What Does ISTG Mean?

ISTG is one of those online acronyms that's not only difficult to take a wild guess at, but also very rarely used. Understanding how to interpret it if you do come across it online or in a text, however, can bring new meaning to the message or conversation.

ISTG stands for:

I Swear To God.

ISTG is used in a variety of ways to express emotional sincerity. Some of the most common ways to use ISTG are:

• To communicate certainty when faced with skepticism. When someone doesn't believe you about something you know to be true, using ISTG might convince them that you're telling the truth.
• To promise to change an action or behavior. If you or others have reason to believe that you can't or won't change something about yourself, you can use ISTG as a way to promise that you're serious about changing.
• To make a threat seem more intimidating. If you want someone to stop doing something you don't like, you might be able to do so just by using ISTG to threaten aggressive action.
• As a general interjection. In conversations where something goes against what a person believes to be good or acceptable, ISTG might be used as an abrupt exclamation similar to JFC or WTF for the purpose of expressing emotion.

Example 1

Friend #1: "U sure the essay is due tmrw??? I thought we had til Friday!!!"

Friend #2: "Istg the deadline is tmrw!! Mr. Jones reminded us in class today!!!"

In the above example Friend #1 doesn't believe a fact stated by Friend #2, so Friend #2 uses ISTG to communicate their certainty and seriousness about the fact.

Example 2

Friend #1: "Woke up feeling like I got hit by a truck. ISTG I'm never drinking again..."

Friend #2: "Lol, you said that last time too"

This second example is a classic demonstration of how a person might take an oath as a personal vow to change their actions or behavior. Friend #1 uses ISTG as a promise to quit drinking.

The acronym ISTG is typically not appropriate for use in professional conversations or conversations where you want to remain respectful toward the other person/people.