after school special

"after school special" means a television program broadcast in the mid- to late afternoon and directed toward adolescents, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.

"after school special" is informal English meaning a television program broadcast in the mid- to late afternoon and directed toward adolescents, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues. It is mainly used in North American English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a television program broadcast in the mid- to late afternoon and directed toward adolescents" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "after school special" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing.