So exactly when did people stop saying ‘gag me with a spoon’?
Did anyone ever actually say that in the first place?
Slang has long been an important part of our language and how we communicate with one another.
From ‘23 skidoo’ (get out while the gettin’s good) to ‘fleek’ (as in, your eyebrows are on fleek, or on point, or they look perfect… something like that), words and phrases that differ from the norm have always been popular.
I checked with my good pals Merriam and Webster, and they defined slang as: “words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people.”
In many cases, slang is created by and/or popularized by young people. Since all grommets eventually turn into fossils, new generations have always found a way to come up with their own new slang – and much of it eventually becomes part of the accepted lexicon. Trying to keep up with the changes can be interesting. If you happen to be the parent of a teenager and overhear a conversation (when they actually speak to their friends instead of texting), it can be like you live on another planet.
“Last night, I was hanging out with bae and the fam and that basic thot kept geggin’. She’s so thirsty. I was salty.”
Huh?
Translation: “I was enjoying the company of my significant other and some close friends and an unsophisticated and promiscuous young woman continued to interrupt. She was so pathetically desperate that it angered me.”
Something along those lines.
Want to feel old? Go through lists of slang from previous decades. You might find yourself nodding and saying “I use that” or “I know what that means” at many of the older words and phrases and scratching your heads at the ones of a more recent vintage.
Ron Bonham, a retired English professor who developed a series of linguistics courses at Vancouver Island University, said sland is “really the opportunity to be creative with the language.”
“There’s lots of fun and joy behind it,” he said. “It gives someone in a particular group their own type of thing. As we’ve seen with social media now, it’s really exploding.”
Bonham noted that early slang began as what people today would call an argot (a secret language), used by people in the underworld.
“It was quite colourful and used by thieves and prostitutes,” he said. “It has changed a lot.”
He said many words and expressions from yesteryear are used much differently today.
“If you asked someone to call you a cabriolet (taxi) instead of a cab, they would wonder what you were doing,” said Bonham, with a chuckle.
Bonham said it’s often hard for people of previous generations to keep up with today’s slang.
He cited the word ‘boots’ as an example.
“I recently encountered this,” he said. “Someone was ‘stressed boots’ – if you’re not up on things, it’s hard to figure out what they mean.”
(The idea today is to just add the word boots to end of adjective or verb to add emphasis to whatever you’re saying. Let’s say you’re really tired, you can say you’re tired boots.)
Young people having their own slang is important, said Bonham.
“It’s a part of youth and life,” he explained. “It’s something you have on your own. It’s all good fun.”
Interestingly, a little research showed that many of the slang terms appeared on lists from different decades – meaning all you hepcats and cool chicks out there can put up your dukes and decide which era deserves credit.
For me, I know something has taken hold when it flows through my thumbs. I actually used “cray cray” when sending a text to my son, talking about a TV show from the previous night.
Yes, I felt shame, especially when I was reminded in no uncertain terms that I was forbidden from using any current slang.
I laughed and said I couldn’t help myself. Because, you know, YOLO.
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From the bee’s knees to YOLO – a look back of some of the slang used during previous decades
From the 1920s: Bee’s Knees – An extraordinary person, thing, idea; the ultimate (see also Cat’s Meow or Cat’s Pajamas); Ducky – very good; Gams – a woman’s legs; Keen – Attractive or appealing; Hair of the Dog – a shot of alcohol; On the lam – fleeing from police; Spiffy – an elegant appearance; Wet Blanket – a solemn person, a killjoy.
From the 1930s: Horn – telephone; Greaseball – someone that was unpopular, disreputable, unworthy; Giggle Juice – alcohol; Butter and Egg Man –someone with a lot of money. Make Tracks – a way to say that a person has/should leave quickly. Bumping Gums – someone talking about nothing important.
From the 1940s: Chicken –A person who was being a coward about something. Bum rap – a false accusation; Geezer – a derogatory term for an older person; Gas – a good time or something that was really funny; Chrome-dome – an offensive word for a bald headed man; Eager Beaver – someone who was excited about something in general; Fuddy-Duddy – Someone who was old fashioned, prim & proper; Lettuce – money.
From the 1950s: Ankle-biter – a child; Blast – a good time; Bread – money; Classy chassis – great body; Cool – indefinable quality that makes something or someone extraordinary; Cooties – imaginary infestations of the truly uncool; Cruisin’ for a bruisin’ – looking for trouble; Dibs – a claim; Flick – a movie; Knuckle sandwich – fist to the face; Nerd – person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious; Spaz – someone who is unco-ordinated, a klutz; Made in the shade – Something or someone that was guaranteed to be or is a success; Threads – clothes; Heat – police; No sweat – Something was no problem or easy.
From the 1960s: Groovy – outstanding or nice; Hang loose – take it very easy; Hunk – good-looking man; Free love – casual sex; Knocked up – pregnant; Boob tube – television; Bogart – keep for yourself; Freak out – lose control; Mod – modern or in fashion; Sock it to me – let me have it; Scarf – eat fast; Right on – OK, a term of agreement; Stoned – high on pot; The Man – any authority figure who maintained the corporate, legal and political status quo
1970s: Boogie – Description for dancing, having fun. Psyche! – Used when tricking someone; Brick House – A term used to describe someone who is physically built well with an attractive body; Fab – Fabulous. Catch You on the Flip-side – Goodbye, see you later; Chump – A loser, an idiot, a fool. Dream On – Used to tell someone that they were being unrealistic. Funky – something good (a funky party) or something bad (your socks smell funky).
1980s: Rad – To say that something or someone was cool, awesome, great; Like Totally – Used as a way to express extreme agreement with someone or something; Tubular – Used as a way to express excitement in something or someone; Gag Me with a Spoon – Used to show disgust or extreme dislike; To the Max – Used to show something or someone was extremely awesome or cool; Grody – Used as a way to show disgust in something or someone; Yuppie: a person who is a white-collar worker who has possessions of an expensive nature and flaunts them
1990s: Tight – Used to show how great something was; As If! – Used to show extraordinary disbelief and a lack of interest; My Bad – Used to show guilt, an error on your part; Diss – To show a lack of respect for something or someone. Fly – Meaning that something was cool, good, fun. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda – Used to make a long story short. Whatever! – Used when showing an extreme lack of interest and a way to end a conversation.
2000s: Bromance: A close, emotionally intense, non-sexual bond between two (or more) men; Meh – an interjection used as an expression of indifference or boredom. LOL or lol, an acronym for laugh(ing) out loud; Fo shizzle – for sure; Muffin top – fat pushed up from tight jeans; OMG – oh my god; Snail mail – mail from the post office; Baller – cool, stylish or expensive; Awesome sauce – very good.
2010s: Cray cray – extremely crazy; Swag – exceptional style; Basic – a boring, typical or dull person; Bae – before anyone else; Fleek – on point, everything pulled together; Ship – relationship; Thirsty – when you really want something, especially in a sexual way; Doe – a shorter way of saying though; YOLO – you only live once; Throwing shade – to give someone attitude; Salty – angry. Dafaq and AF – best to look those up on your own.
