This is the one piece of Gen Z slang that millennials are getting wrong

Language is always adapting, and the generational divide on the meaning of different words is the perfect example of this - and the expression up for debate currently is "out of pocket".

While Gen Z uses the term "out of pocket" to describe something unexpected, unhinged or chaotic, older generations use the phrase inside the workplace.

Basically, some people use "out of pocket" to share to colleagues when they are going to be away from their desk for something such as a phone call, a meeting or lunch - being unreachable in some kind of way.

Of course, in the UK the idiom "out of pocket" is often used to refer to someone having lost money in a transaction - but it's people's use of the phrase in the workplace over in the US which has caught people's attention online.

Now, a video on these meanings has gone viral on TikTok where @notahand pointed out that when he noticed the difference his boss used it for the alternative meaning.

“My boss, every time she’s gonna be out of the office for a portion of the day…she’ll say, ‘So, I’m gonna be out of pocket today from 1 to 2,’" he said.

“It just cracks me up every time ’cause it’s like, ‘What you gonna get up to girl?’"

Since sharing this, the video has received 2.3m views and has prompted Gen Z to comment on a similar experience they had with an older colleague at work.

One person said: "THEY ALL THINK OUT OF POCKET MEANS OUT OF OFFICE AND IVE TRIED SO HARD TO STOP IT BUT THEY WONT LISTEN."

"I love that for her, she deserves out-of-pocket time," another person wrote.

Someone else added: "MY BOSS DOES THIS TOO OH MY GOD I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST HER."

"I'm officially changing my out-of-office messages to 'out of pocket' lmfao," a fourth person commented.

Though this video has sparked a debate in the comments between the generations as millennials and gen X noted that "out of pocket" as a term has been around for ages, and Gen Z have coined a new meaning for it.

"Y’all. Out of pocket means out of reach or absent. It has been used forever," one person wrote.

Another person said: "A client casually said my manager was out of pocket that day and I almost asked 'omg what did he do this time.' He had a dentist appointment."

"I’m 43 and have only ever known that phrase to mean 'unavailable'. Have no clue what new meaning the younger gen has given it," a third person replied.

A fourth person responded: "[I'm] 39 and I have never heard that used for other than, not available. I feel so very old rn!"

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