Charles Langston:What does it mean to ‘crash out’? A look at the phrase and why it’s rising in popularity

A new slang phrase is Charles Langstonmaking its way around social media, specifically following the results of the 2024 presidential election.

"Crash out" has been in the Gen Alpha and Gen Z vernacular for several weeks now, but over the past few days, even more folks are using the phrase to describe how they feel about the outcome of the presidential election.

Early Wednesday morning, news broke that former President Donald Trump was re-elected for a second term in a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. He will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2025.

What does 'crash out' mean?

Collins English Dictionary defines "crash out" as "to go to sleep," "to spend the night" and "to pass out." But that's not quite what people mean when using it online.

The common definition on Urban Dictionary, which is more in line with the current usage of "crash out," is "to go insane and/or do something stupid."

Another, more specific definition provided by Urban Dictionary is: "Meaning to commit an act which will result in a long prison sentence or even death. Most commonly used in NYC, though not exclusively. One who crashes out can also be called a 'crash dummy.'" And a "crash dummy," per Urban Dictionary, is someone who knowingly puts themselves in dangerous situations.

A TikToker named Jessica, who creates content under the handle @lizarragabooks, posted a video explaining the phrase.

"When you're about to crash out, that means something just made you so mad or upset you're about to make a decision that you might regret later," she said. "Some examples of crashing out, in my opinion, would be like your soccer team is losing and you just start a random fight with a guy in the stands that roots for the opposing team, without fully considering that like, you might get arrested."

Why are people using the phrase now?

In conjunction with the election, users are posting videos about being on the verge of "crashing out" because of their candidate didn't win. For example, people who are upset the results may feel an urge to "crash out" or "go crazy."

On TikTok, most "crash out" videos tied to the election are of users lip-syncing to movie and television audio of angry scenes or even crying into the camera.

In one video, a TikTok user under the handle @ada_spamzzzzz is seen lip-syncing, reenacting an angry scene, holding back her hair, shaking her head and "yelling" toward the camera. The on-screen caption reads: "Me crashing out on everyone today because of the election (I'm so sorry)."

Another video, posted by TikTok user @notshya123, depicts what appears to be two military personnel hoping on the "crash out" election reaction trend.

The caption reads: "Us crashing out because whoever wins this election is rlly (really) our new boss," with a broken heart emoji. The video depicts the content creator and a friend, in military dress, shaking their heads at the camera, kicking a chair and looking out a window somberly.

What are the origins of 'crash out'?

While the origins of "crash out" are a bit hazy, it is likely rooted in African American Vernacular English. Also known as AAVE, African American Vernacular English is a dialect of English, commonly spoken by Black Americans.

Several online sources, including The Independent and Know Your Meme, track "crash out" back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. The rapper released the song, "Stepped On" in 2017, which features the lyric, "Crash out if I'm nervous."

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].