SF Tech Jargon phrases and words in English

The words founders, VCs, and engineers use in SoMa cafés and on Sand Hill Road — half Paul Graham koans, half post-ChatGPT Twitter memes. Drop one in a group chat and instantly sound either deeply technical or deeply unwell.

29 phrases · meanings & example sentences

“Cracked”

A top-tier compliment meaning someone is freakishly, almost superhumanly good at something — operating on a level above everyone else. Crossed over from gaming into wider slang around 2023, and now gets thrown at anyone outclassing the room.

He's 22, dropped out of MIT, sold his second company for $80M. Dude's just cracked
She memorised the whole setlist after one listen, then played it back on piano. Cracked
Down 0-2, came back to win the third set with three aces. Absolutely cracked

“Eating glass”

Willingly taking on something brutal, painful, or exhausting — enduring it anyway because the goal is worth it. Used for any punishing long-haul effort someone chooses to push through, knowing full well how hard it is.

She's bootstrapping a hardware company with no co-founder and one engineer. Pure eating glass
Six months into the PhD, two of his three experiments just failed. He's eating glass
First year as a single dad, no sleep, three jobs, still smiling. Bro's eating glass

“Locked in”

In a deep, distraction-free focus state — head down and grinding toward a goal. Borrowed from gaming and rap, now everywhere. Used for anyone who's gone quiet because they're fully committed to shipping, training, or studying.

Off socials, off the apps, no replies. Boy's locked in until launch
Three hours of piano a day, no parties, marathon training on weekends. Fully locked in
Two weeks till finals, she's at the library 7am to midnight. Locked in

“Cooked”

Doomed, finished, beyond saving — said about a situation or a person with no way out of the mess they're in. Crossed over from gaming and trading floors around 2023. The verdict for anything unsalvageable.

He pushed broken code on a Friday at 6pm with no backup. We're cooked
Texted his ex by mistake during dinner with his girlfriend. Cooked
Down three goals at half-time, lost two starters to injury. We're cooked

“Banger”

Something excellent — a song, a meal, an essay, a tweet — delivered as an understated maximum compliment. Originally from music for a great track, now slapped on anything genuinely good.

That new AI feature they shipped? Genuine banger
That carbonara recipe with no cream? Absolute banger
The opening track of the new album is a complete banger

“Boil the ocean”

To take on something so huge and unfocused that you burn all your energy and finish nothing. A warning against trying to do everything at once instead of picking one achievable goal.

He wants to build the app, the chip, and the whole platform at once. Bro, you can't boil the ocean
Her thesis tries to cover three centuries and four continents. She's boiling the ocean
Twelve resolutions across every part of life by January 15. Don't boil the ocean

“Talking my book”

Giving an opinion that conveniently benefits your own interests, position, or wallet. Borrowed from Wall Street, where traders 'talk their book' to push up assets they own. Often said as a disclaimer before a self-serving take.

Obviously I think everyone should learn to code — talking my book, I teach it
The realtor swears now's the perfect time to buy. He's talking his book
The vegan chef says meat alternatives are the future of food. Talking her book

“Backchannel”

To quietly check up on someone through informal, off-the-record contacts — asking people who know them what they're really like. Used for any discreet vetting done behind the scenes before making a decision.

Before they offered him the job they backchannelled half his old team
My sister wants to date my friend, so I backchannelled his two exes
Before booking the contractor I backchannelled three neighbours he'd worked for

“Skill issue”

A blunt way of saying the problem isn't the tool or the situation — it's you and your lack of ability. Born in gaming lobbies, now a catch-all dismissal for anyone blaming everything but themselves.

He says the new software is 'too hard'. Skill issue
She keeps blaming the racket for missing every backhand. Skill issue
Three failed dates, all the other person's fault apparently. Skill issue

“Ship it”

Stop polishing and release it — get it out into the world and learn from the response instead of chasing perfection. From software, where 'shipping' means launching code; now used for any 'good enough, send it' moment.

It's 90% there and people are waiting. Ship it
The email's been sitting in drafts for three days. Just ship it
The painting's never going to feel finished. Ship it, hang it, move on

“Touch grass”

Telling someone who's too online and worked up to step away from the screen and reconnect with the real world. Half insult, half genuine advice for anyone whose brain has merged with their feed.

He's been arguing with strangers online for six hours. Bro, touch grass
She's read every forum thread on the engagement ring. Touch grass
Four hours arguing about stats in the gaming chat. Touch grass

“So back”

An exuberant way to celebrate a triumphant return — a person, trend, or thing that was down or gone and is now thriving louder than before. The hopeful flip side of 'we're so over'.

The new model just aced every benchmark. AI is so back
Vinyl sales just outsold CDs again. Records are so back
She joined the team after a year off and scored a hat-trick. She's so back

“First principles”

Breaking a problem down to its most fundamental truths and rebuilding from there, instead of following convention or copying what others do. Rooted in philosophy and science; used for any decision made from scratch rather than inherited habit.

He's redesigning the whole team structure from first principles, not copying anyone
Threw out every diet plan and asked what humans actually need to eat. First principles
Don't ask why the family always does Christmas this way — go from first principles

“YOLO”

You Only Live Once — a rallying cry for doing something bold, spontaneous, or risky without overthinking it. Used to justify a snap decision, an indulgent treat, or anything you'd normally talk yourself out of.

Booked the one-way flight to Lisbon at 3am. YOLO
Quit the job before lining up the next one. Just YOLO'd it
Cut my own bangs the night before the wedding. YOLO

“Bandwidth”

Someone's available time, energy, or mental capacity to take on more. Borrowed from networking — how much data a connection can carry — and now standard for whether a person can handle another task.

I'd love to help plan the trip but I've got zero bandwidth this week
Don't dump that on her today — she doesn't have the bandwidth right now
I finally have the bandwidth to start learning guitar again

“Circle back”

To return to a topic or person later, once there's more time or information. Office-speak that escaped into everyday use; handy for politely parking something instead of dealing with it now.

Let's circle back on the holiday plans once you've checked the dates
Good question — can we circle back to that after dinner?
I'll circle back with you next week once I've spoken to my landlord

“Low-hanging fruit”

The easiest wins — tasks or opportunities that take the least effort for the most immediate payoff. The smart move is to grab these first before tackling anything harder.

Before the big renovation, repaint the hallway — that's the low-hanging fruit
Cutting the daily takeaway coffee is the low-hanging fruit if you want to save
Reply to the easy emails first; that's your low-hanging fruit

“Move the needle”

To make a real, measurable difference — as opposed to a change too small to notice. Used for whatever actually shifts the outcome rather than just looking busy.

Posting once a month won't move the needle — you need to be consistent
Cutting sugar was the one change that actually moved the needle on my energy
A bake sale's nice but it won't move the needle on the school's budget

“Take it offline”

To move a side conversation out of the current group setting and discuss it privately later. From meeting culture, where 'offline' means away from the main discussion; useful for parking a tangent without derailing everyone.

Good point, but let's take it offline so we don't derail the whole table
You two can take the argument offline — the rest of us want to eat
Interesting tangent, let's take it offline after the call

“Drinking from the firehose”

Being flooded with far more information than you can possibly absorb at once. The image is trying to sip from a fire hose at full pressure. Used for any overwhelming first week, course, or crash-learning experience.

First week at the new job felt like drinking from the firehose
Day one of the cooking course was drinking from the firehose — eight techniques at once
Moving abroad with none of the language was drinking from the firehose

“10x”

A multiplier calling someone or something dramatically better than the norm — ten times the impact, not ten percent more. From startup talk of a '10x engineer'; now stuck onto anyone or anything that massively outperforms.

She closed more deals in a month than the rest of us did all year. Total 10x
That one tip made my cooking 10x better overnight
He's a 10x friend — shows up for everything and remembers everything

“Blocker”

The one thing stopping you from moving forward, that has to be cleared before anything else can happen. From engineering standups; now used for any obstacle holding up progress in work or life.

What's the blocker on the report? I thought it was nearly done
The only blocker on the trip is whether your passport arrives in time
My one blocker to the gym is that it's a 40-minute drive each way

“Net-net”

The bottom line once everything is weighed up — the final takeaway after the pros and cons cancel out. Borrowed from finance, where it's the figure left after all the deductions.

Net-net, the new place is smaller but the location is worth it
Long flight, jet lag, but an amazing week — net-net, worth it
Net-net, was the diet worth it? You lost the weight but hated every meal

“Tailwind”

A favourable condition pushing you forward with less effort, the way a tailwind speeds up a plane. The opposite is a 'headwind'. Used for any background luck, trend, or circumstance working in your favour.

Low interest rates were a huge tailwind for buying the flat
Good weather all week was a real tailwind for the festival
Starting the language as a kid gave her a massive tailwind

“Async”

Handling something in your own time rather than in real time — coordination that doesn't need everyone present at once. From 'asynchronous' in computing; now used for any low-pressure, reply-when-you-can arrangement.

No need for a meeting — let's just sort it async over text
The book club went async: everyone reads at their own pace and comments online
We planned the whole party async, just dropping notes in the group chat

“Pivot”

To make a sharp change in direction — dropping the current approach and committing to something different when it's not working. From startup culture but now used for any significant life, career, or strategy shift.

The startup was burning cash on subscriptions, so they pivoted to advertising
Six months into architecture school, she pivoted to interior design
His whole plan fell through so he pivoted and moved abroad instead

“Deep dive”

A thorough, detailed investigation of a topic — going well beyond the surface level. Used for any intensive research, analysis, or conversation that leaves no stone unturned.

I did a deep dive on sleep science and now I have strong opinions about mattresses
Before the interview she did a full deep dive on the company's history
We need to do a deep dive on why sales dropped last quarter

“North star”

The single most important goal or principle that guides every decision — the fixed point you navigate by when everything else gets noisy. Used for any guiding purpose in work, a project, or life.

Revenue is nice but user happiness is our north star
My north star for the year is finishing the book — everything else can wait
Whenever a decision gets messy, ask what the north star is

“Ping”

To send someone a quick, low-pressure message — a light tap rather than a formal email. From network signals that check if a server is alive; now means reaching out briefly to check in or share something small.

Ping me when you land and we'll sort out the plans
I'll ping the team in the chat so everyone's up to date
If you're ever free for coffee just ping me