Street voices
Janna
·
United States
Just recorded
"I can't, or I can't even, usually just said, you know, the phrase by itself. It basically means, I don't know, when there's something really funny, or shocking, or just overwhelming, you just say, I can't, or I can't even. An example would be, oh my god, there's no way the entire class, a whole hundred people, failed this exam. I can't even."
What it means
You throw this out when something is so funny, shocking, cringe, or emotionally too much that your brain just taps out and refuses to finish the sentence. It is dramatic on purpose, and that is the whole charm. Sometimes it is laughter, sometimes disbelief, sometimes secondhand embarrassment hitting you like a flying flip flop.
Usage examples
"A hundred people failed the same exam and the professor still said it was manageable, nah, I can't even, that class was cursed from jump."
Where it comes from
Short for lines like I can't even deal or I literally can't even, where the sentence trails off on purpose. That unfinished bit became the joke online, because acting too overwhelmed to complete your thought somehow says more than a full explanation ever could.
Editors of this term
Your vote counts
Is this real street talk or have we lost the plot? Cast your vote.