casper
slang Alludes to the cartoon character, Casper the Friendly Ghost.
1. verb The practice of responding to a would-be romantic connection with vague, non-committal text or social media messages until they finally stop trying to get in touch. Thought of as a "friendlier" version of the more severe practice known as "ghosting." That guy I went out with last week kept texting me even though I wasn't interested. I didn't want to hurt him, though, so I just caspered him for a couple weeks. Look, I know you feel awkward about telling the guy you're not interested, but don't casper him—it's just childish and cowardly. A: "If you're not into this girl, why are you still talking to her?" B: "I'm trying to casper her. Let her down gently, you know?"
2. verb To express one's disinterest in continuing a romantic relationship directly, candidly, and respectfully, rather than simply ignoring the other person ("ghosting"). A: "Our conversation went well, actually. He seemed to appreciate that I caspered him." B: "Because you were up front about not feeling that much chemistry, now he can move on and find someone who's a better match—and so can you. Win-win." A: "Wait, you guys ultimately aren't going to go out anymore, and you don't hate each other?" B: "Yes, it can be done, when you casper each other." Come on, do the mature thing and casper this girl. She deserves to know up front that you're just not interested in her.
3. noun, offensive A white person.
caspering
slang Alludes to the cartoon character, Casper the Friendly Ghost.
1. The practice of responding to a would-be romantic connection with vague, non-committal text or social media messages until they finally stop trying to get in touch. Thought of as a "friendlier" version of the more severe practice known as "ghosting." Look, I know you feel awkward about telling the guy you're not interested, but caspering isn't some way of letting him down gently—it's just childish and cowardly. A: "That guy I went out with last week keeps texting me even though I'm not interested. I don't want to hurt him, though." B: "Yeah, but caspering him isn't the answer!" Would you stop caspering this girl? She really seems to like you, and she deserves to know that you don't feel the same way.
2. The practice of expressing one's disinterest in continuing a romantic relationship directly, candidly, and respectfully, rather than simply ignoring the other person ("ghosting"). A: "Our conversation went well, actually. He seemed to appreciate that I was up front about not feeling that much chemistry." B: "I'm telling you, caspering is the way to go. Now he can move on and find someone who's a better match—and so can you. Win-win." A: "Wait, you guys ultimately aren't going to go out anymore, and you don't hate each other?" B: "Yes, it can be done, with a bit of caspering." Come on, caspering this girl is the mature thing to do. Yeah, it might hurt her, but she should know up front that you're just not interested in her.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.