Gen Z
the ick
Meaning
- A sudden feeling of disgust toward someone you were previously attracted to.
- The specific small habit or moment that triggers that feeling.
“He ran to catch the bus and I got the ick, immediately.”
Where it came from
Ick as a general expression of disgust goes back decades, but the dating specific phrase reached TV audiences on a 1995 episode of Friends and a 1998 episode of Ally McBeal. Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood revived it in 2017, and TikTok turned it into a full meme format by 2020.