If you’ve been seeing “holy airball” (sometimes with an f-bomb thrown in the middle) all over TikTok, then you might feel a little lost. Is this new teen trend something dirty? Something confusing or complicated to explain like Gurt? It’s hard to keep up with the youths these days! Luckily for us, holy airball is a term that actually makes sense once it’s broken down.
What Is a Holy Airball?
One mom on TikTok @_bekahshopp20_ asked, “what tf does #holyfknairball mean? Like I feel extremely confused.” In the comments, people came through for her, explaining that an airball is a term used in basketball.
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“An airball is when you shoot a basketball but it doesn’t go in/ it isn’t close to the net at all,” one person explained. “So the trend is about someone shooting their shot and being rejected (not making the shot). I hope that makes sense lol”
Another person explained, “in TikTok just like in basketball it means a misinterpretation or like a completely different thing from what ur talking about (basically a miss ).”
Know Your Meme explained that the term derived from expressions of shock like “holy cow,” using it to mean a huge misunderstanding of something another person told them. So in the trend, teens are sharing stories of how they are talking about something, and someone else completely misinterprets what they meant. It’s usually joking or exaggerated stories, accompanied by Jeezy’s “Soul Survivor” on TikTok and usually accompanied by pictures or videos of the receipts to make it even funnier.
Holy Airball Examples
Like this TikToker, who wrote, “told her I love cheating.” Then, “She said, ‘me too I cheated on my ex.’”
Then he shared a picture of his phone with test answers on it, showing that he was talking about cheating at school and not in relationships, adding “#holyfknairball”
Another girl wrote, “Told him I was going on a run. He said, ‘oh I love girls who do cardio.’”
She added, “Holy air ball … I’m going on a run for Taco Bell,” with a picture of her holding a bag of tacos.
Even celebrities have gotten in on the trend, like Julianne Hough. The Dancing with the Stars pro wrote, “Told him I like to dance. He said ‘oh cute, as a kid?’”
“#HOLYAIRBALL” she added, with a video montage of her professionally dancing now.
Other Teen Slang
Teen slang is confusing for those of us born in the 1900s, so we’ve compiled a handy guide of all things we’ve heard Gen Z saying online and IRL. Check out the list HERE for more head-scratching terms and their meanings (… as best as we can figure out!).
Before you go, check out how these celebrity parents’ tales about teaching their teens how to drive.
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