Have you seen someone whose style is so out of touch with the modern age that it could have come from the last century instead? You could use the term 'cheugy' to let people know what (or who) you are talking about. This post unpacks the origin and meaning of this popular neologism.
Meaning
The term 'cheugy' (chew-gee) is a neologism or newly coined term that can be used to describe someone (or something) that is uncool. The word is more specifically often used to refer to a person who is out of touch with current trends and still adhering to long-gone trends, habits, or fashion.
Someone who is a 'cheugy' or 'cheug' is someone who is trying too hard and obviously out of touch with most current trends. The term is normally used as an insult. The term 'cheugs' is the accepted plural form of the singular 'cheug'.
In the early 90s, a similar person would have been called a 'square'.
While rare, some people also self-identify themselves as 'cheugy'
Example Usage
“I sure don't want to be the design company who released the new Coco Chanel line of dresses. It's really out of fashion, and it looks like the whole damned thing was designed by a bunch of out-of-touch cheugs.”
“You can say what you want about the design of the new Doritos. Anything that's flavored with cheese should not be sold in a green bag. I think the whole thing is a little cheugy.”
“If you think that looks bad, then you should see what the rest of his apartment looks like. The whole place is so far out of the eighties that the whole thing seems cheugy to me.”
“High fashion isn't all that it's chalked up to be: they think they look so smart in their meat dresses, but Stella McCartney and half of her entourage would have thought that this is the most cheugy fashion event that's ever been hosted.”
Origin
The word 'cheugy' can trace its first origins back to the social network TikTok, where it was first used by user Gabby Rasson from Los Angeles in the year 2013. When Gaby Rasson wanted to find a word to call people who were uncool or out of touch with mainstream trends, she decided to make up one of her own words when nothing else fit.
Its creator is a software developer today, but invented the word when she was still a high school student and needed a term to call people who were 'uncool' in her own words to the New York Times.
The creator of 'cheugy' would take the invention of the word a step further, and listed the word as a nun-fungible token (NFT) for sale as a cryptocurrency in 2021.
Phrases Similar to Cheugy
- Square
- Basic
- Local
Phrases Opposite to Cheugy
- Confident
- Trendy
- Chic
What is the Correct Saying?
- Cheugy
- Cheug
- Cheugs
Ways People May Say Cheugy Incorrectly
The word 'cheugy' is meant to be used as a word that describes a thing or person, usually someone or something that is untrendy, uncool, or trying too hard to attach to modern trends and missing the point in the process.
'Cheug' can be used incorrectly if it is confused with similar sounding words that do not share the same meaning.
'Cheug' can also be used wrong as a verb, which it is not.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Cheugy
The term 'cheug' can be used in a conversation to refer to anyone (or anything) that is trying too hard to be cool, or to something (or someone) who is uncool to begin with.
Something can be 'cheugy' or someone can be a 'cheug'.
As a plural form of the term, things can also be called 'cheugs' when there are several.