Cheugy Wednesday

There is a very real possibility that I was the first father in America to have ever been called Cheugy. 

Unfamiliar with that term? 

Want to know its origins? 

And how I earned that distinction? 

Well, I'm glad you asked. Here's a link to last week's NY Times article that explains this new (though for me it's really more than 10 years in the making) phenomena.

If you can't get past the paywall, I'll provide a more personal account. The word was coined by my daughter's childhood friend, Gaby. A whip smart girl of Persian descent who now works in software development. I mention her ethnicity for a funny anecdote, I'll explain later.

Growing up, Gaby and my daughter Abby were tied at the hip. So when my daughter heard the word Cheugy, she began using it. Overusing it, really. Everything we did, or bought, or ate, or read, or watched on TV was Cheugy. 

Teenage girls, at least mine, have a fondness for mocking their parents.

At the time, I had always assumed it was a widely used word of their generation. It is only now after years and years of alleged cheuginess, am I finding out the word was just a secret code between Gaby and Abby.

When my daughter went off to college in Boulder, she started spreading the word like some new variant of Covid. And because she's more than equipped in the ways of social media, it caught on. The girls in her sorority started using it. Their friends started using it. Soon, the trendy shopkeepers on Pearl Street started hearing it. And on and on it went.

Until last week when a Taylor Lorenz, a University of Colorado alumni, caught wind of it, via a Tik Tok video, authored by one of Abby's college friends. The rest is cheug history.

For a short while, cheugy trended on Twitter. Rolling Stone picked up the story. An editor from the Atlantic reached out. Buzzfeed covered the story. And last night, Trevor Noah chimed in on cheug life. And now the girls are trying to figure out what to do with their newfound fame.

As a veteran of internet semi-virality (#CaptainOuchieFoot) I'm trying to manage my daughter's expectations.

"This will all blow over in a couple of days, trust me."

"Oh Dad, stop being so Cheugy."

Time will tell.

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OK, now my favorite Abby and Gaby anecdote:

Years ago, my daughter and I got into a heated argument. We tend to get into many arguments. Mostly, as my wife contends, because we are so much alike. Upset over our inability to move past the acrimony and come to a peaceful resolution, Abby asked Gaby what she should do. 

With insightful cultural acuity, Gaby texted back...

"Whatever you do, don't apologize first. American dads are soft. Trust me. He'll give in. And beg for forgiveness. You'll see."

And of course, she was right. 

Doh!!!