrs. Gregory had no clue, but when asked again for an answer, she said it was good vibes. When playing “Fortnite”, teammates would help you out by telling you what the hp of the opponent is or where he is. It became a meme of your teammate saying that there was one shot but being almost full HP. People would say good comms (good communication) to tell their team that the call-out was good.
Big back is one of those words that fell off recently but had a crazy prime. Everyone got this right besides Señora Carmen. She said, “When you can support someone financially and care for your family.” Big Back originated from British slang and got more popular on TikTok and came to America.
Cooked is one of the most popular brain rot words, and most teachers know what it means. Every person I ask has either heard it or learned it by looking it up, except for Señora Carmen. Let him cook started with Woody from Toy Story and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. Woody held back Sora with the caption, “Let him cook.” It started on December 6th, 2022. Cooked can be used in a multitude of ways. I’m cooking (I’m succeeding), he’s cooked (he’s done for), or who let him cook (who let him try).
Him is my favorite brainrot word of all time. This word is used when you want to talk about someone who has an aura or is one of the greatest. Like my glorious king himself, LeBron Raymone James could be called him. Everybody got this right by either saying that guy or the goat, but Mrs. Gregory and Mr. Jackson are on a different level by using the G.O.A.T LeBonBon himself as a description. The phrase comes from the rapper Kevin Gates. Later, it was popularized by a famous YouTuber named Jidon, who was known for his prank videos and interactions with people. When registering for a competitive bowling match. A girl asked why he was competing, and Jidon told her he was him. And she pointed to the sky, telling Jidon that “you are not him.” The editor then decided to use her rant to make an edit.
If Cooked isn’t the most used brainrot word, then lock-in is the most used word. A lot of teachers use lock-in, including Mrs. Brown, Mr. Jackson, Mrs. Gregory, and Coach Butler. Everybody said that it was focused.