Sometimes, you’ll really like someone and then suddenly watch them do one tiny thing that changes everything. It’s usually something super harmless, like running after a ping-pong ball, using way too many emojis in a text, or saying something that instantly makes you cringe. This is what is called “experiencing the ick.” There’s a huge list of common icks out there, but not everyone has the same ones.
Some icks are understandable, but others are incredibly specific, irrational, and honestly kind of hilarious. What gives one person the ick might be something another person finds completely adorable. Here are some of the funniest and most relatable icks.
What Are Icks?
An ick is a behavior, habit, mannerism, or little characteristic that instantly makes you feel less attracted to someone. If someone says, “That gave me the ick,” they usually mean they witnessed something that instantly made the person seem less appealing. The term “ick” gained popularity as a Gen Z slang term, and it is now also used by Gen Alpha and Millennials.
The important thing to remember is that icks are incredibly personal. One person might hate when someone uses baby talk, while someone else couldn’t care less. They also aren’t necessarily serious relationship red flags or reason to break up with someone. Sometimes they’re simply silly things your brain decides it can’t unsee.
List of Icks
Common Icks
General icks can be anything from bad manners to cringey habits. Some are legitimate turn-offs, while others are so random that they’re funny. Sometimes you have icks that you don’t even realize. This list helps you identify the most common icks that people have.
- Being rude to servers or retail workers
- Chewing with their mouth open
- Talking with food in their mouth
- Being a ridiculously picky eater
- Bragging constantly
- Talking about how much money their family has
- Littering
- Constantly checking themselves out in mirrors
- Never saying thank you
- Being mean to animals
- Being rude to their parents for no reason
- Trying too hard to look cool
- Name-dropping constantly
- Pretending not to care about anything
- Being unable to laugh at themselves
- Making everything into a competition
- One-upping every story
- Interrupting people constantly
- Talking only about themselves
- Being obsessed with followers or likes
- Filming absolutely everything
- Having terrible table manners
- Leaving trash everywhere
- Mouth breathing
- Having a bedroom covered in dirty laundry
- Never changing their sheets
- Wearing socks with holes in them
- Wearing sunglasses indoors
- Using way too much cologne or perfume
- Baby talk
- Using a fake accent
- Calling themselves an “alpha”
- Referring to themselves in the third person
- Making motivational quotes their entire personality
- Constantly talking about “the grind”
- Pretending they don’t know popular movies or songs
- Being way too serious about gym culture
- Making their zodiac sign their excuse for everything
- Saying “I’m just brutally honest” before saying something rude
Texting Icks
Sometimes the ick happens before you even see someone in person. The way someone texts, uses emojis, responds, or doesn’t respond can be enough to make you cringe. Some examples include sending short replies, not saying good night back, or simply taking forever to respond.
- Sending “k”
- Sending “hehe”
- Using way too many exclamation points!!!
- Ruining your snapchat streat
- Using way too many question marks???
- Double texting and then apologizing for double texting
- Sending “wyd?” every single day
- Responding only with “lol”
- Leaving someone on read and then posting on social media
- Asking someone about their location
- Sending 15 messages instead of one complete thought
- Typing “your” instead of “you’re”
- Typing “there” instead of “their”
- Calling you “baby” immediately
- Sending good morning texts before you really know each other
- Using pet names way too early
- Sending nothing but selfies on Snapchat
- Sending blurry ceiling pictures just to maintain a streak
- Asking “are you mad?” repeatedly
- Saying “guess you’re busy” after five minutes
- Sending passive-aggressive emojis
- Using this emoji unironically:
- Responding to serious messages with memes
- Sending voice messages that could have been one sentence
- Typing in all lowercase because they think it looks mysterious
- Purposely waiting hours to respond so they don’t seem “too interested”
- Asking for pictures constantly
- Sending “??” when you don’t answer immediately
- Saying “goodnight” and then continuing to text for another hour
- Posting vague song lyrics after an argument
- Sending TikToks instead of answering your question
- Using excessive ellipses…
Icks in Guys
From trying a little too hard to look cool to certain dating and social media habits, these are some common things people say give them the ick in guys. Here are some common things that guys do that give women the ick. If you’re a guy, try avoiding these if you’re trying to become someone’s boyfriend.
- Calling women “females”
- Revving their car for attention
- Making their car their entire personality
- Posting pictures holding a fish
- Wearing sunglasses in every profile picture
- Wearing a backwards hat every single day
- Constantly flexing in photos
- Taking mirror selfies at the gym
- Saying “the boys” in every other sentence
- Being obsessed with being taller than everyone
- Lying about their height
- Making fun of anything considered “girly”
- Refusing to carry a girlfriend’s purse
- Acting embarrassed when they like something sentimental
- Saying they “don’t do drama” while constantly creating drama
- Following hundreds of random girls online
- Making fun of other guys for showing emotion
- Using 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash
- Having exactly one pillow on the bed
- Having a mattress directly on the floor
- Carrying around an enormous gallon water jug everywhere
- Taking pre-workout extremely seriously
- Saying “bro” to their girlfriend during an argument
- Doing finger guns
- Air guitar
- Pretending to punch their friends every time they see them
- Wearing Pit Vipers indoors
- Asking how much you can bench
Icks in Girls
Of course, guys aren’t the only ones capable of giving someone the ick. Boys can get the ick too! These habits, dating behaviors, and social media tendencies are some commonly mentioned icks in girls.
- Calling every girl they dislike “jealous”
- Being rude to another girl because of a guy
- Pretending not to know how to do basic things to seem cute
- Posting every argument online
- Constantly checking who viewed their story
- Testing someone instead of communicating
- Asking friends to secretly message someone they’re dating
- Posting “if he wanted to, he would” after every disagreement
- Comparing their relationship to couples on TikTok
- Calling every ex a narcissist
- Making jealousy seem romantic
- Flirting with someone else to make their crush jealous
- Screenshotting every conversation for the group chat
- Constantly talking about their “type”
- Pretending not to like food on a date
- Making being “high maintenance” their entire personality
- Being mean and calling it having a “strong personality”
- Asking trick questions and getting mad at the answer
- Expecting someone to read their mind
- Posting thirst traps immediately after an argument
- Saying “all guys are the same” while continuing to date the exact same type of guy