Valentine's Day: Keep Up With Relationship Slang. Here Are 10 Terms You Might Not Know

Relationships have come a long way and how. From scented love letters dropped into post boxes to left swiping on Tinder, it's been eventful to the extent that it's tough to keep up. Especially if you aren't 18 anymore. Couples are tossing around a bunch of new slang words most of which, we know nothing of. So what better day than Valentine's Day to up your slang game by learning what they actually mean and get up to speed with the cool kids?

1. Tuning

Like tuning into a radio station, it is the act of keeping in touch with a person you're interested in on social media while still keeping it mellow. Think flirting, but without coming on too strong. Tuning can include liking several posts at a go, sending cat videos and being tagged in memes daily.

Usage: "I'm trying to find out if he's interested by tuning into him this week. Hopefully I'll know soon."

2. Jelly

Just a shortened form of the word jealous and is used exactly in the same way you would use the full word.

Usage: "Can you believe he proposed to her in Paris during Christmas? I'm so jelly"

3. Sliding Into DM

So you'll are casually chatting on a friend's post about the new episode of How To Get Away With Murder and both of you can sense it's going somewhere. To pursue it, you proceed by "sliding into DM" or sending a personal message to continue the conversation, away from prying digital eyes.

Usage: "I was waiting to finally have a conversation with him so I'm glad he slid into my DMs"

4. Cuffing Season

The time period between November and February when people get into relationships to avoid being alone during Christmas, New Year and Valentine's Day.

Usage: "All I see is couples, a sure sign that it's cuffing season"

5. Ghosting

A term which came into being post Charlize Theron and Sean Penn's breakup, ghosting is when you are broken up with by your significant other so comprehensively that they disappear from your life, without any prior notice.

Usage: "He tried texting and calling but I couldn't go through with it, I had to ghost him"

6. DTR

It stands for 'define the relationship' and signifies when you finally put a label on your pairing and decide what stage you are at romantically.

Usage: "Even after meeting my parents for lunch, he still didn't want to DTR."

7. Benching

This is when you're seeing someone whom you like but you aren't sure you see yourself with in the future. So, much like a substitute player on a sports team, you keep them on the bench of your relationship while exploring other options.

Usage: "I thought he was into me. Turns out, he had benched me for Cindy."

8. Thirst Trap

Posting a sexy picture on social media solely for the purpose of attracting attention from a particular person. Or in other words, setting a thirst trap.

Usage: "That picture of hers last night was obviously a thirst trap, as if we wouldn't notice"

9. 143

A rather complicated way of saying 'I love you' as each digit signifies the number of letters in each word.

Usage: "Aww, 143 you too!"

10. Bread crumbing

Showing signs of attraction like sending personal messages and setting dates but never really making good on them. Think of it as stringing along someone you may be interested in dating later on but aren't sure you want a commitment with right away.

Usage: "It's always 'let's meet' from him but he never sets a date or time - it's definite breadcrumbing.