OK, so: At the height of the choker trend hype/lunacy in December 2016, 16-year-old Cole Smith-Walter tweeted this joke in response. He included pictures of belts but instead referred to them as "waist chokers."
I want a waist choker so bad omg 😍
For some reason, this week — four months later — Smith-Walter's tweet resurfaced. And went viral again. But this time a lot of people were confused and even flat-out pissed.
Don't u mean.... a belt https://t.co/p4Wk2KG9kG
"I swear the next generation gets dumber by the day."
I swear the next generation gets dumber by the day. https://t.co/xRUMbnJdnS
Really bruss? A waist choker? Yall a whole new breed of stupid. Its called a fuckin belt n u needa get whooped with… https://t.co/d13ltO8Jcp
The response from user @DeeCarr_ on Wednesday has been retweeted over 23,000 times, and it officially put the original tweet back in front of everyone's attention.
a belt... i hate y'all https://t.co/9j9wnVPR2A
And it started a bit of a panic among more ~adult~ circles.
Is that what kids are calling a belt these days? https://t.co/w81H2noxRD
?!!?!?!?!?!? It's a freaking belt https://t.co/sb3wQzMv9y
Its a... nevermind im deleting my account https://t.co/g6NzVyL9GT
Some people thought maybe kids were trying to rebrand the term. "Back in my day, we called 'em 'belts.'"
Back in my day, we called em "belts" https://t.co/ND0tLarwMZ
"I can't believe I'm alive to witness someone calling a belt a waist choker."
I can't not believe I'm alive to witness someone calling a belt a waist choker https://t.co/cJyXOp0WKO
But Cole Smith-Walter wants to assure these concerned and offended folks that he was merely "trolling" — and not at them. "I was making fun of stores like Urban Outfitters that try and call everything a trendy name," he explained to BuzzFeed News. "Nobody seemed to get the joke."
oh so a belt is a waist choker now ?
His tweet has now not only fueled more snarky responses...
Contrary to popular belief, this "waist choker" is actually a belt. An amazing invention that has been used by peop… https://t.co/4ZhcfTicBC
...and more trolling...
It's inspired some, who got the joke, to use the term ubiquitously.
my waist choker broke :((((((((((
I forgot to wear my waist choker today :/
One of them, 19-year-old William Jongeward, told BuzzFeed News he finds this generational confusion and outrage hilarious. "I remember old people getting mad at people saying 'omg,'" he said. "It was the same thing."
Vro... this waist choker is a MUST cop 😩🙌🏽😈💯
"And not to get too deep but I love slang and seeing how people play with language," Jongeward added. "It's fun to keep up with, and people who actually get frustrated over it are mad boring and need to be left in 2016."
He believes the anger is a product of "people [being] frustrated that they didn't think of something first."
A.... waist... choker..... what a name. Wow. Glad someone finally came up with a name for a belt. Oh wait. https://t.co/ZVc33HfZub
Although Jongeward admits that when he hears or sees other kids use the term, he's not entirely sure they're using it ironically.
Just saw an indie kid call a Belt a Waist Choker....it's a belt....
"It started off as trolling but sometimes I can't tell if people understand if we're being serious or not when they use it," he said.
"I can't believe I went so far with this story," I, Tanya Chen, responded.