As an aging millennial, it can be tough to keep up with current slang, despite spending roughly 70% of my waking hours on Twitter and TikTok. Even with my relative lack of literacy in this area, there are certain «hip» terms that make perfect sense to me and have unforgivingly entrenched themselves in my vocabulary. A prime example of this would be «The Ick.» While describing something as «icky» isn’t exactly a new concept, «The Ick» refers to something more specific: an instant kind of repulsion that generally has to do with prospective or current romantic partners. 

In an interview with StyleCaster, Dr. Christie Kederian explains that «The Ick is a physical semantic response to being repulsed or not feeling the sparks to someone you’re dating.» The psychologist, who specializes in relationships, goes on to say «You can feel it for the first time and it’s a psychological response, something along the lines of visceral disgust.»

Most of my «Ick» moments have been valid in nature. Off the top of my head, there was the date who tipped 5% on a hefty bill, who was promptly ghosted, and then the guy who wore aviation goggles atop a baseball cap to a fancy, five-course dinner. «The ick,» however, isn’t reserved for peoples’ worst social faux pas. «The Ick» cannot be controlled, and sometimes it stems from incredibly silly or petty moments that many people wouldn’t see as dealbreakers, and a recent thread from Twitter user @Flawless_Cowboi provides a wealth of proof of this. 

In a tweet from April 22nd, @Flawless_Cowboi asked their followers to share the «funniest ick» they’ve ever gotten, and boy, do the answers deliver. From unforgivable grammatical errors to cringey physical limitations, here’s a selection of the most entertaining responses. Perhaps we can learn from the myriad errors of the ick-inspirers of the Internet.