Eda, dating used to just be dating. Now it comes with its own dictionary, updated every few months by whoever's most online that week. Chechi has gone through and pulled together the terms actually worth knowing, both the fresh 2026 crop and the older ones that never really left, so you don't have to go digging through fifteen different TikToks to understand what your friend means when she says she's been "monkey-barred."

Consider this your one-stop glossary. Bookmark it, edi.

This Year's New Arrivals

Wildflowering Letting a connection develop naturally, without forcing labels, timelines, or exclusivity talks early on. The opposite of "defining the relationship" on date three. Comes from the idea of a wildflower blooming wherever it happens to land, without anyone planning it. Good when both people actually agree they're doing this. Risky when it becomes an excuse to never have the conversation at all.

Puffer-Fishing Pushing someone away, going cold, or picking fights the moment a relationship starts feeling real or close. Named after the fish that inflates and grows spikes the second it senses danger. Often linked to avoidant attachment, where closeness gets misread by the nervous system as a threat rather than a good thing.

Nanoship A tiny, fleeting connection with no expectation of it becoming anything more. Could be a moment of eye contact with a stranger ("eyecontactship") or a sweet good-morning text exchange with someone you'll never actually date ("textuationship"). Harmless and even lovely in small doses. A problem if it becomes the only kind of connection you let yourself have.

Graveyard Dating Exactly what it sounds like: going on dates in cemeteries instead of cafés or bars. The reasoning people give is that graveyards are quiet, free, and strip away the performance of a typical date, leaving more room for real conversation. Controversial for obvious reasons, mainly respect for the people buried there and the families who visit them.

Solo-Maxxing Treating single life as the main event instead of a waiting room before the "real" relationship starts. Focused on career, financial independence, hobbies, and personal growth, with dating pushed to the back burner or off the table entirely. Can be genuinely healthy self-investment, or a very well-dressed way of avoiding vulnerability. The difference usually shows up in whether someone's actually building something, or just avoiding something.

Shrekking Intentionally choosing to date someone you're not that physically attracted to, hoping their kindness and emotional availability will matter more than the spark. Named, obviously, after Shrek. Can reflect real emotional maturity, prioritising substance over surface. Can also backfire badly if someone assumes being "less attractive" automatically means being treated better, which isn't how people work.

Monkey-Barring Staying with a current partner while quietly lining up the next one, so there's never a gap of being single. Named after swinging from one monkey bar to the next without ever touching the ground. Usually comes from a fear of being alone rather than genuine love for either person involved.

Floodlighting Oversharing deeply personal, often traumatic information very early in a relationship, before real trust has been built. Coined by Brené Brown. Comes from a real desire for connection, but tends to overwhelm the other person and can create a false sense of closeness that isn't actually earned yet.

Sunset Clause A mutually agreed check-in point, a few weeks or months in, to honestly decide whether a relationship is worth continuing or better left behind. Meant to stop people from drifting along indefinitely in something going nowhere. Useful as a check-in, less useful if treated as a rigid deadline that doesn't leave room for a relationship to actually grow.

The Classics That Never Really Left

Ghosting Someone you've been seeing simply disappears, no explanation, no closure, just silence. The original, and still the most common, dating cruelty.

Breadcrumbing Getting just enough attention, a text here, a like there, to keep you interested, without any real intention of building something. Named after leaving a trail of crumbs that never actually leads anywhere.

Benching Keeping someone as a backup option, enough attention to keep them around, not enough commitment to make them a priority. You're on the roster, just not in the starting lineup.

Situationship A relationship-shaped thing with none of the actual definitions. Emotional intimacy, maybe even exclusivity, but no agreed label and no clarity on where it's headed.

Orbiting Someone who ghosts you but keeps liking your posts and watching your stories, staying in your orbit without ever actually re-entering your life.

Zombieing When someone who ghosted you resurfaces out of nowhere, acting like nothing happened, as if they'd just been dead and came back to life.

Submarining Similar to zombieing, but usually implies they vanished for a longer stretch and reappear expecting things to pick up right where they left off, no acknowledgment of the disappearance required.

Cushioning Keeping a few backup romantic options warm on the side while in a relationship, as a cushion in case things don't work out.

Love Bombing Overwhelming someone early on with intense affection, gifts, and attention, moving unusually fast to create quick emotional dependency. Can feel flattering at first and controlling soon after.

Negging Backhanded compliments or subtle put-downs designed to lower someone's confidence just enough to make them seek your approval. A manipulation tactic dressed up as banter.

Kittenfishing A softer cousin of catfishing, exaggerating your profile just enough (heavily filtered photos, outdated pictures, inflated job titles) without going full fake identity.

Catfishing Creating an entirely fake identity, sometimes with stolen photos and a fabricated life, to lure someone into an online relationship.

Cuffing Season The autumn-to-winter window when people who normally prefer being single suddenly want a partner to see them through the cold months and holiday season.

DTR (Define The Relationship) The conversation where two people finally put a label on what they are to each other, exclusive, casual, or something in between.

Beige Flag A quirky, slightly odd habit that isn't a red flag or a green flag, just a strange little personality detail you notice and can't quite categorise. Think: someone who narrates what their pet is thinking.

The Ick A sudden, often irrational wave of being turned off by someone you were previously into, usually triggered by one small, specific moment.

Delulu Short for delusional, used affectionately to describe unrealistic romantic hope, like being convinced your situationship is one text away from becoming a relationship.

Rizz Charisma, specifically the kind that helps you successfully flirt with or attract someone. Having "rizz" means you're naturally good at this part.

How to Actually Use This List

Chechi's honest advice: these words are useful shorthand, nothing more. Naming a pattern can help you recognise it faster in yourself or in someone else, "I think I've been benching you" is a lot more useful than three weeks of vague confusion. But the naming is a starting point for a real conversation, not a replacement for one. Don't let the vocabulary become the whole relationship. Use it, then put it down and talk to the actual person in front of you.