cooked

What does cooked mean?

Cooked depends entirely on who is in the kitchen. He is cooked means he is done for: the deadline, the match, the exam, all lost. But let him cook is a vote of confidence, the same way a hot streak is called cooking. The two senses share the image of something being prepared beyond your control, which is why the same word can announce a disaster or salute a genius at work.

Where does cooked come from?

Let him cook spread first, through sports talk and rap before landing on TikTok, where fans begged coaches and creators to stop interfering. The doom sense followed around 2023 and 2024, and in November 2024 media explainers, including a piece from Today.com, were walking readers through both meanings.

How to use cooked

• I have two deadlines tomorrow and I haven't started either one. I'm cooked.
• Let her cook. She's been right about every trade this month.