:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46513194/GettyImages-476543296.0.jpg)
In an effort to stay connected with today's youth, Taco Bell executives are boning up on language with a "Millennial Word of the Week." A group of 20-something employees curates a list of words and phrases used by kids these days and distributes it throughout the company via email, reports the Associated Press.
Examples of youthful slang Taco Bell has recently studied include "lit," "throwing shade," and "dat [noun] doe." Forty-one-year-old CEO Brian Niccol, confirming his old-fogey status, told the AP that he has a hard time understanding Millennial language: "Some of these words you see, I don't even know how you could use that in a sentence." Niccol did not clarify whether these kids should get off his lawn.
Just because Niccol might not be totally up to date on the next generation's lingo, that doesn't mean he's clueless. He confirmed to Time that he knows all about young people and their late-night, alcohol-induced Taco Bell cravings.
"What we have found is the 20-something crowd enjoys a beer with their taco, and we also have a history of a late-night business where people have had their own alcohol to go with our food," he said.
Courting Millennials is nothing new for the fast food industry. In February, McDonald's launched a plan that would allow some customers to pay for their meals with selfies. More recently, Domino's began accepting orders from customers who tweeted pizza emojis at the company.
