1910s
Butterflies in the Stomach: The feeling of nervousness or anxiety that manifests in a fluttery belly feeling. This one has certainly stuck around! Goopy: Stupid or foolish, often in reference to going along with something dumb that another was doing. Bonehead: An idiotic or stupid person. Doohickey: Some object for which the name is either unknown, or unremembered at that point in time. “That doohickey fell off my car again.”
1920s
The Cat’s Meow: Something splendid or stylish. On the Level: Honest, truthful. “You had breakfast with the President? Are you on the level?” Giggle Water: An alcoholic beverage; a drink that makes you giddy and giggly. This one should absolutely be brought back into common vernacular. Tearjerker: A sentimental story or movie that brings the viewer/reader to tears.
1930s
Hooch: Bootleg alcohol. Prohibition made booze illegal in a lot of places, so people would sell homemade “hooch” under the table. Go Bananas: To go absolutely crazy/lose control. Gams: A woman’s legs. “That dame’s got great gams.” Chintzy: Cheaply made and vulgar-looking. “He gave me a chintzy plastic tablecloth for my birthday. What was he thinking?” Speedo: The speedometer on a car. (Rather different from the modern connotation, isn’t it?)
1940s
Chicken Out: To back away from something out of cowardice. Spook: As a verb, “spook” referred to creeping someone out; as a noun, it referred to a spy. Dope: Information, usually fairly secret info about someone. “Hey, have you heard the dope on Sally?” Bust Rocks: To serve time in prison; possibly in reference to doing hard labor while incarcerated.
1950s
Bread: This term for money/cash lasted well into the ’70s, but then died out. Junk: Refers to heroin, rather than the completely different connotation it carries now. In a Pickle: In trouble; in a jam. “Danny found himself in a pickle when his stolen car broke down outside the cop shop.” Out of This World: Spectacular, amazing.
1960s
The Damage: The cost of something. “Wow, that was a great meal. Okay, what’s the damage?” Groovy: Very cool. You won’t hear this one much anymore unless someone’s saying it ironically. Knock-Off: An illegal copy. “She bought a knock-off Prada bag, but the label was misspelled as ‘Parda.’ You’d think that would have been a clue that it wasn’t legit.” Douchebag: A weak, indecisive person (usually male), or someone who’s just a complete jerk. -ville (suffix): Grouping a bunch of things together to indicate their general definition. “My parents’ place was dullsville this weekend.”
1970s
Give Some Skin: To shake hands or give a slow high-five, usually in congratulations. Boondocks: Out in the middle of nowhere. “His new house is out in the boondocks, man…I think his closest neighbor’s a squirrel.” “No Way, Jose!”: Absolutely not. No. Not gonna happen. Hammered: Unbelievably drunk. “Tito got totally hammered after drinking thirty vodka spritzers.” Shades: Sunglasses.
1980s
Awesome: Spectacular/great. Kryptonite: An item that is a person’s weakness. “I just can’t stay away from Kelly; she’s my kryptonite.” “Whatever.”: Expression of utter indifference. Eye Candy: Something attractive or otherwise pleasing to the eye. Sketchy: Questionable, possibly dirty or dangerous. “That’s a sketchy neighborhood; walk there at night and you might get mugged.”
1990s
Chillax: Chilled out and relaxing all at once, usually while socializing with others. Poser: Someone who pretends to be important, or tries to be part of a group that they’re absolutely unsuited to. Ugly Stick: An imaginary object that makes anything hideous when smacked with it. “Dude, where the hell did you get that shirt? You look like you’ve been hit with the ugly stick.” Five-Finger Discount: Shoplifting. Buff: Muscular. “He was totally buff after working out for eight hours a day, every day for a month.”
2000s
Peeps: People, especially those in one’s own social or familial circle. “Don’t mess with my peeps.” Green: Eco-friendly. Newbie: A newcomer. Also referred to as “noob” or “n00b”. “He totally pwned a bunch of n00bs playing WOW last night.” Bling: Shiny, expensive jewelery, generally worn to be overly showy. Cougar: An older woman who sleeps with (preys upon?) younger men.
2010s
Tricked-Out: Highly decorated and ameliorated, usually in reference to a car. Crack- (prefix): A reference to something that a person is addicted to. “I swear, I check Crackbook (Facebook) a hundred times a day.” Bromance: A close, non-sexual friendship between males. Unfriend: To end a friendship with someone; used in reference to deleting someone from the Facebook “friends” list. Precious: Truly hideous. “Did you see Maya’s new jacket? Purple leopard print with rhinestones and ribbons is just so…precious.”
