Quick answer: clout chasing (informal conversational) — Pursuing attention, viral metrics, or status by attaching oneself to trending topics, drama, or popular creators. Meanwhile, cooked (Dramatic · usually negative) — In serious trouble, exhausted, defeated, or beyond an easy fix. “Am I cooked?” asks whether the situation is hopeless.
1. clout chasing ↗
Category: Internet essentials
Register: informal conversational
Regions: US, UK, Online
Pursuing attention, viral metrics, or status by attaching oneself to trending topics, drama, or popular creators.
When it fits: Use “clout chasing” in casual conversation, messaging, or sociolinguistic discussion when the listener shares the register and context makes the tone unmistakable.
When to avoid: Avoid relying on “clout chasing” in formal academic, legal, clinical, or HR correspondence where unambiguous plain English prevents misinterpretation.
“Everyone in the group chat recognized “clout chasing” immediately, even though we had to rephrase it in plain English for the project summary.”
In plain English: Everyone in the chat understood the informal expression (pursuing attention, viral metrics, or status by attaching oneself to trending topics, drama, or popular creators.), though we used standard wording in the formal report.
2. cooked ↗
Category: Internet essentials
Register: Dramatic · usually negative
Regions: Online
In serious trouble, exhausted, defeated, or beyond an easy fix. “Am I cooked?” asks whether the situation is hopeless.
When it fits: Use it casually to dramatize a setback or tiredness. If someone seems genuinely distressed, respond to the actual problem rather than just matching the joke.
When to avoid: Avoid assuming it describes intoxication or health in every context. Those are possible regional senses, not the default meaning of every online comment.
“The deadline is in an hour and we have not started. We are cooked.”
In plain English: We are in serious trouble with the deadline.
Test both expressions in context
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