"Caspering" in dating is a kinder, gentler way to end things than ghosting, named after Casper the Friendly Ghost; it involves giving a polite, brief, and honest explanation (e.g., "I don't feel a spark") before slowly fading communication or ending contact, providing closure instead of abrupt silence, though some argue it's just a nice breakup or even a confusing form of slow ghosting.
The general consensus on how to Casper someone is saying something nice before blaming your lack of compatibility. For example: “You're great, but in all honesty I don't think the spark is there. It's been great getting to know you though.”
Pocketing is a relatively new dating term where your partner keeps you hidden from their family and friends instead of showing you off. It can feel as if your partner is ashamed instead of proud to be dating you, and it's analogous to keeping you in their back pocket. This video shares signs you are being pocketed.
Could be romantic or a friend. Ghosting: Cutting off all communication without explanation. Submarining: When someone ghosts, then suddenly returns and acts like nothing happened. Caspering: Rather than simply ignore your texts, the Casper will respond to your text 12 hours later with a vague but friendly reply.
But it does provide some rough guidelines as to how soon may be too soon to make long-term commitments and how long may be too long to stick with a relationship. Each of the three numbers—three, six, and nine—stands for the month that a different common stage of a relationship tends to end.
The 777 dating rule is a relationship strategy for intentional connection, suggesting couples schedule a date every 7 days, an overnight getaway every 7 weeks, and a longer vacation every 7 months to keep the spark alive, build memories, and prevent disconnection from daily life. It's about consistent, quality time, not necessarily grand gestures, and focuses on undivided attention to strengthen intimacy and partnership over time.
Relationships ebb and flow. Plus, if you and your S.O. survived the dreaded two-year mark (i.e. the most common time period when couples break up), then you're destined to be together forever…
“Cookie jarring” refers to the act of dating multiple people at once, not for the purpose of genuine connection, but as a backup in case the primary relationship goes awry. This behavior can leave others feeling taken advantage of and emotionally unstable.
If you usually talk every hour, 3 days is a lot. In many cases it's not much. If there have been multiple attempts to make contact it's more likely to be ghosting, too.
Breadcrumbers purposely ignore messages, sending only sporadic and unpredictable “crumbs” of attention. They primarily do this because it validates them and gives them a confidence boost1. Benchers don't necessarily get your hopes up on purpose, and they might maintain a fairly regular line of communication.
There's a lot of dating terms, some of them so trendy so it's tough to keep up on what the terms mean. The newest is called FRECKLING…. In a nutshell, it's used to describe a summer fling. Sort of how Freckles show up in the summer and last through the sun…. same with the relationship.
Soft cheating (or micro-cheating) involves subtle, often digital, behaviors that cross relationship boundaries and breach trust without being full-blown infidelity, like excessive social media interaction with others, hiding messages, or maintaining secretive contact with an ex, often stemming from a need for validation but eroding intimacy and causing insecurity.
According to dating app Badoo, which coined the term, it all relates to seeing the world as your oyster as you start to embrace being single post break-up, which will come as music to the ears of many. As the antidote to cuffing season, oystering encourages us to celebrate our freedom however it pleases us.
Take them in the spirit in which they are offered—as a a lens to think about your own relationship. This blog is part of a series on the five Cs: Chemistry, Commonality, Constructive Conflict, Courtesy and Commitment.
Zombieing is the latest dating term to take over the internet and brace yourselves because it's an eyeroller. Zombieing is the latest term to describe what happens when someone who's ghosted you doesn't even have the courtesy to stay gone. Instead, they pop back up weeks, months, even years later.
An example of breadcrumbing might be occasional texts from an ex finding excuses to check-in, but the conversation soon dries up on their end when you give them your attention.
Soft ghosting is the slow fade, the art of disengaging without fully disappearing. It's when someone stops replying in a meaningful way but still offers minimal interaction—like “liking” your message or reacting to a post with an emoji.
Dry text means sending short, low-effort messages that leave little room for the other person to respond. Think of replies like "K," "Ok," "Lol," "Yep," or "Sure" with no follow-up. These messages might be quick to type, but they often leave the conversation stuck or dying out.
The "3-day rule" in texting and dating generally suggests waiting three days to contact someone after getting their number or a first date to avoid seeming too eager or desperate, but many modern daters find it outdated, preferring to text when genuinely interested to show confidence and avoid "playing games". While some still use it as a way to gauge interest or create space, others see waiting too long as a sign of disinterest, with opinions varying on whether it's helpful or an old-fashioned tactic.
The 777 dating rule is a relationship strategy for intentional connection, suggesting couples schedule a date every 7 days, an overnight getaway every 7 weeks, and a longer vacation every 7 months to keep the spark alive, build memories, and prevent disconnection from daily life. It's about consistent, quality time, not necessarily grand gestures, and focuses on undivided attention to strengthen intimacy and partnership over time.
The Cookie emoji 🍪 is used to refer to cookies specifically or to snacks and junk food in general.
Kittenfishing involves enhancing or misrepresenting aspects of oneself to appear more attractive on dating apps. Examples include: Using heavily filtered or old photos that don't reflect one's current appearance. Exaggerating height, weight, or fitness levels.
The "3-3-3 rule" for breakups is a guideline suggesting 3 days for emotional release, 3 weeks for reflection, and 3 months for intentional rebuilding/healing, helping people process a split in stages. It's a simplified framework for managing grief, contrasting with longer models, and aims to create space for personal growth by focusing on self-improvement and gaining perspective after the initial shock of the breakup, though individual healing times vary greatly and aren't set in stone.
The four behaviors that predict over 90% of divorces, known as Dr. John Gottman's "Four Horsemen," are Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling, which erode connection, respect, and safety, leading to relationship breakdown. These destructive communication patterns, if persistent, signal that a marriage is likely to end, with contempt being the most damaging.
It's not just December – January brings break-ups too
“Sometimes we make promises to ourselves that we aren't going to have another year like this in our relationship, and the break-up happens early in the new year,” Mitchell explains. Together, December and January form what experts now call 'break-up season'.