What's your favorite obscure olde timey slang?
December 6, 2019 3:11 PM
I like throwing the occasional anachronistic slang into my speech to throw a bit of outdated folksiness into the modern world. What's your favorite under-used slang from the 60s or before?
Like throwing in "getaway sticks" when referring to legs.
Like throwing in "getaway sticks" when referring to legs.
Bitchin.
posted by bluesky78987 at 3:21 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by bluesky78987 at 3:21 PM on December 6, 2019
Dangnabbit.
posted by praemunire at 3:36 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by praemunire at 3:36 PM on December 6, 2019
high-falutin' and new-fangled.
posted by wabbittwax at 3:38 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by wabbittwax at 3:38 PM on December 6, 2019
I am a fan of "malarkey". More so since I heard the Spanish language radio station earnestly describe it as an obsolete term from the 1900s.
posted by wnissen at 3:42 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by wnissen at 3:42 PM on December 6, 2019
23-skidoo
posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:46 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:46 PM on December 6, 2019
The Cornish word "dreckly". It's from the word "directly", meaning "right away", but the Cornish meaning is some indefinite time in the near future - today certainly, but probably not in the next hour or two.
posted by pipeski at 3:47 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by pipeski at 3:47 PM on December 6, 2019
“Get on the stick” - to leave
“Hugged up” - making out
“acknowledge the corn” - to admit fault (partial fault)
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 3:53 PM on December 6, 2019
“Hugged up” - making out
“acknowledge the corn” - to admit fault (partial fault)
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 3:53 PM on December 6, 2019
My favorite of my grandpa's words/phrases was his use of "leavings" to refer to leftovers. For example, "Don't mind me, I'll just eat the leavings." Also, he was quite fond of the phrase, "Tighter than the bark on a tree" (to refer to someone stingy).
posted by _DB_ at 3:59 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by _DB_ at 3:59 PM on December 6, 2019
"Land o Goshen!" -- awe, amazement. The best part is I knew the saying, grew up with it from Minnesoootan relatives, and one day realized I had no idea wtf 'Goshen' was. And the next thing you know, I was rewatching for the umpteenth time "The Ten Commandments" with the fabulous Anne Baxter & Yul Brynner (not gonna mention Gun Fool by name) and, lo and behold, the land they wind up in? Goshen! Huh.
posted by twentyfeetof tacos at 4:00 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by twentyfeetof tacos at 4:00 PM on December 6, 2019
I love "stuff and nonsense" and really need to actually start using it in real life.
posted by acidnova at 4:10 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by acidnova at 4:10 PM on December 6, 2019
Poindexter
posted by STFUDonnie at 4:12 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by STFUDonnie at 4:12 PM on December 6, 2019
Banana oil! (= nonsense)
posted by librosegretti at 4:21 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by librosegretti at 4:21 PM on December 6, 2019
I’m not sure if it’s anachronistic, but jeepers is super fun to say. Try it!
posted by sacrifix at 4:21 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by sacrifix at 4:21 PM on December 6, 2019
Perhaps too obvious, but you can't go wrong with calling something groovy or telling people to dig it. Also, seconding '23 skidoo'.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 4:34 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by Sing Or Swim at 4:34 PM on December 6, 2019
"Previous" as in that's a bit previous" meaning hasty or premature.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:44 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by DarlingBri at 4:44 PM on December 6, 2019
That's jake with me.
posted by small_ruminant at 4:46 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by small_ruminant at 4:46 PM on December 6, 2019
You're the bee's knees! (You're awesome!)
I'll dance at your wedding! (Thank you so much!)
I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger with fleas. (I'm insanely busy.)
That's the straight goods. (That's the truth.)
I'm off you for life. (I'm done with you.)
I'll see you sub-se. (I'll see you subsequently/later.)
You're the limit. (You're too much.)
You said it! (I agree with you!)
"I've had all kinds of a time..." (I had a difficult time...)
"It's a real humdinger." (It's great.")
"She was a wow at that." (She was really good at that.)
"You can't put that over on me." (I'm not letting you away with that/I'm not falling for that.)
"What's the little old idea?" (What do you mean/what does this mean?)
"Nothing doing." (No.)
"Make it snappy." (Act fast.)
"Great Cats!" (An exclamation used to indicate astonishment or speechlessness, like "my goodness".)
posted by orange swan at 4:48 PM on December 6, 2019
I'll dance at your wedding! (Thank you so much!)
I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger with fleas. (I'm insanely busy.)
That's the straight goods. (That's the truth.)
I'm off you for life. (I'm done with you.)
I'll see you sub-se. (I'll see you subsequently/later.)
You're the limit. (You're too much.)
You said it! (I agree with you!)
"I've had all kinds of a time..." (I had a difficult time...)
"It's a real humdinger." (It's great.")
"She was a wow at that." (She was really good at that.)
"You can't put that over on me." (I'm not letting you away with that/I'm not falling for that.)
"What's the little old idea?" (What do you mean/what does this mean?)
"Nothing doing." (No.)
"Make it snappy." (Act fast.)
"Great Cats!" (An exclamation used to indicate astonishment or speechlessness, like "my goodness".)
posted by orange swan at 4:48 PM on December 6, 2019
Some faves:
shellacked (slang for thoroughly inebriated, originally; has come to mean resoundingly defeated, unfortunately)
baloney (nonsense)
ginchy, the ginchiest (cool, the coolest)
The 1941 Rosalind Russell/Gary Cooper film Ball of Fire is a slangfest, & may be of interest to you, gregoryg.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:51 PM on December 6, 2019
shellacked (slang for thoroughly inebriated, originally; has come to mean resoundingly defeated, unfortunately)
baloney (nonsense)
ginchy, the ginchiest (cool, the coolest)
The 1941 Rosalind Russell/Gary Cooper film Ball of Fire is a slangfest, & may be of interest to you, gregoryg.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:51 PM on December 6, 2019
Some Scottish ones for you - all exclamations -
Jings!
Crivvens!
And my favourite because it reminds me of my pal Jim, who passed away last year, and it always make me smile when I hear myself using it because I know it came from him -
Jeezo! (with the emphasis on the “o”)
posted by penguin pie at 4:52 PM on December 6, 2019
Jings!
Crivvens!
And my favourite because it reminds me of my pal Jim, who passed away last year, and it always make me smile when I hear myself using it because I know it came from him -
Jeezo! (with the emphasis on the “o”)
posted by penguin pie at 4:52 PM on December 6, 2019
Criminently! (My grandpa always said this, in a sort of "well I'll be darned!" sort of way.)
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:55 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:55 PM on December 6, 2019
Blowed in the glass... meaning genuine or trustworthy.
posted by cocoagirl at 4:59 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by cocoagirl at 4:59 PM on December 6, 2019
Well I'll be hornswoggled!
My mom used to say "criminently."
My dad used to say "Nertz!" which I think was just "nuts!" with some kind of accent. He also called jeans dungarees.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:04 PM on December 6, 2019
My mom used to say "criminently."
My dad used to say "Nertz!" which I think was just "nuts!" with some kind of accent. He also called jeans dungarees.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:04 PM on December 6, 2019
Jazz Cabbage for weed
posted by Ahmad Khani at 5:14 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by Ahmad Khani at 5:14 PM on December 6, 2019
Jeez-o-Pete, Ball of Fire is not R. Russell, but Barbara Stanwyck. Apologies.
(Screwball comedies are solid slang resources in general, while meeting your '60s-or-earlier standard.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:20 PM on December 6, 2019
(Screwball comedies are solid slang resources in general, while meeting your '60s-or-earlier standard.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:20 PM on December 6, 2019
I've extruded dated zoot-suit beatnik hipster slang for my long suffering nieces & nephews; Cool, Daddy-0, Groovy, etc..
under_petticoat_rule mentioned "hornswaggled", which is something that the infamous cartoon character Yosemite Sam would say, along with heavens to murgatroid, or smithereens.
There's a whole venue about slang if you look into the work of Anthony Burgess, most famous for his Clockwork invented language 'nadsat', which is a loose fusion of Russian & Cockney. Just google "Cockney Slang". Also, "Thieves Argot" is the weird language that they use when hiring accomplices for jobs in meetings in pubs with eavesdroppers present, for plausible deniability if they come under oath.
posted by ovvl at 5:37 PM on December 6, 2019
under_petticoat_rule mentioned "hornswaggled", which is something that the infamous cartoon character Yosemite Sam would say, along with heavens to murgatroid, or smithereens.
There's a whole venue about slang if you look into the work of Anthony Burgess, most famous for his Clockwork invented language 'nadsat', which is a loose fusion of Russian & Cockney. Just google "Cockney Slang". Also, "Thieves Argot" is the weird language that they use when hiring accomplices for jobs in meetings in pubs with eavesdroppers present, for plausible deniability if they come under oath.
posted by ovvl at 5:37 PM on December 6, 2019
See you guys in the funny papers.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 5:48 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 5:48 PM on December 6, 2019
Happy as a geoduck (pronounced "gooey duck")
oh pshaw
posted by tinker at 5:53 PM on December 6, 2019
oh pshaw
posted by tinker at 5:53 PM on December 6, 2019
"true that" (guaranteed to create an eye roll)
posted by forthright at 6:14 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by forthright at 6:14 PM on December 6, 2019
I call fire hydrants fireplugs. When mokes crack wise I tell 'em to go screw. Crackerjack!
posted by Admiral Viceroy at 6:32 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by Admiral Viceroy at 6:32 PM on December 6, 2019
I have doubts that "bitchin'" and "Oh, snap" are old.
posted by NotLost at 6:34 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by NotLost at 6:34 PM on December 6, 2019
He also called jeans dungarees.
I have never worn a pair of jeans in my life, but I wear my dungarees all the time.
"Cooling my heels"
"suds" for beer
posted by AugustWest at 6:34 PM on December 6, 2019
I have never worn a pair of jeans in my life, but I wear my dungarees all the time.
"Cooling my heels"
"suds" for beer
posted by AugustWest at 6:34 PM on December 6, 2019
When I had little kids I substituted "heavens to Betsy" for "that's fucked up," and I've never gone back. People still know what I mean.
posted by selfmedicating at 6:42 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by selfmedicating at 6:42 PM on December 6, 2019
Good golly!
Holy Hannah!
Bee's knees
kerfuffle
Everything's rosy, everything's jake.
(I grew up hearing Archie Bunker saying, "Good night, nurse!" which I took to mean eye-rollingly "oy, vey!" so when the Animaniacs started with "Hello, nurse!" I wasn't sure what to make of it, but it's fun to hear.)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 6:42 PM on December 6, 2019
Holy Hannah!
Bee's knees
kerfuffle
Everything's rosy, everything's jake.
(I grew up hearing Archie Bunker saying, "Good night, nurse!" which I took to mean eye-rollingly "oy, vey!" so when the Animaniacs started with "Hello, nurse!" I wasn't sure what to make of it, but it's fun to hear.)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 6:42 PM on December 6, 2019
It's your nickel.
The cat's pajamas.
Classy.
Pull the chain.
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:05 PM on December 6, 2019
The cat's pajamas.
Classy.
Pull the chain.
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:05 PM on December 6, 2019
You wet the bed = you’re up early
Bonza = something really good
Strewth (pronounced strew as in strewn, plus th) = expression of surprise or dismay
Wench = a young woman
posted by EatMyHat at 7:22 PM on December 6, 2019
Bonza = something really good
Strewth (pronounced strew as in strewn, plus th) = expression of surprise or dismay
Wench = a young woman
posted by EatMyHat at 7:22 PM on December 6, 2019
Bud/buddy
Mr. gudrun will sometimes channel his mother and say "God bless it" instead of "God damn it", or "Oh sugar" instead of "Oh shit."
Drat.
_DB_ - we sometimes refer to what the cat deposits in his litter box as his "leavings".
posted by gudrun at 7:25 PM on December 6, 2019
Mr. gudrun will sometimes channel his mother and say "God bless it" instead of "God damn it", or "Oh sugar" instead of "Oh shit."
Drat.
_DB_ - we sometimes refer to what the cat deposits in his litter box as his "leavings".
posted by gudrun at 7:25 PM on December 6, 2019
I’m usually not one for old-Utah slang, but “up in the night” is one I’ve always liked — sort of a local way of saying someone doesn’t know what they’re on about.
Of course, if you use it anywhere else, people probably won’t know what you’re on about.
posted by armeowda at 8:10 PM on December 6, 2019
Of course, if you use it anywhere else, people probably won’t know what you’re on about.
posted by armeowda at 8:10 PM on December 6, 2019
Jeepers. Golly! Criminey.
Higgledee-piggledee or cattywumpus.
Hinky.
posted by kerf at 8:14 PM on December 6, 2019
Higgledee-piggledee or cattywumpus.
Hinky.
posted by kerf at 8:14 PM on December 6, 2019
Brouhaha.
Hootenanny.
You're the bee's knees and the ape's drapes.
Cutie-patootie.
Davenport (for sofa)
posted by blob at 8:20 PM on December 6, 2019
Hootenanny.
You're the bee's knees and the ape's drapes.
Cutie-patootie.
Davenport (for sofa)
posted by blob at 8:20 PM on December 6, 2019
Strewth is like Zounds or ‘Sblood:
God’s Truth,
God’s wounds,
God’s blood.
All old-timey sounding oaths, in full or euphemistic contraction. Also the idea that exclaiming “God’s Truth” is curse too harsh for public consumption is quaint and old timey. Gadzooks too :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:22 PM on December 6, 2019
God’s Truth,
God’s wounds,
God’s blood.
All old-timey sounding oaths, in full or euphemistic contraction. Also the idea that exclaiming “God’s Truth” is curse too harsh for public consumption is quaint and old timey. Gadzooks too :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:22 PM on December 6, 2019
Great googley moogely. Many uses. It’s old but made “popular” by a Snicker’s commercial. I say it on a regular basis, along with “sugar” instead of sh!t.
posted by gryphonlover at 8:58 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by gryphonlover at 8:58 PM on December 6, 2019
Referring to a lot of anything as “a gang,” as in “I got a gang of cookbooks at the library!”
posted by corey flood at 9:11 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by corey flood at 9:11 PM on December 6, 2019
A heartfelt FAR-fucking-OUT cuts right through a gaggle of awesomes. And as a Texan I am partial to fixin' to and I reckon. By cracky y'all!
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:35 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:35 PM on December 6, 2019
“You kids are higher than a kite on dope.”
“Man, it’s hotter than a firecracker today!”
posted by artdrectr at 10:32 PM on December 6, 2019
“Man, it’s hotter than a firecracker today!”
posted by artdrectr at 10:32 PM on December 6, 2019
From Victorian times (although sounds oddly like gen-x teen slang) "got the morbs" for temporary melancholy.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:42 PM on December 6, 2019
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:42 PM on December 6, 2019
Words I actually use:
Swank (also: Swanky)
Criminely
Swell (like cool not a stuffed shirt)
Cripes (as in: For cripes sake)
Go pound sand (go away)
Words I like:
Gadzooks
I was a weird kid and read too much Damon Runyon and P. G. Woodhouse
posted by fiercekitten at 11:04 PM on December 6, 2019
Swank (also: Swanky)
Criminely
Swell (like cool not a stuffed shirt)
Cripes (as in: For cripes sake)
Go pound sand (go away)
Words I like:
Gadzooks
I was a weird kid and read too much Damon Runyon and P. G. Woodhouse
posted by fiercekitten at 11:04 PM on December 6, 2019
I don't cotton to him/her/that. (you don't like something or don't have time for someone's very being)
To have "truck" with something--meaning pull. "I've got truck with the LAPD."
Pups make hounds. (what do you expect? people don't change)
On it like a duck on a junebug.
Toppings - the best part of a meal or the dessert. I'm all about the toppings.
A candy kid. - someone who's unusually lucky - or a Candy job - cushy job.
canned heat or sterno or paint - really bad booze
old paint - a horse, usually old and unwanted
rode (ride) hard and put away wet (to be run ragged or used up and then neglected)
That's bonkers.
A gang of toughs. (a group of "mean" looking people, usually used sarcastically)
To polish the rail or "he's polishing the rail". - depending on context it can mean to hang around a long time or to be too close to someone / in their face. Think of a customer leaning over a bar to talk to a barkeep. (careful, it has other slang meanings). Jason Molina uses it nicely in Don't This Look Like the Dark.
Barkeep (instead of bartender).
I'm jangle-nerved. (amped up; caffeinated)
I'm lazy to dial. (when you're so morose you don't want to talk to anyone.)
Snatch it back and hold it! - to be so overcome by the latest, coolest thing, that you can't help yourself; everybody's doing it. It's the name of a dance from the 50s, its existence made famous by Junior Wells.
You've got the right key but the wrong keyhole. (barking up the wrong tree)
Good mornin' little schoolgirl. (intro line to flirting, preferably, in this day and age, with someone you already know who is age-appropriate to flirting. comes from a blues song but was used in the 60s and 70s as a chat-up line. I believe a character in Full Metal Jacket uses it to indicate interest in a prostitute.)
Adam and Eve on a raft - eggs on toast.
I've et. (eaten)
Great googley moogely... Snickers.
You wanna cite Howlin' Wolf if called on it, not a chocolate bar.
Glad rags - fancy clothing
From cockney: to say someone is Barney Rubble means they're trouble. To call someone your china plate means they're you're mate.
He caught the west bound. (he's dead)
Cut yourself a switch (or birch). (you're about to be punished.) or "You done cut yourself a switch." (you've caused your own undoing)
Corn (bourbon)
Here's your hat. What's your hurry? (to tell someone they're no longer welcome)
rock soup - a meal made collectively.
yegg - criminal
That makes one of us.
Huzzah!
posted by dobbs at 11:12 PM on December 6, 2019
To have "truck" with something--meaning pull. "I've got truck with the LAPD."
Pups make hounds. (what do you expect? people don't change)
On it like a duck on a junebug.
Toppings - the best part of a meal or the dessert. I'm all about the toppings.
A candy kid. - someone who's unusually lucky - or a Candy job - cushy job.
canned heat or sterno or paint - really bad booze
old paint - a horse, usually old and unwanted
rode (ride) hard and put away wet (to be run ragged or used up and then neglected)
That's bonkers.
A gang of toughs. (a group of "mean" looking people, usually used sarcastically)
To polish the rail or "he's polishing the rail". - depending on context it can mean to hang around a long time or to be too close to someone / in their face. Think of a customer leaning over a bar to talk to a barkeep. (careful, it has other slang meanings). Jason Molina uses it nicely in Don't This Look Like the Dark.
Barkeep (instead of bartender).
I'm jangle-nerved. (amped up; caffeinated)
I'm lazy to dial. (when you're so morose you don't want to talk to anyone.)
Snatch it back and hold it! - to be so overcome by the latest, coolest thing, that you can't help yourself; everybody's doing it. It's the name of a dance from the 50s, its existence made famous by Junior Wells.
You've got the right key but the wrong keyhole. (barking up the wrong tree)
Good mornin' little schoolgirl. (intro line to flirting, preferably, in this day and age, with someone you already know who is age-appropriate to flirting. comes from a blues song but was used in the 60s and 70s as a chat-up line. I believe a character in Full Metal Jacket uses it to indicate interest in a prostitute.)
Adam and Eve on a raft - eggs on toast.
I've et. (eaten)
Great googley moogely... Snickers.
You wanna cite Howlin' Wolf if called on it, not a chocolate bar.
Glad rags - fancy clothing
From cockney: to say someone is Barney Rubble means they're trouble. To call someone your china plate means they're you're mate.
He caught the west bound. (he's dead)
Cut yourself a switch (or birch). (you're about to be punished.) or "You done cut yourself a switch." (you've caused your own undoing)
Corn (bourbon)
Here's your hat. What's your hurry? (to tell someone they're no longer welcome)
rock soup - a meal made collectively.
yegg - criminal
That makes one of us.
Huzzah!
posted by dobbs at 11:12 PM on December 6, 2019
Kerfuffle. Just a lovely set of syllables.
Shenanigans is not obscure at all, but still fun to say.
Cool beans I picked up in my youth and sporadically still use. Also not obscure... apparently it was a late 90s internet thing? Vice did a write up on it.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:16 AM on December 7, 2019
Shenanigans is not obscure at all, but still fun to say.
Cool beans I picked up in my youth and sporadically still use. Also not obscure... apparently it was a late 90s internet thing? Vice did a write up on it.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:16 AM on December 7, 2019
What the blazes?
posted by slightlybewildered at 12:27 AM on December 7, 2019
posted by slightlybewildered at 12:27 AM on December 7, 2019
Now I want to pick up some new/old ones.
Lally-cooler is another fun one to say.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:27 AM on December 7, 2019
Lally-cooler is another fun one to say.
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:27 AM on December 7, 2019
When I was a kid, one of the Irish nuns at our Catholic school used to say 'Lord save us and guard us' as an alternative to any kind of curse. I'm quite fond of it to this day, although it works so much better with the proper accent attached.
posted by pipeski at 3:24 AM on December 7, 2019
posted by pipeski at 3:24 AM on December 7, 2019
"What's the rumpus?" for what's wrong/up/going on/the story/the gossip/the outcome/the truth/etc. It's meant to be from the 1920s but as far as I know the Coen brothers made it up for the movie Miller's Crossing. Great movie with a few other gems too: "take your flunkie and dangle" (go away), "don't give me the high hat" (don't act like you're better than me), "let it drift" (let an insult pass without comment).
posted by headnsouth at 4:06 AM on December 7, 2019
posted by headnsouth at 4:06 AM on December 7, 2019
fiddlesticks
As in oh fiddlesticks I misused copacetic in that sentence.
posted by sammyo at 5:32 AM on December 7, 2019
As in oh fiddlesticks I misused copacetic in that sentence.
posted by sammyo at 5:32 AM on December 7, 2019
Singing the black psalm - crying. "I couldn't stop singing the black psalm when I went out."
Cheltenham tragedy - needless drama. For additional emphasis you can make it a Cheltenham tragedy before breakfast "Penny has a new boyfriend and there's a Cheltenham tragedy in my Facebook feed every time I log in."
Cor Blimey
Cor Blimey O'Riley
Cor Blimey O'Riley Mother of Mercy
Cor Blimey O'Riley Mother of Mercy preserve us from evil! Each variation listed increases emphasis.
Dibs are in tune - to have some discretionary income. "I need to pick up present for Rosie as soon as the dibs are in tune."
Great Day in the Morning! - not a positive exclamation
Soused,
Sozzled,
Blotto
Blitzed - drunk
Old Man - we might say Dude or My Man nowadays. The term Old Man was so deeply entrenched in the slang that men used with each other that in the early days of Marconi transmission it was an accepted abbreviation on the wireless "OM" when standards were getting established, making this (long) transcription of the Titanic Distress Calls particularly heart rending.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:15 AM on December 7, 2019
Cheltenham tragedy - needless drama. For additional emphasis you can make it a Cheltenham tragedy before breakfast "Penny has a new boyfriend and there's a Cheltenham tragedy in my Facebook feed every time I log in."
Cor Blimey
Cor Blimey O'Riley
Cor Blimey O'Riley Mother of Mercy
Cor Blimey O'Riley Mother of Mercy preserve us from evil! Each variation listed increases emphasis.
Dibs are in tune - to have some discretionary income. "I need to pick up present for Rosie as soon as the dibs are in tune."
Great Day in the Morning! - not a positive exclamation
Soused,
Sozzled,
Blotto
Blitzed - drunk
Old Man - we might say Dude or My Man nowadays. The term Old Man was so deeply entrenched in the slang that men used with each other that in the early days of Marconi transmission it was an accepted abbreviation on the wireless "OM" when standards were getting established, making this (long) transcription of the Titanic Distress Calls particularly heart rending.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:15 AM on December 7, 2019
Pipe down!
posted by stillmoving at 8:02 AM on December 7, 2019
posted by stillmoving at 8:02 AM on December 7, 2019
Grody to the max!
posted by SassyMcSassin at 11:04 AM on December 7, 2019
posted by SassyMcSassin at 11:04 AM on December 7, 2019
I once got a coveted apartment because I told the elderly manager I'd toodle over to see it. There seems to be some disagreement about it as a verb.
I also love "toots" for ladies ("Listen, toots, don't get ritzy with me.")
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:29 AM on December 7, 2019
I also love "toots" for ladies ("Listen, toots, don't get ritzy with me.")
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:29 AM on December 7, 2019
How's Tricks? (how are things, how's it going?)
rumpus... as far as I know the Coen brothers made it up for the movie Miller's Crossing.
Nah, they didn't make any of those words up. Rumpus and every other bit of slang in the movie is from period pulps fiction and films of the era, of which Ethan Coen is a huge fan.
Many of the authors of the original books took them from hobo slang and Flimflam men of the day. The word rumpus is a couple hundred years old.
posted by dobbs at 12:03 PM on December 7, 2019
rumpus... as far as I know the Coen brothers made it up for the movie Miller's Crossing.
Nah, they didn't make any of those words up. Rumpus and every other bit of slang in the movie is from period pulps fiction and films of the era, of which Ethan Coen is a huge fan.
Many of the authors of the original books took them from hobo slang and Flimflam men of the day. The word rumpus is a couple hundred years old.
posted by dobbs at 12:03 PM on December 7, 2019
Cancer sticks = cigarettes (I think this was Indigenous Australian in origin, not sure if it is still in use)
posted by EatMyHat at 1:45 PM on December 7, 2019
posted by EatMyHat at 1:45 PM on December 7, 2019
"Bitchin" in the modern positive or emphatic use dates to at least as early as 1952, which meets gregoryg's criteria.
posted by Mo Nickels at 2:01 PM on December 7, 2019
posted by Mo Nickels at 2:01 PM on December 7, 2019
My family uses truck and it just means "to do with" and it's always negative. "He has no truck with homeopathy."
My grandfather used to say, "well, grab your grip and let's go" where "grip" means suitcase or other non-purse bag.
I heard "cotton to" growing up, though my family was too snobby to use it. It just meant "to like", more or less. "He doesn't cotton to pitbulls, though he likes weiner dogs fine."
Another one I used to hear occasionally but never do now is "cuts no ice with me." As in, "That excuse might work on Mom, but it cuts no ice with me."
Cotton-pickin' was common, too, but apparently it's offensive. "Just wait one cotton-pickin' minute, there, buddy!"
posted by small_ruminant at 2:35 PM on December 7, 2019
My grandfather used to say, "well, grab your grip and let's go" where "grip" means suitcase or other non-purse bag.
I heard "cotton to" growing up, though my family was too snobby to use it. It just meant "to like", more or less. "He doesn't cotton to pitbulls, though he likes weiner dogs fine."
Another one I used to hear occasionally but never do now is "cuts no ice with me." As in, "That excuse might work on Mom, but it cuts no ice with me."
Cotton-pickin' was common, too, but apparently it's offensive. "Just wait one cotton-pickin' minute, there, buddy!"
posted by small_ruminant at 2:35 PM on December 7, 2019
"Drop a dime" on someone, meaning turn them into the cops for something- anonymously, by pay phone- seems to have dropped out of use, too. (I'm not sure when calls were a dime- I think they were only a nickle in the 60s, so maybe this is too recent.)
posted by small_ruminant at 2:38 PM on December 7, 2019
posted by small_ruminant at 2:38 PM on December 7, 2019
I really enjoy holy “swearing”: “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph”, and “Mary, Mother of God”. Makes me feel like a rectory housekeeper from the 1940s.
Cattywampus made me snort a little; that’s a word I just use—I wonder if that’s a regionalism? I do know when I went to college and said it in front of someone from (I think) California, they looked at me as though I were speaking Shanghainese.
posted by epj at 4:05 PM on December 7, 2019
Cattywampus made me snort a little; that’s a word I just use—I wonder if that’s a regionalism? I do know when I went to college and said it in front of someone from (I think) California, they looked at me as though I were speaking Shanghainese.
posted by epj at 4:05 PM on December 7, 2019
Wow -- no one yet mentioned my favorite... When someone is super eager (especially in a sexual way), saying they're "hot to trot."
posted by Mchelly at 4:24 PM on December 7, 2019
posted by Mchelly at 4:24 PM on December 7, 2019
> I have doubts that "bitchin'" and "Oh, snap" are old.
"Bitchin" in the sense of "good" (which is that I think we're talking about here) goes back at least to the 1980s: "my folks bought me a bitchin' Camaro but no insurance to match" (1984 and on Youtube here); 'trying to make "a bitchin' sounding record"' (1984); "bitchen-twitchen" = excellent (1990).
So it's at least somewhat old in that sense. But it is certainly still in current use, as well, and maybe used more now than it was then.
"Oh, snap" usage goes back at least as far as the 1950s but most pre-1980s uses seem to be more as a random and not-very-common replacement for "Oh, shit".
Whereas when it really came into higher usage in the 1970s-1980s, generally associated with hip-hop, it was with the new "you/I just got bagged on/burned" meaning--which makes sense since so much rap was built around dissing/snapping exchanges.
This guy remembers "oh snap" (in the "just got burned" meaning) as being in very common use among young people in New York in the 1970s. More discussion here. He may very well be right--it's often 10-20 years between first common vernacular use and the first published examples. ("Bitchin" could easily go back to the 1950s or 60s as well in oral and vernacular use; I couldn't find examples in print earlier than the 1980s but the same principle holds: by the time it's in print, it's come and gone in youth usage.)
Finally, it was pushed into the mainstream in the 2000s by Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, SNL, the Daily Show, etc.
Early typical "Oh, shit" type use: "Oh, snap. All right; you’d better get yours if you want." (1954)
Hip-hop: I said, “Oh, snap, what’s that?” He said, “It’s the new style called breaking.” (1984); "snap n, a form of verbal gestering" (Dr Dre, 1988); "Oh, snap! Guess what I saw." (Biz Markie, 1989); "snap (n) a form of verbal jestering. Also French and English speaking Africans especially in Dakar and Paris say 'oh snap' in two contexts. 1) 'oh snap' if you get bagged on (snapped on) and 2) meaning 'oh shit' as in 'I didn't know' or 'I forgot something'." (1995); "They'd laugh. They'd snap on me" & "Oh, snap! He wrote the first spanish rhyme!" (1996).
Anyway, it's certainly "old" in the sense of having pretty common use back in the 70s, 80s, 90s. On the flip side it's still very much used today. Someone identifying it as "anachronistic" is probably identifying it more as a phrase in very common use in the 2000s and now seeming a fair bit past its expiration date.
It's just a good illustration that the early 2000s is a l-o-n-g time ago for some people whereas the 1960s is very recent history for others of us . . .
posted by flug at 6:26 PM on December 7, 2019
"Bitchin" in the sense of "good" (which is that I think we're talking about here) goes back at least to the 1980s: "my folks bought me a bitchin' Camaro but no insurance to match" (1984 and on Youtube here); 'trying to make "a bitchin' sounding record"' (1984); "bitchen-twitchen" = excellent (1990).
So it's at least somewhat old in that sense. But it is certainly still in current use, as well, and maybe used more now than it was then.
"Oh, snap" usage goes back at least as far as the 1950s but most pre-1980s uses seem to be more as a random and not-very-common replacement for "Oh, shit".
Whereas when it really came into higher usage in the 1970s-1980s, generally associated with hip-hop, it was with the new "you/I just got bagged on/burned" meaning--which makes sense since so much rap was built around dissing/snapping exchanges.
This guy remembers "oh snap" (in the "just got burned" meaning) as being in very common use among young people in New York in the 1970s. More discussion here. He may very well be right--it's often 10-20 years between first common vernacular use and the first published examples. ("Bitchin" could easily go back to the 1950s or 60s as well in oral and vernacular use; I couldn't find examples in print earlier than the 1980s but the same principle holds: by the time it's in print, it's come and gone in youth usage.)
Finally, it was pushed into the mainstream in the 2000s by Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, SNL, the Daily Show, etc.
Early typical "Oh, shit" type use: "Oh, snap. All right; you’d better get yours if you want." (1954)
Hip-hop: I said, “Oh, snap, what’s that?” He said, “It’s the new style called breaking.” (1984); "snap n, a form of verbal gestering" (Dr Dre, 1988); "Oh, snap! Guess what I saw." (Biz Markie, 1989); "snap (n) a form of verbal jestering. Also French and English speaking Africans especially in Dakar and Paris say 'oh snap' in two contexts. 1) 'oh snap' if you get bagged on (snapped on) and 2) meaning 'oh shit' as in 'I didn't know' or 'I forgot something'." (1995); "They'd laugh. They'd snap on me" & "Oh, snap! He wrote the first spanish rhyme!" (1996).
Anyway, it's certainly "old" in the sense of having pretty common use back in the 70s, 80s, 90s. On the flip side it's still very much used today. Someone identifying it as "anachronistic" is probably identifying it more as a phrase in very common use in the 2000s and now seeming a fair bit past its expiration date.
It's just a good illustration that the early 2000s is a l-o-n-g time ago for some people whereas the 1960s is very recent history for others of us . . .
posted by flug at 6:26 PM on December 7, 2019
Thunderation!
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 8:35 PM on December 7, 2019
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 8:35 PM on December 7, 2019
From cockney: to say someone is Barney Rubble means they're trouble. To call someone your china plate means they're you're mate.
With rhyming slang though, remember the ryhme should be left unsaid. Like, my old china's always getting into a barney. Athough weirdly the sense of "barney" meaning a scrap or argument is older than the Flintstones, so who knows what's going on there.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:47 PM on December 7, 2019
With rhyming slang though, remember the ryhme should be left unsaid. Like, my old china's always getting into a barney. Athough weirdly the sense of "barney" meaning a scrap or argument is older than the Flintstones, so who knows what's going on there.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:47 PM on December 7, 2019
Botheration!
I heard Miranda Hart say that on Call the Midwife in a way someone today might say "Dammit!". Hearing it said that way was pretty amusing to me for some reason. The only other time I can recall hearing that word was in a Chuck Berry song, but used more as a noun. So I looked it up, and google indicates usage peaked around 1830 and has trended down ever since, and describes its usage as an exclamation, the way Hart said it, as "dated".
posted by 2N2222 at 1:57 AM on December 8, 2019
I heard Miranda Hart say that on Call the Midwife in a way someone today might say "Dammit!". Hearing it said that way was pretty amusing to me for some reason. The only other time I can recall hearing that word was in a Chuck Berry song, but used more as a noun. So I looked it up, and google indicates usage peaked around 1830 and has trended down ever since, and describes its usage as an exclamation, the way Hart said it, as "dated".
posted by 2N2222 at 1:57 AM on December 8, 2019
Great day in the morning!
or, if I've been watching Back to the Future, Great Scott!
posted by Flannery Culp at 8:32 AM on December 8, 2019
or, if I've been watching Back to the Future, Great Scott!
posted by Flannery Culp at 8:32 AM on December 8, 2019
When dealing with a drunk call him a rounder, as in “Hey there, rounder”
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:19 PM on December 8, 2019
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:19 PM on December 8, 2019
High Pockets - referring to a tall person.
An expression "flatter than a 10 cent sandwich" is in regularly in our house (from a Encyclopedia Brown story).
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:20 AM on December 9, 2019
An expression "flatter than a 10 cent sandwich" is in regularly in our house (from a Encyclopedia Brown story).
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:20 AM on December 9, 2019
Mr Tangerine Man says he's "cream crackered" when he's really tired. (Rhyming slang, from "knackered".
posted by tangerine at 10:42 AM on December 9, 2019
posted by tangerine at 10:42 AM on December 9, 2019
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posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 3:11 PM on December 6, 2019