In the lingo of online dating, submarining begins when someone with whom you have romantic involvement ghosts — or disappears from your life without notice — only to resurface with no apology.

When it comes to meeting that special someone, we’ve gone from IRL to swiping right. Online dating has changed the way people meet and communicate — and as that old saying goes, when you’re trying to find bae, communication is key.

With new ways to flirt, date and find love come new lingo to describe the adventures — or misadventures — of online dating.

As part of Morning Edition’s series, What Makes Us Click, here are some words and terms in the online dating lexicon.

Bae

To call someone “bae” is to refer to them as your significant other. But bae can be used in other forms, often to say you like something. For example, to say “I love cats,” say “cats are bae.” Most likely bae is the shortened form of babe or baby, Dictionary.com says.

But really, it can be used for anything, and the Internet has run wild with bae; like the bae says come over memes, Salt Bae or Woke Bae.

Breadcrumbing

Sending flirty texts to keep someone around or string them along with little to no intention to seriously date them. It’s like ghosting but with some extra stab wounds. To read more from
ASHLEY BROWN, ALYSSA EDES and LAURA ROMAN, click here.