What is a glizzy? Breaking down the mysterious term taking over TikTok
The Oxford Word of the Year for 2023 was ‘rizz’—a shortened version of ‘charisma’ and a piece of Gen Z slang that dominated the internet for a solid 12 months. As we step into 2024, there’s speculation over whether or not ‘glizzy’ could be this year’s chosen word. If you’re not familiar with the term, I don’t blame you, it is insanely random. Glizzy first popped up in the mid-2000s, having originated in Washington DC. Now it is most commonly known as another name for a particularly popular type of sausage.
What is a glizzy?
Long story short, a glizzy is a hot dog. Although Urban Dictionary has had many submissions in its attempts to properly define the term glizzy, most of them are definitely NSFW (not safe for work). That being said, there are a few we can reference without scarring you for life. For example, one from 2020 simply reads: “Put the glizzy on the barbecue mate.”
It’s unclear how the phrase transitioned from local slang to internet vocab, however, it’s evident that it’s caught on and is likely going to hang around for a hot minute. Especially now that it’s been adopted by a number of popular influencers such as @beautyofthefoodie on TikTok.
@beautyofthefoodie GLIZZY era <3
♬ original sound - Coty
One of the most entertaining ways glizzy is being used online is when it’s in reference to someone eating a hot dog in a funny or bizarre way:
@houseofhighlights His reaction 😭 (@MLB) #glizzy #baseballfans #stadiumfood #foryou
♬ original sound - House of Highlights
@mlb Happy 4th everyone 🇺🇸🎥: NewYorkNico/IG #sports #fourthofjuly #glizzy
♬ American National Anthem Chiptune Loop Version(1348281) - STUDIO incho3
Glizzy also crops up quite a lot in funny sports content, likely attributed to the amount of hot dogs that get consumed at baseball, basketball, and even football games.
I should also make note of @jason.reborn, a TikToker who first made a name for himself for dressing up like a hot dog and filming himself with squeaky inflatable glizzys. It’s actually beyond difficult to try and explain exactly what this man is doing in these videos, you simply have to see it to believe it:
@theredhaireddevil #glizzy#glizzyguy #glizzygobler #npclivestream #npc#funny #nofilters
♬ original sound - 🍻Red Haired Devil-Nick S-Y👑
@imjunker Go back in time and show this to the people who created the internet. #glizzbot #glizzyoverdrive #npcreations #ailive #fyp
♬ original sound - ImJunker
His presence in the NPC universe put aside, the now-iconic content creator often referred to as ‘the glizzbot’ has cultivated quite a significant following on the platform. It should also be noted that there is a strange element of sexualisation in this particular user’s content. However, not all of the videos associated with the term are ‘phallic-esque’. Thank god.
One Reddit post is even dedicated solely to attempting to analyse Jason’s content. One user hypothesised: “He knows it’s not gonna last for a long time and just capitalising on the NPC wave until it’s no longer profitable. He seems like he’s laughing all the way to the bank & genuinely having fun & being creative while doing it. He said he makes between $4000 to $5000 a day for only going live for 1-3 hours when H3 interviewed him and was in a very bad place financially and mentally before his popularity, so I’m super happy for him.”
While glizzy is most commonly used in relation to hot dogs, there have also been instances of the term being used to describe guns, specifically a Glock.
Rapper Big Pun iconically used the term glizzy in his 2000 track ‘It’s So Hard’. In the song, Pun states: “You can catch me in the cherry red 150. Got the Glizzy locked in the stizzy. Pop the clizzy, goin’ 60 down the one-wizzy.” According to Genius—everyone’s favourite lyric analysis tool—Pun is referring to keeping a Glock in his car’s stash box. The more you know.
The first time I personally heard the term glizzy was during an episode of Frenemies—a now-axed vodcast hosted by YouTubers Ethan Klein and Trisha Paytas. During episode 24, Klein repeatedly referred to the hot dogs on camera as “glizzys.” Klein even debuted one of his new favourite inventions, a “glizzy gripper,” that allowed him to eat the hot dogs discreetly:
