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Punks and Hippies

Historical Dictionary of American Slang

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855 Results 1800-1930

  • blessed
    ( adj ) Emphatic adjective. He didn't say a blessed word all night.
    1800s
  • break down
    ( v ) To stop functioning. My car broke down and I had to walk home.
    1800s
  • break down
    ( v ) To stop resisting. He broke down after 20 hours of grilling and confessed.
    1800s
  • buff
    ( n ) Nude, nudity. To come to the door in the buff.
    1800s
  • crack
    ( adj ) Expert. Jeremy was a crack reporter for the Chronicle for years.
    1800s
  • mess
    ( n ) Bunch, group, a lot of. A mess of kids hang out at Taco's.
    1800s
  • chisel
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat Les Cheatham chiseled me out of my lunch money!
    1800s
  • The jig is up.
    ( phr ) It's all over; we/you are done in. The jig is up! You don't work here any more.
    1800s
  • spark
    ( v ) Hug and kiss. I saw ma and pa out sparking on the front porch swing.
    1800s
  • plunk
    ( v ) To strum, to pick a stringed instrument. Billy Joe was plunking away on his banjo when I came in.
    1800s
  • wing
    ( v ) To wound superficially. The bank robber took a shot but only winged me.
    1800s
  • chisler
    ( n ) A swindler, a cheat. Les Cheatham is the chisler who sold me this junker.
    1800s
  • muttonhead
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Muttonhead? If brains were dynamite, he couldn't blow the wax out of his ears.
    1800s
  • great gun
    ( np ) Important person. Several of the city's great guns were at the party.
    1810s
  • hit
    ( n ) A successful event. Your proposal was a hit with the boss.
    1810s
  • hustle
    ( v ) Hurry. If you don't hustle, we will be late again.
    1810s
  • rat hole
    ( np ) A nasty, dirty place. Mortimer lives in a rat hole.
    1810s
  • skin
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat. Derwin got skinned in the land development deal.
    1810s
  • yokel
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. Who was that yokel I saw Leticia White out with last week?
    1810s
  • bang-up
    ( adj ) Excellent, outstanding. We had a bang-up time at the party last night.
    1810s
  • at sea
    ( pp ) Confused. I think Margaret is at sea on the math homework.
    1810s
  • Drat!
    ( int ) Interjection of frustration. Drat! I think I lost my lucky cat's foot!
    1810s
  • perky
    ( adj ) Lively in a cutesy way. Kay Largo is a perky as a cheerleader.
    1810s
  • skin
    ( v ) Cheat out of something. Ben Dover got skinned by a con man who sold him some real estate in Utah.
    1810s
  • shell out
    ( v ) To pay unwillingly. I had to shell out $220 for a new water pump on my car.
    1810s
  • bean
    ( n ) Coin, a bit of money. Could you pick up the check; I don't have a bean on me.
    1810s
  • break up
    ( v ) To make laugh; explode in laughter. Everything she says breaks me up.
    1820s
  • clodhopper
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. There are days when I think we have nothing but clodhoppers in the office.
    1820s
  • crack up
    ( ap ) Praise, be reputed. Rhoda isn't all she is cracked up to be.
    1820s
  • go
    ( adj ) A turn, a try. Let me have a go at solving the problem.
    1820s
  • juice
    ( n ) Liquor or other alcoholic beverage. I hear Harry is on the juice again.
    1820s
  • moll
    ( n ) A mob doll, mobster's girlfriend. They say she was Capone's moll for a month or two.
    1820s
  • scrub
    ( v ) Cancel. We decided to scrub the trip when we saw the weather report.
    1820s
  • send packing
    ( vp ) To fire. He fingered the boss's secretary and they sent him packing.
    1820s
  • stuck up
    ( adj ) Conceited. She is so stuck-up that she wouldn't be caught dead in a MacDonald's.
    1820s
  • clear off
    ( v ) To leave. Clear off and don't come back!
    1820s
  • wind up
    ( v ) Bring to an end. Let's wind up the party and go to bed.
    1820s
  • rattletrap
    ( n ) Old, broken-down car. Rudy will never make it to the beach in that old rattletrap of his.
    1820s
  • rattletrap
    ( n ) Old, broken-down car. Rudy will never make it to the beach in that old rattletrap of his.
    1820s
  • conk
    ( v ) To hit. He threw the brick straight up in the air and when it came down, it conked him on the noggin.
    1820s
  • Drats!
    ( int ) Interjection of frustration. Drats! I just broke my watchband!
    1820s
  • stretch
    ( n ) A term, especially in prison. My brudda did a stretch in Attica for kissing an on-duty police officer.
    1820s
  • fling
    ( n ) A short affair or romance. Phil Anders and Constance Noring had a brief fling that ended on a sour note.
    1820s
  • mob
    ( n ) An organized criminal syndicate. I heard the mob ordered a hit on Robin Banks.
    1820s
  • stupe
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Don't tell that stupe anything; he'll spill the beans to anyone who asks.
    1820s
  • pony up
    ( v ) To pay up your share. Dad finally ponied up $500 so I could get the guitar.
    1820s
  • hornswoggle
    ( v ) To cheat, deceive. I've been hornswoggled! This isn't an original Picasso!
    1820s
  • lickspittle
    ( n ) A sycophant, toady. Mugsy is a lickspittle who will do anything the boss asks him.
    1820s
  • bark up the wrong tree
    ( vp ) Make a mistake, error. If you think I'm going to help you, you're barking up the wrong tree.
    1830s
  • big gun
    ( np ) An important person. The president brought two big guns to the meeting.
    1830s
  • blamed
    ( int ) Emphatic adjective. Hey, get your blamed hand off me!
    1830s
  • bogus
    ( adj ) False, fake. They caught him passing bogus money.
    1830s
  • bouncer
    ( n ) A bully. That bouncer always tries to get his way.
    1830s
  • bug
    ( n ) A passion, obsession. Ronald has the baseball bug and doesn't miss a game.
    1830s
  • clodhoppers
    ( n ) Heavy, coarse work shoes. Malcolm! Get your muddy clodhoppers out of my kitchen!
    1830s
  • flat
    ( adv ) To the limit. A month after losing his job, he found himself flat broke.
    1830s
  • go
    ( v ) To say. I go, wasn't that great? And he goes, naw, I've done it all before.
    1830s
  • goldarn
    ( int ) An interjection of emphasis (euphemism for G. D.). Now just wait a goldarn minute!
    1830s
  • goober
    ( n ) A peanut. He sat there all night eating boiled goobers.
    1830s
  • nipper
    ( n ) A pickpocket. Some nipper nabbed my wallet at the market today.
    1830s
  • raft
    ( n ) A large number. He had a whole raft of chickens in the back yard.
    1830s
  • redneck
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. Some redneck in a pickup with a gun rack tried to run me off the road.
    1830s
  • sap
    ( v ) To study. Renfrow saps all night; no wonder he makes such good grades.
    1830s
  • sashay
    ( v ) To go. Why don't you sashay over to the store and get some bottled water?
    1830s
  • shifty
    ( adj ) Deceitful, untrustworthy. The guy is too shifty for me; I don't like him.
    1830s
  • slick
    ( adj ) Excellent, outstanding. Isn't his Vette slick?
    1830s
  • smack
    ( v ) To hit or slap. She smacked him in the chops when he insulted her.
    1830s
  • sucker
    ( n ) A person easily conned or deceived. Don't be a sucker; buy your car from someone you know.
    1830s
  • tight-laced
    ( adj ) Priggish and tense. Oscar was too tight-laced to visit a hoochy-coochy club.
    1830s
  • vamoose
    ( v ) To leave. Come on, partners. Let's vamoose.
    1830s
  • chowderhead
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Lorenz is such a chowderhead he calls his friends 'bra' not 'bro'.
    1830s
  • plug
    ( v ) To shoot someone. The body had been plugged twice.
    1830s
  • slew
    ( n ) A large number, many. We saw a slew of crappies at the west end of the lake this weekend.
    1830s
  • paste
    ( v ) To hit. When he called me a 'wuss', I pasted him one on the kisser.
    1830s
  • paste
    ( v ) To hit. When he called me a 'wuss', I pasted him one on the kisser.
    1830s
  • crank
    ( n ) Irritable, short-tempered person; an eccentric person. That crank Josephine told me to buzz off when I asked her for a dollar.
    1830s
  • drink
    ( n ) Large body of water: sea, ocean, lake, river. Gill and Fish were goofing off on the pier and fell in the drink.
    1830s
  • skin
    ( v ) Cheat by copying on an exam. Marvin skinned the answers on the existentialism exam by looking into the soul of the girl sitting next to him.
    1830s
  • belt
    ( v ) To hit hard. Say that again and I'll belt you one in the kisser!
    1830s
  • fork out
    ( v ) Give, hand over. I have three daughters; do you know how much I will have to fork out for their weddings?
    1830s
  • fork over
    ( v ) Give, hand over. Ok, fork over that twenty bucks you owe me before I lose my cool!
    1830s
  • conniption
    ( n ) A fit, seizure. Now, Mabeleine, don't have a conniption, but I forgot the laundry.
    1830s
  • butterfingers
    ( n ) Someone who drops things. You are such a butterfingers; you drop everything you pick up!
    1830s
  • card
    ( n ) A witty showoff. He's quite a card. Which one? The joker.
    1830s
  • ironclad
    ( adj ) Air-tight, unimpeachable. Max had an ironclad alibi for his whereabouts on the night in question.
    1830s
  • bean
    ( n ) The least amount. He doesn't know beans about cars.
    1830s
  • brick
    ( n ) A good person. Don't say anything bad about Percival; he's a brick if ever there was one.
    1840s
  • bug
    ( n ) A fanatic. Milton is the greatest baseball bug I've ever known.
    1840s
  • bust
    ( n ) A failure. The whole idea was a bust.
    1840s
  • cook your goose
    ( vp ) Get you in trouble. As soon as he opened his mouth, he cooked his own goose.
    1840s
  • copper
    ( n ) Policeman. Where are the coppers when you need one?
    1840s
  • crappy
    ( adj ) Bad, of poor quality. That cafe has the crappiest food in town.
    1840s
  • gas
    ( n ) Empty, boastful talk. Don't listen to Tommy; he's full of gas.
    1840s
  • gourd
    ( n ) Head. Use your gourd to figure out what is happening.
    1840s
  • grubby
    ( adj ) Dirty, grimy. Those clothes are too grubby to wear to the party.
    1840s
  • hold on
    ( v ) Wait a minute. Don't go now; hold on a second.
    1840s
  • Hold your horses!
    ( np ) Wait a minute. Hold your horses! We have plenty of time.
    1840s
  • Joe
    ( n ) Form of address to an unknown male. Hey Joe, what's up.
    1840s
  • sack
    ( v ) To fire. Jake got sacked for smoking in his office.
    1840s
  • scrap
    ( n ) A fight. He got into a scrap with a motorcycle gang and had his nose bitten off.
    1840s
  • sharp
    ( n ) An expert. He was taken in by a couple of card sharps who drifted into town.
    1840s
  • spud
    ( n ) Potato. Do you want rice or spuds for dinner?
    1840s
  • squeal
    ( v ) To inform or tattle. He squealed on his buddies and got them in trouble.
    1840s
  • squirt
    ( n ) Petty, immature brat. That little squirt still doesn't know his right hand from his left.
    1840s
  • stool pigeon
    ( np ) A squealer, tattletale. Jeremiah works for the police as a stool pigeon for years.
    1840s
  • sucker
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat by deceit. He suckered me into dating his sister.
    1840s
  • grub
    ( n ) A studious, unsociable person. Well, it is the grubs who end up running the world.
    1840s
  • bone (up)
    ( v ) To study or work hard. I can't go anywhere tonight; I have to bone (up) for my chemistry test.
    1840s
  • mug (up)
    ( v ) To study hard. Did you mug up on your physics over the weekend?
    1840s
  • hot potato
    ( np ) Something potentially exposive, dangerous. The assistant district attorney was given all the hot potatoes that no one else woud touch with a ten-foot pole.
    1840s
  • dodge water under the bridge
    ( n ) Ruse, deceptive maneuver. He didn't use that old dodge about his old war wound preventing him from mowing the lawn, did he?
    1840s
  • bulky
    ( n ) A policeman. Keep the noise down or you'll bring the bulkies down on you.
    1840s
  • barnburner
    ( n ) A person or organization that overreacts, throws the baby out with the bathwater. That Congress was a barnburner that tried to reduce oppressive regulations by removing them all.
    1840s
  • barnstorm
    ( v ) To make a tour of rural areas. President Clinton was barnstorming for his wife's presidential campaign.
    1840s
  • duffer
    ( n ) An incompetent person. Les Fairway is just a duffer when it comes to golf.
    1840s
  • hang
    ( n ) Knack, understanding. Hang! I just can't get the hang of tying my shoes.
    1840s
  • hookey
    ( n ) Truancy. Maynard played hookey from school today and missed the quiz.
    1840s
  • hooky
    ( n ) Truancy. Maynard played hooky from school today and missed the quiz.
    1840s
  • fishy
    ( adj ) Suspicious, There is something fishy about his offer to trade me his Mercedes for my Chevy Malibu.
    1840s
  • greaser
    ( n ) (Offensive) A dark-haired, olive-skinned person. Who was that greaser I saw you with yesterday?
    1840s
  • gasbag
    ( n ) A pompous person. That old gasbag never stops tallking.
    1840s
  • beans
    ( n ) Crap, nonsense. That's just a lot of beans!
    1840s
  • ankle-biter
    ( n ) A child. Yes, Sam got married, settled down, and now has a playroom full of ankle-biters.
    1850s
  • betty
    ( n ) A man who does a woman's work. Aw, you don't want to take a betty like him to the fights.
    1850s
  • blowhard
    ( n ) A talkative braggart. That old blowhard thinks he won the Korean War single-handedly.
    1850s
  • boondoggle
    ( n ) A gadget, especially something braided from leather. Cowboys often spent their free time making boondoggles for their saddles.
    1850s
  • boy
    ( int ) Form of address to a male in the South. How are you doing, boy? I haven't seen you in a 'coon's age.
    1850s
  • buck
    ( n ) A dollar. He only got 50 bucks for that old heap of his.
    1850s
  • bull
    ( n ) A policeman. Everyone was having fun until the bulls broke it up.
    1850s
  • bum
    ( adj ) Bad, no good. What a bum trip that project was.
    1850s
  • chow
    ( n ) Food. The chow in that restaurant is crappola.
    1850s
  • clothes horse
    ( n ) Someone obsessed with clothing. Maureen is a clothes horse who spends most of her life shopping.
    1850s
  • dike
    ( n ) A prissy, well-dressed male. He is something of a dike, which puts many of the boys off.
    1850s
  • dog-gone
    ( adj ) Emphatic adjective. I don't know a dog-gone thing about the girl.
    1850s
  • dope
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. That dope doesn't know if he is coming or going.
    1850s
  • dough
    ( n ) Money. Horace has a lot of dough, let's ask him to lend us some.
    1850s
  • drag
    ( n ) A squelcher. Sunny is such a drag I would never invite her to my parties.
    1850s
  • dry up
    ( v ) To stop talking. Why don't you dry up? Nobody cares what you think.
    1850s
  • dyke
    ( n ) A prissy, well-dressed male. He is something of a dyke, which puts many of the boys off.
    1850s
  • kick-off
    ( n ) The beginning. The kick-off of his political campaign is tonight.
    1850s
  • Let her rip!
    ( vp ) Start it up, release it. OK, put her in gear and let her rip!
    1850s
  • mess
    ( v ) Bother, annoy. Don't mess with me right now, I'm in a bad mood.
    1850s
  • nark
    ( n ) An informer, a tattle-tale. I saw the little nark coming out of police headquarters.
    1850s
  • nickel
    ( n ) A 5-cent piece. Do you have a nickel for the parking meter?
    1850s
  • nipper
    ( n ) A little boy. He has to stay home and take care of the little nipper today.
    1850s
  • ornery
    ( adj ) Mean. Arnold had an ornery bull that no one could approach.
    1850s
  • play hooky
    ( vp ) To miss, to not attend. Are you going to school today or playing hooky?
    1850s
  • sawbuck
    ( n ) 10-dollar bill. Give me a sawbuck til Friday, Lionel, I'm flat broke.
    1850s
  • spiffy
    ( adj ) Dressed up. What a spiffy pair of shoes you have on, Roland.
    1850s
  • spunk up
    ( v ) To stand up to, assert oneself. Don't be afraid of him; spunk up to him.
    1850s
  • stink
    ( np ) A scandal, uproar. The citizens made a big stink about the new nuclear power station.
    1850s
  • suck in
    ( v ) To con. Don't let yourself be sucked in by her lies.
    1850s
  • tear
    ( v ) Move fast. She tore up the street when she heard her boyfriend was there.
    1850s
  • skunk
    ( v ) To fail to meet an obligation. He skunked the restaurant after complaining about the meal.
    1850s
  • townie
    ( n ) Permanent resident of a college town. Some townies threw eggs on the rods parked down town last night.
    1850s
  • wet blanket
    ( np ) A squelcher. I hate to go to parties with Shamus Allgood. He's such a wet blanket.
    1850s
  • clear out
    ( v ) To leave. I don't like it here; I'm going to clear out
    1850s
  • hayseed
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. That hayseed thinks a fox is some kind of forest animal.
    1850s
  • grind
    ( n ) A boring, repetitive routine. I need a break from the daily grind.
    1850s
  • nobby
    ( adj ) Fashionable. What a nobby hat you have there!
    1850s
  • canoodle
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. Their parents caught them canoodling in the living room.
    1850s
  • comeuppance
    ( n ) Just reward. I hope Wimplesnatch gets his comeuppance for cheating all those people.
    1850s
  • doggone
    ( int ) Emphatic adjective. I don't know a doggone thing about that.
    1850s
  • cranky
    ( adj ) Irritable, short-tempered. Don't ask Marvin for a raise today: he got out of bed cranky and has remained that way.
    1850s
  • catch
    ( n ) A hidden condition on an offer. You'll sell me your car for $200? What is the catch?
    1850s
  • blue-blood
    ( n ) Rich, upper class. Portia Carr is such a blue-blood herself she only talks to other blue-bloods.
    1850s
  • poppycock
    ( n ) Nonsense. All that talk about me and George Clooney is pure poppycock!
    1850s
  • lily-livered
    ( adj ) Cowardly. That lily-livered scoundrel never served a day in the army.
    1850s
  • mooch
    ( v ) To freeload, sponge, cadge. He's like a puppy: feed him once and he'll return to mooch off you all the time.
    1850s
  • moocher
    ( n ) A freeloader, sponger, cadger. Lester is a moocher who mooches meals off his sister.
    1850s
  • cow
    ( n ) An obnoxious or misfortunate woman. Poor cow, having to live with that man.
    1860s
  • deadbeat
    ( n ) Someone who doesn't pay his or her bills. I wouldn't go out with that deadbeat; he will stick you with the bill every time.
    1860s
  • dig
    ( v ) To study hard. He spent the night digging and still failed the exam.
    1860s
  • down
    ( v ) To drink quickly, to gulp down. Let's go to a bar and down a few beers.
    1860s
  • fix-up
    ( n ) Dose of narcotics. He is an addict that needs 2 fix-ups a day.
    1860s
  • flummox
    ( n ) A failure. Foster is the greatest flummox the world has every known.
    1860s
  • leave holding the bag
    ( vp ) To be made a scapegoat. When the hand grenade exploded beneath the cow, Beulah was left holding the bag.
    1860s
  • nifty
    ( adj ) OK, alright, suitable. What a nifty gadget Prunella's electric fork is!
    1860s
  • on the make
    ( pp ) Looking for profit or advantage. His words with me suggested that he is on the make for a promotion.
    1860s
  • pull
    ( n ) A draw on a pipe, cigarette, etc. Hey, dude, give me a pull on that coffin nail; I'm having a nicotine fit.
    1860s
  • ratty
    ( adj ) In bad condition. She was in an old pair of jeans and a ratty sweater.
    1860s
  • salty
    ( adj ) Risqué, bawdy. He likes to sing salty songs.
    1860s
  • shady
    ( adj ) Suspicious, not quite honest. He got in trouble hanging out with some shady characters in the pool hall.
    1860s
  • stiff
    ( n ) A corpse. They took the stiff to the morgue.
    1860s
  • chump
    ( n ) A foolish or gullible person. The poor chump can't get a date for the big dance.
    1860s
  • swot (up)
    ( v ) To study hard. I have to swot all night for my Russian test tomorrow.
    1860s
  • Whoopee!
    ( int ) An interjection of enjoyment. Whoopee! I won the game!
    1860s
  • mama's boy
    ( np ) A sissy who is overly attached to his mother. Ben Dover is such a mother's boy he won't go to the movies without calling home first.
    1860s
  • on the make
    ( pp ) Ambitious, out to succeed. Elroy dressed like a man on the make in the financial world.
    1860s
  • plug
    ( n ) A worn-out horse. I would be ashamed to put a plug like yours in a horse show.
    1860s
  • high-strung
    ( adj ) Tense, nervous. Amanda Lynn has been a little high-strung since her instrument cracked when she left it in the car.
    1860s
  • scadoodle
    ( n ) Heap, large amount. See if you can't get some marbles from Enrico; he has scadoodles of them.
    1860s
  • gumshoe
    ( n ) Detective. Some gumshoe has been tailing me all afternoon.
    1860s
  • light out
    ( v ) Move quickly, leave suddenly. When Mel heard Lance was there, he lit out for Megan's place.
    1860s
  • galoot
    ( n ) A strong, soft-hearted man. The big galoot brought me flowers after chasing away that wolf Hans from next door.
    1860s
  • scads
    ( n ) Heap, large amount. I heard LaVerne has scads of money.
    1860s
  • perk
    ( n ) Perquisite, benefit on a job. The only perk that comes with this job is a key to the bathroom.
    1860s
  • hunky-dory
    ( adj ) OK, alright. Is everything here hunky-dory?
    1860s
  • shebang
    ( n ) A set of facts or things. Baldwin sold the store, the stock, the grounds--the whole shebang.
    1860s
  • hock
    ( v ) (1) Being pawned. (2) Debt. Hardy Spender went into hock to buy that new car of his.
    1860s
  • cockamamie
    ( n ) Nonsensical, crazy. Cars that drive themselves? I've never heard such a cockamamie idea!
    1860s
  • meathead
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Henry is such a meathead he thinks Paris is the capital of Germany.
    1860s
  • skeedaddle
    ( v ) Leave, go way quickly. I'd better skeedaddle, if I want to make it to work on time.
    1860s
  • tart
    ( n ) Woman of loose morals. Maude Lynn Dresser came to the party in clothes that made her look like a right tart.
    1860s
  • mollycoddle
    ( v ) To coddle, spoil. He's the boss's son, so you'd better mollycoddle him.
    1860s
  • cop
    ( v ) To steal. How did you get the road sign? I copped it.
    1870s
  • dive
    ( n ) A disreputable eating or drinking establishment. Prudence avoided the kind of low dives Curly liked to frequent.
    1870s
  • gouge
    ( v ) To cheat by overcharging. He was gouging his customers on a regular basis until they caught on.
    1870s
  • hole up
    ( v ) Hide. I had to hole up for three days because the police were looking for me.
    1870s
  • monkey
    ( v ) To play carelessly. Don't monkey with the switch; you might start it up.
    1870s
  • nose
    ( n ) An ability to detect. Lucy Lastik has a nose for good night spots.
    1870s
  • piker
    ( n ) Cheapskate. That piker wouldn't pay more than $5 for a meal.
    1870s
  • roll
    ( v ) To rob someone drunk or sleeping. He got plastered last night and some woman he met in the bar rolled him.
    1870s
  • scrap
    ( v ) To fight. He's a well-intended boy but he scraps with the neighborhood kids too much.
    1870s
  • snap
    ( n ) Something easy. Mowing our lawn in an hour is a snap.
    1870s
  • eye to eye
    ( adv ) In agreement. Goober and I see eye to eye on everything political.
    1870s
  • masher
    ( n ) A man who makes improper advances to women. Mike Hunt is a masher who doesn't develop lasting relationships with girls.
    1870s
  • masher
    ( n ) A young man who makes improper advances to women. Mike Harden is a masher always on the make.
    1870s
  • close call
    ( np ) Near catastrophe, very dangerous situation. Buffy had a close call with the police when she ran a stoplight.
    1870s
  • scoop
    ( n ) An alert on a good news story. Rhoda Book always gets scoops on the honeymoon of the Hollywood stars.
    1870s
  • slush fund
    ( np ) Money for questionable activities. Robin Banks has a slush fund for his private parties on the company yacht.
    1870s
  • loony
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane, lunatic. Mike Hunt is so loony he thinks Turkey is the capital of Greece.
    1870s
  • classy
    ( n ) High-class, tasteful. Portia Radclyffe is too classy to take out to a diner.
    1870s
  • goody-goody (two shoes)
    ( n ) A prude. Charity Ball is such a goody-goody she would never do that.
    1870s
  • goody-goody
    ( adj ) Sanctimonious. Sheryl never attended church because she disliked the goody-goody sermonizing.
    1870s
  • hogwash
    ( n ) Nonsense. All that bragging about how much money he has is pure hogwash.
    1870s
  • big mouth
    ( np ) A talkative person. Shut up! You really have a big mouth.
    1880s
  • boot
    ( n ) Dismissal from work. I hear Ken got the boot at work today.
    1880s
  • boot
    ( v ) To fire. They booted Ken today; he is out of a job.
    1880s
  • bounce
    ( v ) To fire. She was bounced after she refused to work overtime.
    1880s
  • bounce
    ( v ) To force to leave. Malcolm got so boisterous in the bar they bounced him.
    1880s
  • bouncer
    ( n ) Someone who forces obnoxious people out of public places. Marvin had a few too many at the bar last night and the bouncer ejected him.
    1880s
  • bug
    ( n ) A fault or defect. There is a bug somewhere in my software that no one can find.
    1880s
  • chew the rag
    ( vp ) To spend time talking. Let's just spend the evening at home and chew the rag.
    1880s
  • con
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat. Don't try to con me.
    1880s
  • dope
    ( n ) A narcotic. There are a lot of dope dealers around here.
    1880s
  • Gee whiz!
    ( int ) An interjection of surprise (euphemism for 'Jesus'). Gee whiz! I didn't know George was that rich!
    1880s
  • goldang
    ( int ) An interjection of emphasis (euphemism for G. D.). I'll be goldang if he didn't wreck his new car!
    1880s
  • gyp
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat. He gypped me out of five dollars.
    1880s
  • hold up
    ( v ) To rob. He ended up in the hoosegow for holding up a stage coach.
    1880s
  • kill
    ( v ) To turn off, switch off. Kill the lights and let's look at the Christmas tree in the dark.
    1880s
  • nope
    ( adv ) No, a negative answer. Nope, I don't use dope.
    1880s
  • Rats!
    ( int ) An interjection of disappointment. Rats! We're out of gas.
    1880s
  • razzle-dazzle
    ( n ) Something fancy. She's all razzle-dazzle but without substance.
    1880s
  • root
    ( v ) To cheer for. He always roots for the home tema.
    1880s
  • run around
    ( v ) To associate with. Rodney runs around with a shady crowd.
    1880s
  • scrooch
    ( v ) To shrink or tighten up. Scrootch up, everyone, we have to fit one more person in the car.
    1880s
  • smoke
    ( n ) Cigarette. Do you have some smokes?
    1880s
  • spanking
    ( adv ) Very. He was in some spanking fine kicks!
    1880s
  • spoon
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. They love to spoon by the moonlight.
    1880s
  • stick up
    ( v ) To rob at gun point. He stuck up a grocery store and got caught.
    1880s
  • stick-up
    ( n ) An armed robbery. I was in the liquor store when the stick-up took place.
    1880s
  • take
    ( n ) Stolen goods or money. The take from the robbery was 35 cents and an expired credit card.
    1880s
  • tickle
    ( n ) Something funny. That story about his brother is a hella tickle.
    1880s
  • uppity
    ( adj ) Arrogant, condescending. She's so uppity that she only drinks champagne with her hotdogs.
    1880s
  • corker
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. Boy, that storm last night was a real corker, wasn't it?
    1880s
  • in the soup
    ( pp ) In trouble. Will I get you in the soup if I bring you home after midnight?
    1880s
  • squeeze
    ( v ) To pressure, blackmail. How can we squeeze some money out of your 'rents?
    1880s
  • druthers
    ( n ) Preference, choice. If I had my druthers, I would stay home tonight.
    1880s
  • plunk
    ( v ) To shoot or hit with a flying object. As soon as I saw that big fat turkey, I plunked him!
    1880s
  • boot
    ( n ) Dismissal, firing. I heard Lester got the boot and is looking for a new job.
    1880s
  • catch on
    ( v ) To understand a tricky concept. Sam calls the ranch he gave his sons the 'Focus' Ranch because it is where the son's raise meat. Catch on?
    1880s
  • catch on
    ( v ) To be picked up by a lot of people. My record was played on several radio station but it didn't catch on.
    1880s
  • guff
    ( n ) Bluster, threats. Do what you want to do; don't take any guff from Frankie.
    1880s
  • tube
    ( n ) The telephone. I'll give you a ring on the tube when I'm ready.
    1880s
  • dotty
    ( adj ) Silly, crazy. Wearing a polka dot dress to a funeral is not surprising for someone as dotty as Maude Lynn Dresser.
    1880s
  • oyster
    ( n ) A jolly good fellow. Horace set me up with a beautiful blind date. Quite an oyster, that Horace.
    1880s
  • southpaw
    ( n ) A left-hander. Johnny Batts can't hit a southpaw pitcher.
    1880s
  • turf
    ( v ) To force someone out of something. Stedman was turfed out of the club for wearing too much bling.
    1880s
  • bellyache
    ( v ) Complain. Stop bellyaching and get to work!
    1880s
  • cinch
    ( n ) Something very easy to do. Changing tires on a car is a cinch.
    1880s
  • lunkhead
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Watch out, lunkhead! You'll spill it!
    1880s
  • scream
    ( n ) A very, very good time Hardy Pardy's reception was a scream.
    1880s
  • la-di-dah
    ( adj, int ) Pretentious, snobbish. Susan Liddy-Gates is a la-di-dah high society lawyer.
    1880s
  • la-di-da
    ( adj, int ) Pretentious, snobbish. Vernon is engaged to some la-di-da upscale trophy girl.
    1880s
  • booster
    ( n ) A strong supporter. She is a big booster of the high school football team.
    1890s
  • brass
    ( n ) High ranking officials. When the brass hears about this, they aren't going to like it.
    1890s
  • chew the fat
    ( vp ) To spend time talking. We were just chilling, chewing the fat.
    1890s
  • crap
    ( n ) Nonsense. Cut the crap and let's get to work.
    1890s
  • ducky
    ( adj ) OK, alright. Everything was just ducky between them.
    1890s
  • eat
    ( v ) To annoy, bother. I have a problem that is really eating (at) me.
    1890s
  • Gee!
    ( int ) An interjection of surprise (euphemism for 'Jesus'). Gee! I didn't know George was that rich!
    1890s
  • hang-out
    ( n ) A gathering place. The soda shop was our old hang-out.
    1890s
  • hooch
    ( n ) Liquor, bootleg liquor. Where did you get this rotgut hooch?
    1890s
  • Hooray!
    ( int ) An interjection of celebration. Hooray! I just won the lottery!
    1890s
  • jiggy
    ( adj ) Jittery, fidgety. Sit still and don't be so jiggy.
    1890s
  • juice
    ( n ) Electricity. There is a plug here but it doesn't have any juice.
    1890s
  • knockout
    ( n ) A very beautiful female. Who was that knockout I saw you with last Friday?
    1890s
  • loaded
    ( adj ) Drunk; intoxicated. He partied all night and came home loaded.
    1890s
  • lush
    ( n ) An alcoholic. Ferdie's dad was a lush but he turned out alright.
    1890s
  • nippy
    ( adj ) Chilly. Better put on a coat; it is a little nippy outside today.
    1890s
  • nutty
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. You must be nutty to think I would join the choir.
    1890s
  • pantywaist
    ( n ) A weak, indecisive person. Gordon is such a pantywaist he does everything his girlfriend tells him.
    1890s
  • raggedy
    ( adj ) In bad condition. Get your raggedy ride out a here poser!
    1890s
  • raspberry
    ( n ) Blowing air through the closed lips to make a disgusting sound. I guess the date didn't go very well; she gave me a raspberry rather than a kiss when I took her home.
    1890s
  • razzmatazz
    ( n ) Something fancy. There is too much razzmatazz in his church services for my taste.
    1890s
  • schmuck
    ( n ) A jerk. What a stupid schmuck.
    1890s
  • spit and image
    ( np ) An identical copy. Rodney is the spit and image of his father.
    1890s
  • tanked up
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. Guy was so tanked up last night that he couldn't find his way home.
    1890s
  • thin ice
    ( np ) A precarious situation. The company is not bankrupt but it is (skating) on thin ice.
    1890s
  • skunk
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat. Mortimer skunked Phil out of $5.
    1890s
  • two bits
    ( n ) A 25-cent piece. I wouldn't give him two bits for that tin can he drives.
    1890s
  • up the river
    ( ap ) In prison or jail. They sent him up the river for 20 years for his part in the heist.
    1890s
  • windbag
    ( n ) Someone who talks too much. That old windbag never stops talking about himself.
    1890s
  • yep
    ( adv ) Yes, a positive answer. Yep, I really like okra.
    1890s
  • four-flusher
    ( n ) A person who bluffs and deceives others. That no-good four-flusher tried told me that old tin can of his once belong to Mario Andretti.
    1890s
  • grind
    ( n ) A studious, unsociable person. Flynn isn't coming; that grind has to do his homework.
    1890s
  • mug
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. I caught them mugging in the living room.
    1890s
  • willies
    ( n ) Nervousness from fear, heebie-jeebies Just thinking of how close I came to hitting that other car gives me the willies.
    1890s
  • simoleon
    ( n ) A dollar. I don't have a simoleon to my name.
    1890s
  • bell-bottomed
    ( adj ) Flared at the end (pants). In those days all sailors wore bell-bottomed trousers.
    1890s
  • hotfoot (it)
    ( v ) Move quickly. When Mel heard Lance was visiting his Mel's girlfriend, he hotfooted it over to her place.
    1890s
  • juice
    ( n ) Electricity. Plug the mixer in and give it the juice.
    1890s
  • plunk down
    ( vp ) To pay. I plunked down two hundred bucks for this car; it had better be good.
    1890s
  • also-ran
    ( n ) A horse that loses races or an unsuccessful human competitor. Dealer's Choice is another also-ran that never won a race.
    1890s
  • digs
    ( n ) Home or apartment. Let's go over to my digs and have a nightcap.
    1890s
  • live wire
    ( n ) An exciting, energetic person. Isn't that Merrill Lynch a live wire? Did you see him wearing that lampshade like a hat at the party?
    1890s
  • cough up
    ( v ) To give up, stop holding back. I know you have my glove; now, come on, cough it up.
    1890s
  • port-sider
    ( n ) A left-hander. Lefty is a port-sider that right-handed batters can't hit.
    1890s
  • battle-ax
    ( n ) (Offensive) Mean old woman. That old battle-ax will never be cool!
    1890s
  • bumbershoot
    ( n ) Umbrella. Don't forget your bumbershoot; it looks like rain.
    1890s
  • cheapskate
    ( n ) A stingy person, tightwad. Prudence Pender is a cheapskate who keeps a combination lock on her purse.
    1890s
  • pinhead
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. That pinhead paid $50 for a pair of pliers.
    1890s
  • jiggery-pokery
    ( n ) Deceitful trickery. Robin Banks did some jiggery-pokery to make his books show a profit.
    1890s
  • bash
    ( n ) A drunken spree. He went out on a bash last night and is pretty sick today.
    1900s
  • bonehead
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. That bonehead let the air out of his own tires!.
    1900s
  • bunk
    ( n ) Nonsense. He said he aced the chem exam. That's bunk!
    1900s
  • butterflies in the stomach
    ( n ) Fearfulness, stage fright. Every time I talk to her I have butterflies in my stomach.
    1900s
  • call on the carpet
    ( vp ) To scold, chastise. The third time Winfred was late for work the boss called him out on the carpet.
    1900s
  • can
    ( v ) To fire. She talked back to the boss and got canned.
    1900s
  • cold
    ( adv ) Completely, immediately. Marguerite stopped Paul cold with her question.
    1900s
  • pan
    ( v ) To criticize severely. Lucy Lastik's ice-skating routine was panned by the judges.
    1900s
  • do in
    ( v ) To kill or destroy. His business was doing well until the hurricane destroyed his store and did him in.
    1900s
  • doll up
    ( v ) Dress up, dress stylishly. So where are you going, all dolled up?
    1900s
  • double-cross
    ( v ) To betray. He promised to pay me for painting his room but double-crossed me and didn't.
    1900s
  • frog
    ( n ) Hoarseness. I can't make a toast tonight; I have a frog in my throat.
    1900s
  • goop
    ( n ) A stupid person. He is such a goop he eats his peas with his fingers.
    1900s
  • goopy
    ( adj ) Stupid or foolish. Don't be so goopy; go along with the others.
    1900s
  • grouser
    ( n ) A complainer, a whiner. Doolittle is a constant grouser that everybody hates.
    1900s
  • hanging
    ( adj ) Excellent, outstanding. That is a hanging new sweater Brenda bought her sister.
    1900s
  • hep
    ( adj ) A part of the current musical culture. That cat is hep to all the dives with cool jazz.
    1900s
  • ice
    ( n ) Diamonds, jewelry. She came dripping with ice.
    1900s
  • in the bag
    ( pp ) Assured, guaranteed. Everything is in the bag. There is nothing to worry about.
    1900s
  • jitney
    ( n ) A nickel, a 5-cent piece. He didn't have a jitney on him at the time.
    1900s
  • just off the boat
    ( pp ) Naive. He acts like he is just off the boat.
    1900s
  • killer
    ( n ) Something or someone excellent, outstanding. That new book by her mother is a real killer.
    1900s
  • lay off
    ( v ) To quit. Hey, lay off bothering me!
    1900s
  • lick
    ( n ) A bit, the smallest amount. He doesn't have lick of sense.
    1900s
  • live-wire
    ( np ) An exciting person. Maisy is a live-wire everyone wants at his or her party.
    1900s
  • loaded
    ( adj ) Rich, wealthy. I hear Leroy's parents are loaded.
    1900s
  • machine
    ( n ) A car (hot-rodders). You should see that boss machine of his.
    1900s
  • nut
    ( n ) A crazy person. I think that he is a nut.
    1900s
  • rap
    ( n ) An accusation. Eustace has a rap sheet as long as your arm.
    1900s
  • rat
    ( n ) A contemptible person. The little rat won't do anything I tell him.
    1900s
  • rat
    ( n ) An informer, a tattle-tale. The little rat told the principal!
    1900s
  • ratty
    ( adj ) Unfair. He got a ratty assignment in Java.
    1900s
  • read the riot act
    ( vp ) To scold, chastise severely. When mom saw the condition of my room, she read me the riot act.
    1900s
  • scrap
    ( v ) Cancel. We had to scrap plans to go to the beach when we saw the weather report.
    1900s
  • screw
    ( v ) To harm greatly. He got screwed by a used-car dealer.
    1900s
  • side-kick
    ( n ) Someone who always accompanies someone else. You never see Pedro without his side-kick, Manuel.
    1900s
  • snarky
    ( adj ) Irritable, short-tempered. Don't be so snarky; I only asked a question.
    1900s
  • stand up
    ( v ) To not show up for a date. Hortense said that she would meet me for dinner but she stood me up.
    1900s
  • tail
    ( v ) To follow. Quentin tailed his sister to the boy's house.
    1900s
  • thick
    ( adj ) Close, tight. They are as thick as thieves.
    1900s
  • word
    ( n ) News, latest gossip. So, what's the word, man?
    1900s
  • yeah
    ( adv ) Yes, a positive answer. Yeah, I'm going to the football game.
    1900s
  • hillbilly
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. Willy Earl tells everyone he is in computing but he is just a hillbilly who works in the stockroom of a computer warehouse.
    1900s
  • lollapalooza
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. Boy, that storm last night was a real lollapalooza, wasn't it?
    1900s
  • skidoo
    ( v ) To leave. Come on, kiddo, time for us to skidoo.
    1900s
  • skiddoo
    ( v ) To leave. Come on, kiddo, time for us to skiddoo.
    1900s
  • fall for
    ( v ) To be deceived, tricked. I told him that my dad was the President of the United States and he fell for it.
    1900s
  • mutt
    ( n ) A dog. Hey, Fritz, what is your mutt barking at now?
    1900s
  • plug for
    ( v ) To promote, advance. Maudie brought the boss presents every day when she was plugging for a promotion.
    1900s
  • hawkshaw
    ( n ) Detective. Mildred hired some two-bit hawkshaw to follow me around and make sure I'm not seeing someone else.
    1900s
  • louse
    ( n ) A mean, despicable person. I won't have anything to do with that louse Ivan Oder.
    1900s
  • humdinger
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. That new baseball bat of Glen Gary's is a humdinger!
    1900s
  • movie
    ( n ) A motion picture. I do enjoy a good movie after dinner.
    1900s
  • doodad
    ( n ) Decorative article. Maybelle's house is full of fancy doodads she brought back from her world travels.
    1900s
  • wisenheimer
    ( n ) Someone who thinks he or she is smarter than others. Buzz is a wisenheimer who thinks he knows everything.
    1900s
  • yegg
    ( n ) Safe-cracker, a crook. Marvin hired some yegg to do his dirty work for him.
    1900s
  • dragnet
    ( n ) A widespread seach. The police put out a dragnet for the guy who beat you up.
    1900s
  • hock
    ( v ) To pawn. Billy hocked his guitar to get his watch out of hock.
    1900s
  • batty
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. If you think I'm going to get me to date your sister, you're batty.
    1900s
  • stir-crazy
    ( adj ) Crazy for being cooped up. I'm getting stir-crazy lying in bed all day .
    1900s
  • kiddo
    ( int ) Extended form of "kid". Look, kiddo, I ain't doing anything illegal.
    1900s
  • bean
    ( n ) The head. The picher threw a bean ball and knocked the batter out.
    1900s
  • beat it
    ( v ) To leave. When the cops drove up, we had to beat it.
    1910s
  • bimbo
    ( n ) A tough guy. Max is just another bimbo who goes around trying to pick fights in bars.
    1910s
  • Boy!
    ( int ) An emphatic interjection. Boy, was he surprised when I showed him my new erector set!
    1910s
  • break
    ( n ) Opportunity. A lucky break helped him get the job.
    1910s
  • bug
    ( v ) To equip with a burglar alarm. The coppers caught him when he entered a bugged house.
    1910s
  • bull
    ( n ) Nonsense. Everything you've said is just a load of bull and you know it.
    1910s
  • cootie
    ( n ) A body louse. I wouldn't go out with him; they say he has cooties.
    1910s
  • creep
    ( n ) A sneak thief. He was making a marginal living as a creep until the cops caught him at his trade.
    1910s
  • cushy
    ( adj ) Easy, simple. He has a really cushy job with a septic tank cleaner.
    1910s
  • date
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. He is such a soppy date, he should do well in politics.
    1910s
  • ding-bat
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Archie Bunker always called his wife a ding-bat.
    1910s
  • drag
    ( n ) A draw (on cigarette, cigar, pipe, etc.). Hey, man, give me a drag on that pipe so I can see if that tobacco is any good.
    1910s
  • duck soup
    ( np ) Something easy. All her courses are duck soup.
    1910s
  • earful
    ( n ) A lot of gossip. My grandmother gave me an earful about the neighborhood.
    1910s
  • eat one's heart out
    ( vp ) To gnaw at, disturb, vex. It is best to talk about your problems than let them eat your heart out.
    1910s
  • fed
    ( n ) FBI investigator. His dad made moonshine until the feds caught up with him.
    1910s
  • gander
    ( n ) A look. Take a gander at that beefcake over there.
    1910s
  • gas
    ( n ) A joke. They played some kind of gas on her and made her mad.
    1910s
  • get on your nerves
    ( n ) To annoy, bother. Go play in another room; you are getting on my nerves.
    1910s
  • goldbrick
    ( n ) Someone who does not do his or her share of the work. That goldbrick sits in his office all day and doesn't do a lick of work.
    1910s
  • goof
    ( n ) Someone stupid or foolish. I am really a goof at times.
    1910s
  • grift
    ( v ) To run a con. I don't have any cash so we'll have to grift tonight.
    1910s
  • grifter
    ( n ) A con artist. John is such a grifter he runs cons on his mother.
    1910s
  • heel
    ( n ) A loser, a jerk. What a heel! He left is wife and kids for the circus.
    1910s
  • hoosegow
    ( n ) Jail or prison. You had better be careful that you don't end up in the hoosegow.
    1910s
  • jake
    ( adj ) Alright, OK. Who made all that noise? Is everything jake out here?
    1910s
  • jazz
    ( adj ) To excite, enthuse. This is going to be a great reunion. I'm really jazzed about going.
    1910s
  • jinx
    ( n ) Something or someone that brings bad luck. For a long time sailors thought that a woman on board ship was a jinx.
    1910s
  • joint
    ( n ) A questionable establishment. He took her to a joint he wouldn't want his mother to even know about.
    1910s
  • keen
    ( adj ) Attractive or appealing. She was a keen girl, with nice gams and figure.
    1910s
  • lay off
    ( v ) To fire (temporarily). The company laid off 100 people this week.
    1910s
  • mush
    ( n ) Sentimentality. The movie was full of romantic mush.
    1910s
  • nickel-and-dime
    ( v ) To niggle away, eat a way bit by bit. These telephone bills are nickel-and-diming me something awful.
    1910s
  • noodle
    ( n ) The head. Ow! I just bumped my noodle on that pipe up there.
    1910s
  • Nuts!
    ( int ) An interjection of disappointment. Nuts! I dropped my glasses down the sewer drain.
    1910s
  • pokey
    ( n ) Jail or prison. When his brother got out of the pokey, he went right back to making book.
    1910s
  • punch-drunk
    ( adj ) Brain-damaged from boxing. He had to quit the ring when he became to punch-drunk to focus his eyes.
    1910s
  • Reach for the ceiling!
    ( phr ) Raise your hands. Drop that gun and reach for the ceiling!
    1910s
  • Reach for the roof!
    ( phr ) Raise your hands. Drop that gun and reach for the roof!
    1910s
  • boner
    ( n ) A mistake, an error I must have pulled a real boner on the test; I flunked it.
    1910s
  • rinky-dink
    ( adj ) Run-down, old, old fashioned. The circus was really rinky-dink.
    1910s
  • scratch
    ( n ) Money. I need a burger; does anyone have any scratch?
    1910s
  • short
    ( n ) A street car. He used to ride the shorts to work.
    1910s
  • snookums
    ( n ) Female term of endearment. Hello, snookums, how did your day go?
    1910s
  • steam up
    ( v ) To excite, agitate. They tried without success to steam up his courage.
    1910s
  • straight
    ( adj ) Without ice. He was surprised to see her drink her whiskey straight.
    1910s
  • vigorish
    ( n ) High interest on a loan. He got the money from a loan shark who charged him 10% a day in vigorish.
    1910s
  • welcher
    ( n ) Someone who doesn't pay what is owed. You loaned him $10? The welcher will never pay you back.
    1910s
  • whacked
    ( adj ) Tired, exhausted. I'm whacked; I can't go anywhere tonight.
    1910s
  • wino
    ( n ) A homeless alcoholic. He always gives change to the winos downtown.
    1910s
  • yessir
    ( adv ) Yes, a positive answer. Yessir, that lady is my wife.
    1910s
  • blues
    ( n ) Depression, melancholy. Her boyfriend left her singing the blues
    1910s
  • loony bin
    ( np ) Insane asylum. Loan you $5? You should be locked up in a loony bin!
    1910s
  • curtains
    ( n ) The end. If we don't win this game, it's curtains for the coach.
    1910s
  • spruce off
    ( v ) To avoid a duty by deception. Mike Hunt will tell you he is going to do something then spruce off just when you need it done.
    1910s
  • crackpot
    ( n ) A crazy person with unworkable ideas. Thor Pearson has some crackpot idea about making powdered water.
    1910s
  • fall for
    ( v ) Fall in love with. The moment Moine saw Phillippe she fell for him like a ton of bricks.
    1910s
  • posh
    ( adj ) Luxurious. Larry, Harry, Barry, and Mary stayed in the poshest hotel in Paris.
    1910s
  • on the make
    ( pp ) Flirting, making advances on people of the opposite sex. Clara Belle was down at the bar last night on the make.
    1910s
  • floozy
    ( n ) A woman of loose morals Juan Carlos came to the party with some floozy he picked up at a bar.
    1910s
  • floozie
    ( n ) A woman of loose morals Juan Carlos came to the party with some floozie he picked up at a bar.
    1910s
  • gussy
    ( v ) To dress up. Well, look at Maud Lynn Dresser! Isn't she all gussied up?
    1910s
  • crumb
    ( n ) A mean, despicable person. The dirty crumb walked out and stuck me with the tab.
    1910s
  • simp
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. That simp doesn't know how to tie his shoes!
    1910s
  • beat
    ( v ) Stump, be incomprehensible. It beats me how Snerdley pays for the gas for that car of his.
    1910s
  • do-hickey
    ( n ) An object for which a name is unavailable. Gert, do you know what this do-hickey on my tricycle is for?
    1910s
  • doohickey
    ( n ) An object for which a name is unavailable. There is something wrong with some little doohickey on my car engine.
    1910s
  • dilly
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. Lester Workwithe just bought a dilly of a car from
    1910s
  • pug-ugly
    ( adj ) Very ugly. Luella and her pug-ugly friend came to the party late.
    1910s
  • roscoe
    ( n ) A handgun. Gimme yer roscoe, Roscoe; I can't crack this walnut with my teeth."
    1910s
  • meathook
    ( n ) A hand. Get your meathooks off me!
    1910s
  • clam up
    ( v ) To refuse to speak When I asked Joe Bones where he got the money for the car, he clammed up.
    1910s
  • beezer
    ( n ) A nose. Stan took one on the beezer when he told his wife to get him a beer.
    1910s
  • cabin-fever
    ( n ) Irritability from being cooped up indoors. I'm getting cabin-fever; I'm going fishing.
    1910s
  • blotto
    ( adj ) Drunk. Smedley came home blotto so often, it was a month before he realized his wife had left him.
    1910s
  • buzz off
    ( v ) Leave, say good-bye. Why don't you just buzz off and stop bothering me?
    1910s
  • dingbat
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. Archie Bunker always called his wife a ding-bat.
    1910s
  • ace
    ( n ) One dollar bill. Let's eat out tonight; I have a couple of aces burning a hole in my pocket.
    1920s
  • all wet
    ( ap ) Wrong. You're all wet. The New York Giants didn't win the 1937 World Series.
    1920s
  • And how!
    ( int ) An interjection of strong agreement. Did I have a good time? And how!.
    1920s
  • Applesauce!
    ( int ) Nonsense! Applesauce! The New York Yankees won the 1937 World Series.
    1920s
  • attaboy
    ( int ) Well done! Attaboy, Greg. You show them!
    1920s
  • attagirl
    ( int ) Well done! Attagirl, Gwen. You show them!
    1920s
  • ax
    ( n ) Dismissal from work. The fourth time they caught her sleeping on the job, Constance Noring was given the ax.
    1920s
  • ax
    ( v ) To fire. He just got axed from his third job this week.
    1920s
  • baby
    ( n ) Sweetheart. She's my baby and I'd do anything for her.
    1920s
  • balled up
    ( adj ) Confused. Rodney's all balled up; he doesn't know if he is coming or going.
    1920s
  • baloney
    ( n ) Nonsense! That's a lot of baloney and you know it! None of it is true.
    1920s
  • bearcat
    ( n ) A sexy or seductive woman. Man, that Cindy Lou is a lot of fun! What a bearcat that woman is!
    1920s
  • beat one's gums
    ( vp ) To talk. We were just sitting around, beating our gums about nothing.
    1920s
  • beef
    ( n ) A complaint. Why are you complaining? What's your beef?
    1920s
  • beef
    ( v ) To complain. Stop beefing about the curfew; you can't do anything about it.
    1920s
  • bee's knees
    ( np ) Something excellent, outstanding. Mavis, that new perfume you got is the bee's knees!
    1920s
  • beeswax
    ( n ) Business. What's my name? None of your beeswax.
    1920s
  • bell-bottom
    ( n ) A sailor. She has dated every bell-bottom in San Diego.
    1920s
  • big cheese
    ( np ) An important person. He thinks that he is a big cheese just because he has a new Oldsmobile.
    1920s
  • big shot
    ( np ) An important person. He thinks that he is a big shot just because he drives around in a Caddie.
    1920s
  • big six
    ( np ) A strong man. He's a big six in my book any day.
    1920s
  • bird
    ( n ) An eccentric. You never know what that old bird is going to do next.
    1920s
  • blind date
    ( np ) A date you have never met before. The bonehead never went out on blind dates because he thought they were with girls who couldn't see.
    1920s
  • bluenose
    ( n ) A puritanical person, a prude. The party was filled with so many prudes and bluenoses nobody had any fun.
    1920s
  • boocoo
    ( adj ) Much, a lot. I don't have boocoo time to help you with that.
    1920s
  • boocoos
    ( n ) A large amount. I had boocoos of money before the market crashed.
    1920s
  • booger
    ( n ) A bit of dried nasal mucus. Hey, Jeremiah, you have a booger hanging from your nose.
    1920s
  • bootleg
    ( adj ) Illegal, smuggled. His dad made enough money running bootleg liquor to open a bank before Prohibition ended.
    1920s
  • bozo
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. That bozo doesn't know ham from a hammer.
    1920s
  • breezer
    ( n ) A convertible car. Let's put the top down on the breezer and let the wind blow through our hair.
    1920s
  • Bronx cheer
    ( np ) Blowing air through the closed lips to make a disgusting sound. When he cut in front of the taxi, he received a Bronx cheer from the cabbie.
    1920s
  • Buddy Roe
    ( int ) A threatening form of address for a male in the South. Look out, Buddy Roe, or you'll get into trouble!
    1920s
  • bug
    ( n ) A burglar alarm system. He was caught when he broke into a house that was bugged.
    1920s
  • bull session
    ( np ) An informal conversation. The boys got together at Raphael's for an all-night bull-session.
    1920s
  • bump off
    ( v ) To kill. The boss thought we ought to bump off the informer.
    1920s
  • bum's rush
    ( np ) Ejection by force. Stanley became so obnoxious, we had to give him the bum's rush to get him out.
    1920s
  • canned
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. The woman is canned; have her husband take her home.
    1920s
  • caper
    ( n ) A crime. Sturgeon thought he was a master mind but the cops caught up with him after 4 or 5 capers.
    1920s
  • carry a torch
    ( vp ) To love someone. Maxwell's carrying a torch for Madeleine.
    1920s
  • cat's meow
    ( np ) Something excellent, outstanding. Wow, Kathleen! That new hat is the cat's meow.
    1920s
  • cat's pajamas
    ( np ) Something excellent, outstanding. I hear LaVern's new Duisenberg is the cat's pajamas.
    1920s
  • chassis
    ( n ) The female figure. She is a lovely lady with a classy chassis.
    1920s
  • cheaters
    ( n ) Eyeglasses. He can't see past the end of his nose without his cheaters.
    1920s
  • clam
    ( n ) A dollar. Hey, this suit cost me 20 clams!
    1920s
  • clip
    ( v ) To steal. He clips something every time he goes into a store.
    1920s
  • copacetic
    ( adj ) OK, alright. Everything between me and my baby is copacetic.
    1920s
  • corked
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. Lorimar is too corked to go home alone.
    1920s
  • crackers
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. He offered me $250 for my Stutz-Bearcat. He must be crackers!
    1920s
  • crush
    ( n ) An infatuation. She has a crush on her teacher and spends all day studying biology.
    1920s
  • daddy
    ( n ) A rich male protector who usually expects favors from his female charge. Tillie has a (sugar) daddy who takes care of all her bills.
    1920s
  • dame
    ( n ) A female (offensive). She's a swell dame; I like her a lot.
    1920s
  • date
    ( n ) A person of the opposite sex you go out with. I have a hot date tonight, so I won't be able to go out with you guys.
    1920s
  • dead soldier
    ( n ) An empty beer bottle. They were in the living room surrounded by a case of dead soldiers.
    1920s
  • dick
    ( n ) A private investigator. Sally hired a private dick to tail her husband.
    1920s
  • dive
    ( n ) A cheap bar. I wouldn't drink any of the hooch they serve in that dive.
    1920s
  • dog
    ( n ) A foot. Boy, are my dogs tired!
    1920s
  • doll
    ( n ) An attractive female. Maria was quite a doll when she dressed up.
    1920s
  • Don't take any wooden nickels
    ( phr ) Don't do anything stupid. When you go to the big city, Luke, don't take any wooden nickels.
    1920s
  • doozy
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. He came home with a doozy of a knot on his head.
    1920s
  • dumb Dora
    ( np ) A stupid female. What a dumb Dora she is: when her husband asked if she like the new China, she replied, 'No, I hate the communists.'.
    1920s
  • dynamite
    ( n ) Heroine. He is a lovely man but they say he is addicted to dynamite.
    1920s
  • earful
    ( n ) A significant statement. When Russell came home plastered, his wife gave him an earful that he will never forget.
    1920s
  • edge
    ( n ) State of drunkenness, intoxication. Let's go; I'm getting an edge.
    1920s
  • egg
    ( n ) A person who lives well. Oh, you never want to miss Lucien's parties; he's a very good egg.
    1920s
  • embalmed
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. Lance was so embalmed that he didn't come to as they rolled him down the hill to the car.
    1920s
  • fall guy
    ( np ) A scapegoat. They dumped all the evidence in Preston's locker, deciding to let him be the fall guy.
    1920s
  • fin
    ( n ) 5-dollar bill. Hey, Wayland, loan me a fin until payday.
    1920s
  • fire extinguisher
    ( np ) A chaperone. Priscilla was so hot, she could never go out without a fire extinguisher.
    1920s
  • fish
    ( n ) A college freshman. Hey, guys, the freshman looks like a fish out of water; let's make him water the shrubbery in the rain.
    1920s
  • fix
    ( n ) A bribe, bribery. The cops never pick up Joey because the fix is in.
    1920s
  • fix
    ( v ) To bribe. Barney fixed the judge in his case, so he got off Scot free.
    1920s
  • flapper
    ( n ) An exciting woman in short, stylish skirts and short hair. In her youth Purity was one of the best known flappers in town.
    1920s
  • flat
    ( adj ) Out of air. The cause of the jostling was a flat tire.
    1920s
  • flat tire
    ( np ) A stupid female. I took that flat tire out once--never again!
    1920s
  • flivver
    ( n ) A Model T Ford. Sure, he's hot: he took me out in his dad's flivver.
    1920s
  • fly boy
    ( np ) An aviator, someone in the Air Force. Prunella is going with some fly boy out at the base.
    1920s
  • frame
    ( n ) To give false evidence. My best friend tried to frame me for flushing the cherry bomb down the john by putting the rest of them in my locker.
    1920s
  • fried
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He was so fried we rolled him to the car and he never came to.
    1920s
  • gam
    ( n ) A woman's leg. She has a great figure and even greater gams.
    1920s
  • get a wiggle on
    ( vp ) Speed up. We're going to be late for the ballet--get a wiggle on!
    1920s
  • giggle-water
    ( np ) Liquor or other alcoholic beverage. He poured me a glass of some kind of giggle water and that's the last thing I remember.
    1920s
  • gigolo
    ( n ) A kept man who lives off women. His mother has a gigolo that she spends a lot of time with.
    1920s
  • gin mill
    ( np ) A bar. She dragged me down to some gin mill where her sister sang and hoofed.
    1920s
  • glad rags
    ( np ) Dressy clothes. Hey, Daisy, put on some glad rags and I'll take you to a ritzy night club.
    1920s
  • gold digger
    ( n ) A female after a man's money. She doesn't love him; she is just a gold-digger after his money.
    1920s
  • gold-digger
    ( n ) A woman trying to marry a wealthy man. Do you really love me or are you just another gold-digger after my money?
    1920s
  • goofy
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. He gone goofy over Alice.
    1920s
  • grand
    ( n ) A thousand dollars. His salary is twenty grand a month.
    1920s
  • guy
    ( n ) A fellow. That guy's been in a lot of trouble, (bloke).
    1920s
  • handcuff
    ( n ) An engagement ring. I love the woman but she'll never get the handcuff on me.
    1920s
  • hard-boiled
    ( adj ) Tough and cold. Harry's a hard-boiled cop who doesn't take anything from anybody.
    1920s
  • hayburner
    ( n ) A gas-guzzling car. He has a cool set of wheels but his dad drives a hayburner.
    1920s
  • hayburner
    ( n ) A horse that never wins a race. Don't talk to me; I just lost a week's salary on a hayburner at the track.
    1920s
  • heat
    ( n ) A gun. Watch out for John, he's strapped with heat.
    1920s
  • heater
    ( n ) A gun. The mobster had a lump in his coat that suggested a heater.
    1920s
  • heebie-jeebies
    ( n ) Nervousness. Just thinking about the dentist gives me the heebie-jeebies.
    1920s
  • heist
    ( n ) An armed robbery. There was a heist at the bank today.
    1920s
  • hick
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. Patsy is dating some hick who wears a straw hat.
    1920s
  • high-hat
    ( v ) To snub someone. When I asked her out, she high-hatted me and walked away.
    1920s
  • hit on all sixes
    ( vp ) To perform perfectly. We lost last night because our star player was not hitting on all sixes.
    1920s
  • hit the road
    ( vp ) To leave. Man, it's 11 o'clock; time for us to hit the road.
    1920s
  • hood
    ( n ) A hoodlum, gangster. It is a nice neighborhood except for a couple of hoods who live down the block.
    1920s
  • hoofer
    ( n ) A dancer. He's dating some hoofer at Radio City Hall.
    1920s
  • hook
    ( v ) To addict. They say Zelda is hooked on heroine.
    1920s
  • Hoopty-doo!
    ( int ) An interjection of celebration. Hoopty-doo! Fred got a promotion and a big raise!
    1920s
  • horse
    ( v ) To play with carelessly. I don't have time to horse around; let's get down to business.
    1920s
  • horse feathers
    ( int ) Nonsense. Horse feathers! You never dated Clara Bow!
    1920s
  • hot
    ( adj ) Fast (music). I like my jazz hot, not cool.
    1920s
  • hot
    ( adj ) Electrically charged or radioactive. He accidentally picked up a hot wire and got a shock.
    1920s
  • hot seat
    ( np ) The electric chair. Marcus got the hot seat for murder.
    1920s
  • hotsy-totsy
    ( adj ) Seemingly excellent, outstanding. He thinks that just because he drives some hotsy-totsy Stutz Bearcar, he's the cat's meow.
    1920s
  • hype
    ( n ) Hypodermic needle. If you aren't on drugs, why are all these hypes in your room?
    1920s
  • hype
    ( v ) To swindle by overcharging or short-changing. I think they hyped me back there at the store.
    1920s
  • it
    ( n ) Sex appeal. Whatever it is, she has it.
    1920s
  • jack
    ( n ) Money. He's a nice-looking guy but he doesn't have enough jack for me.
    1920s
  • jalopy
    ( n ) An old, beat-up car. Where did you get that old jalopy?
    1920s
  • jane
    ( n ) Any female. He picked up some jane at the bar last night.
    1920s
  • java
    ( n ) Coffee. Give me a cup of java and one of your week-old doughnuts.
    1920s
  • jazz
    ( v ) To enhance, make more decorative. He
    1920s
  • jazzed
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. Get him out of here; he's totally jazzed.
    1920s
  • jive
    ( n ) Fast jazz of the 20s-30s. I know a little club where they play jive until 2 in the morning.
    1920s
  • jive
    ( v ) To mislead, deceive. Don't try to jive me, man. I know what's what.
    1920s
  • jive
    ( v ) To play fast jazz of the 20s-30s. He had a group that would jive all night.
    1920s
  • jive
    ( n ) Worthless, crazy, or unpleasant talk. Don't talk that jive to me, turkey; I don't believe a word you say.
    1920s
  • joe
    ( n ) Coffee. Give me a cup of joe, Joe, and a piece of Mabel's crabapple pie or whatever it is.
    1920s
  • john
    ( n ) A toilet or the toilet. When he flushed the john, he was surprised to see his cap disappearing down the hole.
    1920s
  • juice joint
    ( n ) A speakeasy. For five years Myrtle ran a juice-joint until they caught her for selling bootleg hootch.
    1920s
  • killjoy
    ( n ) A squelcher. My parents are killjoys who don't want me to wear so many beads.
    1920s
  • kisser
    ( n ) Mouth. Watch what you say, Bub, or I'll pop you one in the kisser.
    1920s
  • kosher
    ( adj ) Fair. Well, the deal to trade your car for his motorcycle doesn't sound kosher to me.
    1920s
  • level
    ( n ) Honest, truthful. Level with me: did you really take Jeanette MacDonald out?
    1920s
  • line
    ( n ) Flirtatious talk designed to pick up a date. He fed me this line about how many banks he owned which didn't work when I saw the jalopy he was driving.
    1920s
  • lit
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He came home lit and fell into bed like a rock.
    1920s
  • make whoopee
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. They were making whoopee in his Model-T Ford.
    1920s
  • Mrs. Grundy
    ( np ) A priggish or prudish person. She is such a Mrs. Grundy that she refuses to go into the water.
    1920s
  • night owl
    ( np ) A person who stays out late. Bertram is a night owl who seldom gets up before noon.
    1920s
  • Now you're on the trolley!
    ( phr ) Now you have caught on. Yeah, Yeah! Monday comes BEFORE Tuesday. Now you're on the trolley!
    1920s
  • nudnik
    ( n ) An irritating person. Get that nudnik out of here; I can't stand her.
    1920s
  • off the deep end
    ( pp ) To lose control of yourself, go crazy. Billy Ray went off the deep end when his wife left him.
    1920s
  • oil can
    ( n ) A stupid female. I took that oil can out once--never again!
    1920s
  • old man
    ( n ) Father. His old man won't let him drive the car.
    1920s
  • on the lam
    ( pp ) Fleeing from the law. Morgan was on the lam for five years, then spent five more in the joint.
    1920s
  • on the level
    ( pp ) Honest, truthful. On the level, now, did you take Mary Pickford out to supper?
    1920s
  • on the make
    ( pp ) Flirting, looking for someone to seduce. The way she is talking to all the men looks like she is on the make.
    1920s
  • on the up and up
    ( pp ) Honest, truthful. I think he is on the up and up when he says he owns 27 banks.
    1920s
  • ossified
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He was so ossified we had to drag him to the car.
    1920s
  • over the edge
    ( pp ) Crazy, insane. I think another bit of bad news would push Billy Ray over the edge.
    1920s
  • owled
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He was so owled we had to drag him to the car.
    1920s
  • palooka
    ( n ) A strong male. I'm just waiting for the right palooka to come along and sweep me off my feet.
    1920s
  • pet
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. They must be in love; I saw them petting at the drive-in last night.
    1920s
  • pig
    ( n ) Glutton. He is a pig at parties.
    1920s
  • piker
    ( n ) A cheapskate. The piker always makes me pay for the gas.
    1920s
  • pill
    ( n ) An unlikable person. She is a bitter pill to take with her uppity attitude and all.
    1920s
  • pinch
    ( v ) To capture or arrest. I heard Sedgewick got pinched for shoplifting.
    1920s
  • pip
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. Gwendolyn always pays the bill; she's a pip.
    1920s
  • pipe down
    ( v ) Be quiet. Pipe down! I want to hear what the president is saying.
    1920s
  • plastered
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He was so plastered we had to roll him down the embankment to the car.
    1920s
  • pop
    ( v ) To hit. Shut up or I will pop you.
    1920s
  • potted
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He was so potted we had to drag him to the car.
    1920s
  • primed
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He was so primed we had to pull him to the car in my kid brother's wagon.
    1920s
  • pull rank
    ( vp ) To force someone to do something because you have the authority to do so. I didn't want to go but the boss pulled rank on me and made me.
    1920s
  • punk
    ( n ) A young hooligan. All the punks in the neighborhood hang out at the pool hall.
    1920s
  • punk out
    ( v ) To back out from cowardice. We were going over Niagara Falls in a barrel but Jason punked out.
    1920s
  • pushover
    ( n ) A person easily convinced. Ask Zelda for 5 bucks: she's such a pushover, she'll give it to you.
    1920s
  • put on the Ritz
    ( vp ) To do something in high style. I just got my bonus--tonight we're putting on the Ritz.
    1920s
  • queen
    ( n ) A male homosexual. He is a lovely old queen who would do anything for you.
    1920s
  • rag
    ( n ) Newspaper. We get very little international news in our local rag.
    1920s
  • razz
    ( v ) To tease, make fun of. The baseball fans started to razz the umpire.
    1920s
  • red hot
    ( ap ) Exciting. Your idea is really red hot.
    1920s
  • ritzy
    ( adj ) Luxurious. She expected to be taken to a ritzy uptown club, not to a dive in the Bronx.
    1920s
  • rube
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person from the country. I must have looked like some rube when I signed the contract to buy the Brooklyn Bridge.
    1920s
  • rubes
    ( n ) Money. I have to stay home tonight: no rubes.
    1920s
  • sap
    ( v ) To hit, to club. The police sapped all the strikers and chased them away.
    1920s
  • sap
    ( n ) A stupid person. Don't be a sap! If it looks too good to be true, it isn't.
    1920s
  • Says you!
    ( int ) An interjection of disbelief. It's going to rain tomorrow? Says you!
    1920s
  • scram
    ( v ) To leave. You're getting on my nerves, so. scram!
    1920s
  • scrooched
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. You came home totally scrooched last night; don't ever talk to me again.
    1920s
  • shack up
    ( v ) To sleep with someone at a hotel or motel. Claudia shacked up with her husband's business partner.
    1920s
  • Sheba
    ( n ) A sexy or seductive woman. She is just the Sheba I've been waiting for.
    1920s
  • sheik
    ( n ) A sexy man. Who is the sheik I saw her with last Friday?
    1920s
  • shiv
    ( n ) A knife. If you are popular, why do you think you have to keep a shiv in your pocket all the time?
    1920s
  • sinker
    ( n ) A doughnut. Hey, Joe! Give me a cup of joe and a couple of those week-old sinkers over there.
    1920s
  • slay
    ( phr ) Be very funny. What a story! You just slay me, Ferdie!
    1920s
  • slum
    ( v ) To go to a bad side of town. So what brings you to this side of town? Are you slumming?
    1920s
  • smoke
    ( v ) To kill. The mob didn't like him muscling in on their territory, so they smoked him.
    1920s
  • speakeasy
    ( n ) An illicit bar selling bootleg liquor. Ebenezer ran a speakeasy until the cops discovered it and broke it up.
    1920s
  • spifflicated
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. You're so spifflicated you can barely walk; you certainly can't drive.
    1920s
  • steady
    ( n ) Boyfriend or girlfriend. Natalie's steady is a hunk who works as a lifeguard at the beach.
    1920s
  • steam up
    ( v ) To make angry, mad. Don't get so steamed up over the issue.
    1920s
  • stick
    ( v ) Keep (contemptuous rejection). You can take your job and stick it.
    1920s
  • Stick 'em up!
    ( phr ) Raise your hands. Drop that gun and stick 'em up!
    1920s
  • struggle buggy
    ( np ) The backseat of a car. The struggle buggy is a parent's worst nightmare.
    1920s
  • stuck on
    ( adj ) To be in love with. I think Arnold is stuck on his secretary.
    1920s
  • swanky
    ( adj ) Luxurious. They spent the night in a swanky hotel with a ritzy restaurant on the top floor.
    1920s
  • sweetie
    ( n ) A term of affection for a female. Check out the sweetie by the bar.
    1920s
  • swell
    ( adj ) Excellent, outstanding. Thanks for helping out, Eula, you're really swell.
    1920s
  • take
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat. He was taken for all his money at the casino.
    1920s
  • take for a ride
    ( vp ) To drive someone away to kill. The capo ordered that the informer be taken for a ride.
    1920s
  • The bank is closed
    ( phr ) No kissing or hugging. I like you, Mac, but tonight the bank's closed.
    1920s
  • the berries
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. You have to see the new exhibit at the art museum; it's the berries.
    1920s
  • the hair of the dog
    ( np ) A shot of an alcoholic drink to relieve a hangover. Wow, my head hurts! Give me a little hair of the dog that bit me and see if that helps.
    1920s
  • the real McCoy
    ( np ) Something genuine. That girl of his is not just good-looking; she's the real McCoy.
    1920s
  • torpedo
    ( n ) A hired killer. The torpedo she hired to off her husband turned out to be an undercover cop.
    1920s
  • twerp
    ( n ) Petty, immature brat. The little twerp told her mommie!
    1920s
  • twisted
    ( adj ) Perverted. I wouldn't go out with him; everyone says he is twisted.
    1920s
  • washed up
    ( adj ) Finished, done in. When the cops caught him, his criminal life was done in.
    1920s
  • wet blanket
    ( np ) A squelcher. Ralph is such a wet blanket, I doubt you can get him to go a party.
    1920s
  • wet rag
    ( np ) A squelcher. Arnold is such a wet rag he won't even dance.
    1920s
  • What's eating you?
    ( phr ) What is wrong with you? You don't want to see the Dodgers play? What's eating you?.
    1920s
  • Whoop-de-doo!
    ( int ) An Interjection of happy surprise. Our final has been cancelled? Whoopty-doo!
    1920s
  • whoopee
    ( n ) A good time. I've had a tough week. Let's go out and make some whoopee this weekend.
    1920s
  • whoopee
    ( n ) Hugging and kissing. They were in the living room making whoopee.
    1920s
  • whoopie!
    ( int ) An Interjection of happy surprise. Whoopie! Mama hit the jackpot!
    1920s
  • yahoo
    ( n ) A clumsy, unsophisticated person. Reba is going out with some yahoo from the sticks.
    1920s
  • zozzled
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. You're so zozzled you can't stand up.
    1920s
  • dumps
    ( n ) Depression, melancholy. His girl left him and now he is in the dumps.
    1920s
  • hot
    ( adj ) Electrically charged or radioactive. He accidentally picked up a hot wire and got a shock
    1920s
  • Jump in the lake!
    ( phr ) Don't bother me; you're crazy. You want me to loan you $5? Go jump in the lake!
    1920s
  • gravy train
    ( np ) A source of easy money. Boy, I wish I were a computer geek and could ride that gravy train.
    1920s
  • garden path, the
    ( np ) Misleading direction, deception. I'm afraid Grady has led you down the garden path, baby. You'll never get your money back.
    1920s
  • pooch
    ( n ) A dog. Hey, man! Where'd you get the cool pooch?
    1920s
  • conk
    ( v ) To hit. I think a brick must have fallen and conked Fuzzy on the noggin.
    1920s
  • hairy
    ( adj ) Crude, clumsy. Franklin made a hairy gesture and skiddooed.
    1920s
  • pick up
    ( v ) To try to get a stranger of the opposite sex to go home with you. Hey, let's go to the football game tonight and pick up a couple of girls.
    1920s
  • pick-up
    ( n ) You can always find pick-ups at a Hot 101 concert. You can always find pick-ups at a Hot 101 concert.
    1920s
  • hooey
    ( n ) Nonsense. All that stuff about inheriting a million dollars is just a lot of hooey.
    1920s
  • in hot water
    ( pp ) In trouble. As his wife had predicted months earlier, Bradley's gambling finally got him in hot water.
    1920s
  • hook
    ( n ) To get someone addicted to. I think Melvin is hooked on Gwendolyn; I saw her wearing his Yankees cap this morning.
    1920s
  • nerts
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. You are completely nerts if you think I will go with you.
    1920s
  • bug-eyed
    ( adj ) Wide-eyed with astonishment. I've never seen anyone so bug-eyed as Turnips when I showed him the $100 bill.
    1920s
  • peg
    ( v ) Figure out, come to understand. I've got Randolph pegged: he's a dirty, rotten rat!
    1920s
  • lug
    ( n ) Coercion, pressure. He wouldn't pay until we put the lug on him.
    1920s
  • tearjerker
    ( n ) Sentimental story or movie. The TV series "Touched by an Angel" was a real tearjerker.
    1920s
  • booboisie
    ( n ) All boobs (knuckleheads) taken as a class. I'm never invited to Riley's parties: he only invites the cream of the local booboisie.
    1920s
  • potty
    ( adj ) Slightly crazy, insane. You must be potty to go out with that geek
    1920s
  • mojo
    ( n ) Voodoo magic power, personal power, inner strength. The president used his mojo to guarantee sunny weather for commencement.
    1920s
  • shot
    ( n ) A swallow or single portion. Hey, give me a shot of that stuff you're drinking.
    1920s
  • wheel
    ( n ) A leg. Letticia was convinced that her wheels were as good as anybody's.
    1920s
  • breeze
    ( n ) Something easy to do. Cutting your own hair is a breeze!
    1920s
  • G
    ( n ) A grand, $1000. Purvis left town owing me a "G."
    1920s
  • grease-monkey
    ( n ) (Offensive) An automobile mechanic. Do you want be a grease-monkey all your life
    1920s
  • dimwit
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. That dimwit thinks the Gettysburg Address is where Robert E. Lee lived.
    1920s
  • malarkey
    ( n ) Nonsense. All that malarkey about Paris Hilton and me isn't true.
    1920s
  • all nerves
    ( np ) Tense, nervous. By the time I got my convertible out of the car wash, I was all nerves.
    1930s
  • all-nighter
    ( n ) A restaurant that stays open all night. It was 3 AM but they found a little all-nighter on the corner where they could get a cup of java.
    1930s
  • bananas
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. The guy went bananas when I asked him to leave.
    1930s
  • bang
    ( n ) Fun, pleasure. I get a bang out of bungee jumping.
    1930s
  • bash
    ( n ) A try, an attempt. Move back and let me have a bash at it.
    1930s
  • beat all
    ( vp ) Be outrageous. Doesn't that beat all?
    1930s
  • behind the 8 ball
    ( pp ) In trouble; disliked by someone. I forgot Mavis's birthday and now I'm behind the 8 ball.
    1930s
  • bent
    ( adj ) Upset, angry. After being bent for so many years, Barry is now a broken man.
    1930s
  • bill and coo
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. Don't you just love to bill and coo with your girl on the beach?
    1930s
  • blabbermouth
    ( n ) Someone who talks too much. That blabbermouth told my girlfriend that he saw me with another girl.
    1930s
  • blimp
    ( n ) A very fat person. I hate to have a blimp sitting next to me when I fly.
    1930s
  • boff
    ( v ) To hit. He gets into trouble at home when he boffs his brother.
    1930s
  • boogie-woogie
    ( n ) Jazz of the 30s and 40s. Boogie-woogie is really cutting the rug!
    1930s
  • boondoggle
    ( n ) A con game, a deceitful transaction. Government contracts are often thinly veiled boondoggles.
    1930s
  • boondoggle
    ( v ) To swindle or cheat. Heathcliff was boondoggled into selling his car for half of its value.
    1930s
  • broke
    ( adj ) Without money. I'm broke man; don't ask me for money.
    1930s
  • buck
    ( np ) Money. I need to make a quick buck.
    1930s
  • buddy
    ( int ) Form of address for a male in the South. Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime?
    1930s
  • burn up
    ( v ) Make angry, mad. That really burns me up!
    1930s
  • bust out
    ( v ) To escape. His mother and three of her buddies busted out of prison but was caught 3 days later.
    1930s
  • certifiable
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. Stay away from that woman; she's 100 percent certifiable.
    1930s
  • chintzy
    ( adj ) Cheap. That really was a chintzy present you got him.
    1930s
  • cool
    ( v ) To kill. The mob cooled him a year or so ago.
    1930s
  • cracker
    ( n ) A white person (offensive). That cracker just doesn't get jive.
    1930s
  • cram
    ( v ) To study hard. He didn't study all semester and had to cram before exams.
    1930s
  • cuddle
    ( v ) To hug and kiss. Let's go over to my front porch and cuddle some.
    1930s
  • cut
    ( v ) To dilute. They cut the whiskey with water at that bar.
    1930s
  • dead
    ( adj ) Quiet. This disco is really dead tonight.
    1930s
  • deep pockets
    ( np ) Much money. Her boyfriend has deep pockets.
    1930s
  • dibs
    ( n ) A claim. I have dibs on the shotgun seat.
    1930s
  • dip
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. The guy who flunked four out of five classes is really a dip.
    1930s
  • drop
    ( v ) To knock down. Say another word and I'll drop you.
    1930s
  • Drop dead!
    ( int ) Absolutely not! Drop dead! I'll never go out with you.
    1930s
  • duds
    ( n ) Clothes. I see you got some new duds for the dance.
    1930s
  • dust off
    ( v ) To kill. The mob dusted him off when he ratted on them.
    1930s
  • fade
    ( v ) To leave. I have homework to do, man, let's fade.
    1930s
  • flivver
    ( n ) A broken down car. Stewart will never get me into that old flivver his father drives.
    1930s
  • gasser
    ( n ) A great time, something hilarious. The new comedy on TV is a real gasser.
    1930s
  • get first base
    ( vp ) Have initial success trying to seduce someone. He couldn't get to first base with her, let alone score.
    1930s
  • ginchy
    ( adj ) Sexy. She is the ginchiest girl I've ever seen.
    1930s
  • go bananas
    ( vp ) To lose control of yourself, go crazy. I am going to go bananas if I don't have a vacation soon.
    1930s
  • go steady
    ( vp ) To date only one person. They went steady for a year, then broke up.
    1930s
  • goof
    ( v ) Loaf, waste time. They used to goof on their way home from work.
    1930s
  • goon
    ( n ) A stupid thug or bodyguard. The mob boss was accompanied by a couple of his goons.
    1930s
  • guts
    ( n ) Courage. It takes a lot of guts to give the boss your true opinion.
    1930s
  • hep cat
    ( np ) A cool jazz-lover. Nathan is the hep cat who took me to Birdland for the first time.
    1930s
  • on the take
    ( pp ) Taking bribes. You'll have to find a judge on the take to get out of this one.
    1930s
  • history
    ( adj ) Over, done with. I don't have any idea where my old boyfriend is. He's history.
    1930s
  • hot
    ( adj ) Stolen. The police stopped them because they thought the car was hot.
    1930s
  • hot seat
    ( np ) A critical position with great pressure for success. Dwayne is in the hot seat now: if he doesn't make his quota, he is history.
    1930s
  • hotshot
    ( n ) A person who thinks he is very important. Look at Bud with his collar up; he thinks he is such a hotshot.
    1930s
  • jerk
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. The jerk left his date at the party.
    1930s
  • keen
    ( adj ) Wanting to, excited about {British}. I'm keen to go to the motion pictures.
    1930s
  • keister
    ( n ) The buttocks. Llewelyn slipped on the wet floor and fell on his keister.
    1930s
  • lick
    ( n ) A short musical improvisation. He isn't that creative a trumpeter; he gets most of his licks from others.
    1930s
  • lightweight
    ( n ) Someone who cannot get things done. You don't want to give a job this important to a lightweight.
    1930s
  • Mack
    ( int ) Form of address for a male. Hey, Mack, where is the nearest truck stop?
    1930s
  • malarkey
    ( n ) Nonsense. He said he aced the chem exam. What malarkey!
    1930s
  • Mickey-Mouse
    ( adj ) Minor, unimportant. Boswell ran some Mickey-Mouse radio station in Florida for a few years.
    1930s
  • minxy
    ( adj ) Alluring, seductive. She is a totally minxy fox.
    1930s
  • Monday morning quarterback
    ( np ) Someone who offers advice when it is too late. Fritz is a Monday morning quarterback who is never there when you need him.
    1930s
  • mule
    ( n ) A carrier of illegal drugs. The cartel uses her as a mule to get their drugs into the country.
    1930s
  • nogoodnik
    ( n ) A bad or worthless person. So then the nogoodnik tramped across my clean kitchen floor in his muddy boots.
    1930s
  • odd ball
    ( np ) An eccentric. Freddie is a sort of odd ball who likes to take walks in the park.
    1930s
  • on edge
    ( pp ) Nervous. All this waiting to hear from the doctor has me on edge.
    1930s
  • P. I.
    ( abb ) A private investigator. Serena hired a P. I. to tail her husband.
    1930s
  • piece of cake
    ( n ) Something easy. Working on a computer for me is a piece of cake.
    1930s
  • pill
    ( n ) Anything difficult. Paying $1200 in taxes is a tough pill to take.
    1930s
  • puke
    ( v, n ) To vomit. I feel like I am going to puke.
    1930s
  • punch-drunk
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. Don't listen to that punch-drunk bum; he's crazy.
    1930s
  • put a bee in your bonnet
    ( vp ) Tell something interesting. Why are you grinning? You look like somebody's put a bee in your bonnet.
    1930s
  • Put 'em up!
    ( vp ) To raise your hands. Drop that gun and put 'em up!
    1930s
  • put-on
    ( n ) A deception. It was an elaborate put-on which I almost believed.
    1930s
  • queer
    ( adj ) Counterfeit. Watch him; he's known for passing queer money.
    1930s
  • raunchy
    ( adj ) Dirty, grimy. Get out of those raunchy clothes and take bath.
    1930s
  • riot
    ( n ) A great time, something hilarious. The comedy program was a real riot.
    1930s
  • rip-snorter
    ( n ) Something excellent, outstanding. His party last night was a rip-snorter.
    1930s
  • rip-snorting
    ( adj ) Excellent, outstanding. Let me tell you, it was a rip-snorting party.
    1930s
  • scag
    ( n ) An ugly female (offensive). He was seen last night in a sketchy part of town with a scag.
    1930s
  • Shoot!
    ( int ) An interjection of disappointment (euphemism for s - - -). Shoot! I just ripped my pants.
    1930s
  • short
    ( n ) A car. He was trying to sell a hot short to a salesman on a car lot.
    1930s
  • shotgun wedding
    ( np ) A wedding forced by pregnancy. The marriage didn't last because it started out in a shotgun wedding.
    1930s
  • skip
    ( v ) To miss, to not attend. Let's skip chemistry today and go to the library.
    1930s
  • slap-happy
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. Roland has been slap-happy ever since he left the ring.
    1930s
  • snoot
    ( n ) Nose. She popped him on the snoot.
    1930s
  • So what?
    ( int ) I don't care. So, Nellie got into Smith. So what?.
    1930s
  • solid
    ( adj ) Excellent, outstanding. That bash at her house was solid!
    1930s
  • soup up
    ( v ) Increase the power and speed of a car. Sure, he wins the drag races: his car is souped up.
    1930s
  • soused
    ( adj ) Drunk, intoxicated. He came home soused and his wife locked him out.
    1930s
  • speedo
    ( n ) Speedometer. The speedo was showing 35 mph but we seemed to be going much faster.
    1930s
  • spook
    ( v ) To scare, frighten. A snake spooked the horse and he threw his rider.
    1930s
  • spot
    ( v ) To loan. Could you spot me $10 until payday?
    1930s
  • squad car
    ( np ) Police car. There is no way out; the house is surrounded by squad cars.
    1930s
  • stick
    ( v ) Force someone to do something unpleasant. He left early and stuck me with cleaning up the house.
    1930s
  • tag along
    ( vp ) Come with. Mind if I tag along for the ride?
    1930s
  • take a hike
    ( v ) To leave. I am tired of all your complaining. Take a hike!
    1930s
  • the word
    ( n ) The latest news or gossip. Say, what's the word on Jenny?
    1930s
  • throw a bone
    ( vp ) Help out with something small. Look, if you make a lot of money, throw your old friend a bone.
    1930s
  • tied to an apron string
    ( vp ) Dominated by the wife or a woman. Fred can't go fishing on the weekend; he's tied to his wife's apron string.
    1930s
  • tomato
    ( n ) A female. That Shelly's one red hot tomato.
    1930s
  • torch
    ( n ) An arsonist, someone who starts fires illegally for money. Burnham Goode was a torch for the mob until the police collared him on the job.
    1930s
  • torch
    ( v ) To commit arson, to burn down illegally. I hear Burnham Goode torched his own restaurant for the insurance money.
    1930s
  • twit
    ( n ) Petty, immature brat. The little twit barfed all over her date at the pizza parlor.
    1930s
  • twit
    ( n ) Superficial person. She is such a twit who spends most of her time shopping.
    1930s
  • welch
    ( v ) To fail to meet an obligation. He welched on his promise to help paint my house.
    1930s
  • What's with you?
    ( phr ) What is wrong with you? Hey, what's with you, man. You're really bent.
    1930s
  • whiz
    ( n ) Talented person. He is a whiz at the computer.
    1930s
  • doodly-squat
    ( n ) A small, worthless amount The president doesn't know doodly-squat about running a country.
    1930s
  • lame-brain
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person. This lame-brain thinks it is the Umpire State Building in New York.
    1930s
  • lame-brained
    ( adj ) Stupid or foolish. I've never heard such a lame-brained idea in my life.
    1930s
  • thingamajig
    ( n ) An object for which a name is unavailable. What was that thingamajig he was holding?
    1930s
  • fly
    ( v ) Be workable Your idea doesn't have legs; it won't fly.
    1930s
  • fly the coop
    ( vp ) To leave, elope, or escape. When he saw you coming up the walk, he flew the coop.
    1930s
  • drip
    ( n ) A weak, indecisive person. That drip doesn't know how to tie his shoes.
    1930s
  • spiv
    ( n ) Slick con man. Some worthless spiv married Myrtle, took her money, and left her.
    1930s
  • dish
    ( n ) Something you like. Playing quoits on a Sunday afternoon is not quite my cup of tea.
    1930s
  • dish (out)
    ( v ) To serve, to do something hard or harsh. Tommy isn't afraid of flamers; he can dish it out with the best of them.
    1930s
  • cup of tea
    ( np ) Something you like. Playing quoits on a Sunday afternoon is not quite my cup of tea.
    1930s
  • jitterbug
    ( n ) A nervous person. Calm down, Donny, don't be such a jitterbug.
    1930s
  • crunch
    ( n ) Climax, critical point. Bertie is someone you can count on in a crunch.
    1930s
  • pooch out
    ( v ) Stick out, protrude. Millie, why is your stomach pooching out like that?
    1930s
  • cheesecake
    ( n ) Photography of well-proportioned women. Betty Grable was a popular piece of cheesecake during World War II.
    1930s
  • gun
    ( v ) To accelerate something suddenly. When Pedro saw Maria down the road, he gunned his old jalopy.
    1930s
  • wrap up
    ( v ) To finalize, bring to an end. Merlyn wrapped up his presentation with a chorus of "Happy Days" played on the piano.
    1930s
  • plugged nickel
    ( np ) Something worthless. That car of his isn't worth a plugged nickel.
    1930s
  • payola
    ( n ) A bribe to promote a song on radio or TV. It is hard to believe that most of the songs we sing are popular only because disc jockeys received payola.
    1930s
  • savvy
    ( n ) Brains, intelligence Ask Jean-Phillippe; he has a lot of savvy when it comes to car engines.
    1930s
  • Yikes!
    ( int ) Interjection of surprise. Yikes! That was a close call!
    1930s
  • shot
    ( adj ) Tired, exhausted; worn out, broken down. I can't go anywhere tonight: me and my car are shot.
    1930s
  • out of this world
    ( pp ) Excellent, outstanding. Maggie's gown for the prom is out of this world.
    1930s
  • nelly
    ( n ) Male homosexual That sweet old nelly wouldn't hurt a fly.
    1930s
  • bats
    ( adj ) Crazy, insane. You're completely bats if you think I'll lend you $5.
    1930s
  • crate
    ( n ) An old car or plane. You can always find some schnook to sell that old crate of yours to.
    1930s
  • lug
    ( n ) A thug; a dumb but nice guy. The big lug never forgets my birthday.
    1930s
  • snazzy
    ( adj ) Smart, stylish, nice looking. Did you see that snazzy new car Sue Barew is driving around in?
    1930s
  • corny
    ( adj ) Simple-minded, trite. I get so tired of Hugh Jeego's corny jokes I don't know what to do.
    1930s
  • boob
    ( n ) A stupid or foolish person That boob O'Reilly picked his nose three times at the dinner table.
    1930s
  • plonk
    ( n ) Cheap wine, wine of poor quality. Mable, we can't serve plonk with these bugers; they deserve better.
    1930s
  • groove
    ( n ) A situation in which you feel comfortable, competent. I just can do this, man; I'm not in my groove.
    1930s
  • hoo-ha
    ( n ) An uproar, commotion. Why all the hoo-ha over calling my secretary "Sweetie-pie"?
    1930s
  • scrag
    ( v ) To kill. Maxi got scragged in a car accident
    1930s
  • belt
    ( n ) A drink of hard liquor. After a day like today, I need a belt before going to bed.
    1930s
  • bop
    ( v ) To hit. Frannie bopped me on the head, mommy!
    1930s
  • wheel-horse
    ( n ) An important, visible, hard-working member of an organization. Correy Publican was a wheel-horse of the GOP before her arrest.
    1930s
  • can
    ( n ) The buttocks. Frieda slipped on a banana peel and fell on her can.
    1930s
  • umph
    ( n ) umph Couldn't you get a little more, I don't know, umph into this ad campaign?
    1930s
  • oomph
    ( ) Spirit, strength, power. You need to sing that song with a little more oomph to get it across.
    1930s
  • crooner
    ( n ) A man who croons. (Bing Crosby was the first crooner.) That raspy-voiced Rusty Horne thinks he's a crooner!
    1930s
  • kiss off
    ( vp ) Leave, dismiss, kill. Why don't you just kiss off if you don't want to work.
    1930s

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