Global English Word Watch #1: delulu, rage bait, aura farming and eshay

A compact weekly record of terms that are moving through online speech, dictionaries, and regional English. The Urban Dictionary date is the oldest dated entry found on that term's page during this check. Urban Dictionary is user-submitted, so that date is evidence of an early recorded submission, not proof of coinage.

Definition: Internet slang for "delusional". It can also mean an audacious, playful confidence that an unlikely ambition will come true. 1

Oldest Urban Dictionary entry found: 19 June 2014, by eyeofink. The entry uses delulu for a fan who believes they can end up with a favourite idol or celebrity. 2

Background: Merriam-Webster traces the shortened form to early-2010s K-pop fandom discussions, where it could mock irrational stanning or shipping. From the early 2020s, it spread more broadly on social media; among young women on TikTok from 2023, it also picked up a positive, aspirational sense. That shift produced playful extensions such as "delulu is the solulu". 1

Example: "Applying for that job is delulu, but I am doing it anyway."

Definition: Slang for the effects of being perpetually online and consuming large amounts of low-value internet content. It can also describe an intense, obsessive preoccupation with a show, fandom, idea, or other topic. 3

Oldest Urban Dictionary entry found: 8 April 2011, by singingashleydawn. The entry describes brain rot as the consequence of spending too much time on random websites. 4

Background: Dictionary.com says the exact origin is unknown but places the term's early internet use around 2007, especially in fandom circles. It later travelled through Tumblr, Twitter, and TikTok. The term is common among Gen Z and Generation Alpha, often used with self-awareness to admit that an online interest or feed has taken over one's attention. It was Oxford's 2024 Word of the Year. 3 5

Example: "I lost an hour to cooking-video brain rot."

Definition: Online content deliberately designed to provoke anger or outrage, usually to increase traffic or engagement. 5

Oldest Urban Dictionary entry found: 3 June 2014, by Frank Jeans. The entry describes a social-media post designed to outrage people and generate interaction. 6

Background: Oxford University Press selected rage bait as its 2025 Word of the Year and reported that usage had increased threefold in the preceding 12 months. The term names a specific engagement tactic: provoking a negative reaction rather than simply trying to win a click. It is used by social-media audiences, creators, publishers, and people analysing algorithmic feeds. 5

Example: "That post is obvious rage bait; do not reward it with a reply."

Definition: The cultivation of a personal image, charisma, or vibe for online attention or social clout. 7

Oldest Urban Dictionary entry found: 20 September 2024, by Beans chungus. The entry defines it as doing random acts to gain aura, or perceived coolness and social status. 8

Background: The phrase became globally legible in 2025 through videos of 11-year-old Rayyan Arkan Dikha dancing on the prow of a Pacu Jalur racing boat in Indonesia. BBC News describes the dance as an example of aura farming and reports that related TikTok hashtags drew millions of views from late June. The phrase itself predates that viral moment in the Urban Dictionary record, so the evidence supports a spread story, not a claim that the boat dance coined it. 9

Example: "He walked into the room in sunglasses just to aura farm."

Definition: Australian slang for a young man who is part of a group associated with antisocial behaviour and identified by certain branded clothing. The Australian National Dictionary Centre presents this as a working definition, not a description of every person who uses the label. 10

Oldest Urban Dictionary entry found: 23 July 2011, by Eshaysbra. The entry uses eshay for an Australian lad and links the label to streetwear, group identity, and antisocial stereotypes. 11

Background: The Australian National Dictionary Centre found the first evidence for eshay lad in 2002. It connects the word with metropolitan youth culture and notes its frequent use in pig Latin forms such as eshay adlay. Possible origins include pig Latin for "yes" or for sesh, short for a session. The 2022 series Heartbreak High introduced the word to a wider international audience. 10

Example: "The article explains the style without assuming every teenager in sportswear is an eshay."

Definitions and background above come from the linked dictionary and reporting sources. Urban Dictionary entries are included as dated usage records and should be read as community submissions, not editorial dictionary authority.