Street voices
Janna
·
United States
"Cook, or to cook, is basically you working towards something pretty good. Whether that be like a job, or money, or, you know, a relationship. To cook is basically to work for it in like a positive manner. An example would be... Oh wait, is that Hudson Williams over there? Calm down, let me cook."
What it means
Cook means you're building toward something good and you want people to quit doubting you while it comes together. You can say I'm cooking when your idea, play, plan, or comeback is starting to hit. Let me cook is the classic way to say give me a minute, I've got a vision and it's about to make sense.
Usage examples
"Everybody was clowning Marcus for sketching business ideas at lunch, then he grinned, shut the laptop halfway, and said chill, let me cook for a sec."
"I know the fit looks mad right now, but let me cook till I add the jacket."
"They laughed when Priya started pitching the app, then ten minutes later everybody went quiet because she was cooking."
Where it comes from
This use grows out of older African American English, where cook already meant performing with real skill, energy, or flair. Online culture pushed it into overdrive through let him cook jokes, sports talk, and reaction memes, then it spilled into everyday chat for anybody clearly onto something and not to be interrupted.
Editors of this term
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