ASL

When a person sends you ASL, they want you to send them your age, sex, and location. People typically send it in online chatrooms, on social media, or when texting when they want to know your physical appearance and location.

Origin of ASL

It is unclear who created the acronym, but it grew in popularity in the late-1990s as strangers began connecting in online chatrooms. Because chatters could not see each other, they'd often ask for fellow chatters' ASLs, to get an idea of who they were talking to.

Since people send the acronym to uncover possibly sensitive information, recipients should be cautious when replying to an ASL request. People may send ASL as a standalone question ("ASL?"), or in a full sentence (they may also write it as A/S/L).

Another common meaning of ASL

ASL also stands for "American Sign Language," which is a form of sign language commonly used by deaf communities in America to communicate. Therefore, if you see ASL when messaging, the sender may be referring to the sign language instead of your age, sex, and location.

ASL is a form of sign language that deaf communities primarily use in America and parts of Canada, although you may see it in use worldwide. Many non-deaf people also learn ASL to communicate with others when they don't share the same spoken language.

Origin of ASL

Thomas Gallaudet from the American School for the Deaf (ASD), based in West Hartford, Connecticut, created ASL in 1817. It is based on the French sign language and eventually became a widely recognized language in the 1960s.

Since ASL is a common sign language, you may see it in various contexts. For example, a lecture you attend may be advertised as "ASL-friendly." Or, you might be dating online and meet a stranger who asks you if you know ASL because they are deaf.

On social media, asl often means "as hell." It is used to emphasize the severity of someone's actions or emotional state. For example, someone who is "mad asl" is very angry, and someone who is "happy asl" is very happy.

Where did asl originate?

The phrase "as hell" is used to make statements sound more emphatic. For example, someone may say they've been working "hard as hell" to suggest that they've been working very hard.

Social media users shortened the phrase "as hell" to asl, which sounds like "as hell" when read quickly. Asl is most prevalently used on TikTok and Twitter, but you may encounter it on other social media platforms.

Other variants of asl

ASL can also be used as an acronym that stands for either "age, sex, location" or "American Sign Language." In both these cases, ASL is typically capitalized. If someone asks "What is your ASL?" or "Do you know ASL?," they probably are not using asl to mean "as hell."