How We Get Redpilled, Cucked and Triggered Online

Of all the unfortunate cultural incursions of the alt-right (Pepe the Frog, Breitbart News, the fashy haircut) the movement’s most enduring legacy may be its lexicon.

A cornucopia of passphrases borrowed from sources as varied as men’s rights message boards and pro-Trump YouTubers, the language of the alt-right has escaped its subcultural origins and lodged firmly in our national discourse. (To wit: The Daily News’ recent “cuck fight” headline, depicting a battle between President Donald Trump and Stephen K. Bannon, his former adviser.)

Want to understand today’s Washington? Pull up a chair — it’s time for an alt-right vocabulary lesson.

A reference to a scene in “The Matrix” that is now used to indicate a person who has achieved a state of right-wing enlightenment. Becoming “redpilled” could mean realizing that Jews control the media, or that feminists are the real oppressors.

A pejorative name for a member of a clique of elite journalists and public figures with verified social media profiles on Twitter, whose user names are accompanied by blue check marks. (An example: “These blue-checks are really losing it over Trump’s latest tweet.”)

A weak, emasculated liberal, or a right-wing politician who has abandoned conservative values. Short for “cuckservative,” a portmanteau of “cuckold” and “conservative.”

A term derived from 4chan’s notorious politics forum, /pol/, now used to designate someone who /pol/ suspects might share its neo-fascist values.

An effeminate or weak man. The term refers to pseudoscientific claims that soy products contain plant compounds that are similar to estrogen, making men who consume more soy products less masculine.

The state of being earnestly offended by an opposing view. On the right-wing internet, being triggered is an automatic admission of defeat.

A weak or overly sensitive liberal.

A term borrowed from social science, now used to refer to liberals who conspicuously express left-wing values, primarily for the purposes of impressing other liberals.

An attractive, successful alpha male. The alt-right hopes to draw in more Chads, a project it calls “Chad Nationalism.”