Gen Z and Gen Alpha Are Here to Tell Everyone What "Getting Cracked" Means on TikTok

Few things can make even the older Gen Z crowd feel, well, old. For many, it's keeping up with the latest TikTok slang, because kids on that app have a way of turning something so simple into a word or phrase that is so far removed from its original meaning it's hard to understand how we got there. That being said, one of the phrases, "getting cracked," is another with a meaning on TikTok that is totally different from what you might think.

Once upon a time, gamers might have used the phrase to describe a player who is "cracking" under pressure while playing. At least, according to a Reddit thread about what cracked means in relation to playing video games. These days, however, thanks to TikTok, there is a whole other meaning behind the phrase when it's used on the app. Spoiler alert: It has nothing to do with video games.

According to one mom on TikTok who is very much not part of the Gen Alpha or even the Gen Z crowd, getting cracked means, in her own words, in her TikTok video, "fornication." She explains in her video that she asked her teenage daughter what it means to confirm its meaning on TikTok, and it stems from people using a code phrase to say they slept with someone.

"It means getting jiggy with it," the mom says in her video. "Maybe I should just not be doing trends that are going around on the interwebs and leave that to the youngins, because obviously I don't know what the f--k anyone's talking about anymore."

That meaning behind getting cracked makes sense, given the context in which some other users tend to use the phrase in their videos to make funny content. In one video, a woman who is, presumably, a leasing agent, types on her computer at work while text on the screen says, "Got cracked last night, so er'body getting approved for an apartment."

In another TikTok video where the creator uses the slang phrase, she shares a video of her police officer husband. As he smiles, the text on the screen says, "He got cracked last night, everyone is getting off with a warning today." Honestly, it's not the worst way to say something without saying it on TikTok.

By now, most people understand what it means to get "cooked." According to Reddit, it typically means someone was beaten in a video game or they failed at something involving the game, though it sounds similar to getting cracked. For example, you might hear your 10-year-old tell their friend, "Bro, I got cooked in Fortnite."

So just in case you do hear something like that, try not to confuse it with, "Bro, I got cracked in Fortnite."