Whether something is the cat’s meow or all that and a bag a chips, slang serves the purpose – splitting “those in the know” from “the others.” But how is your grasp on various slang throughout the years?
Results
Your knowledge of slang is bodacious!
Only the Queen’s English for you!
#1. groupie
The word groupie originated around 1965 to describe teen-aged girls or young women who began following a particular group or band of musicians on a regular basis. The phenomenon was much older; Mary McCarthy had earlier described it in her novel The Company She Keeps (1942).[1]
The groupie followed the band around on tour, hoping to catch one of the members coming out of their hotel after hours.
#2. 23 skidoo
23 skidoo is an American slang phrase generally referring to leaving quickly, being forced to leave quickly by someone else, or taking advantage of a propitious opportunity to leave.
It isn’t certain how ’23-skidoo’ (or skiddoo) originated. Whatever the source, the term was much in vogue in the USA during 1906.
The police threatened to imprison everyone in the crowd that did not 23 skidoo from the park
#3. peeps
Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang (2d ed.) defines “peeps” as a slang term originating in the 1980s on college campuses and in the black community. It’s derived from “people” and it means parents, friends, people in general,
She showed up with her peeps for support.
#4. hoosegow
It’s a fine old American slang term for a jail, still widely known today. Most people would connect it with the nineteenth-century cowboys of the Wild West.
Otis ended the evening in the Mayberry hoosegow.
#5. meh
Meh‘s popularity surged after its use on the American animated television series The Simpsons.[7][27] It was first used in the 1994 episode “Sideshow Bob Roberts“,[7] when a librarian reacts to Lisa’s surprise that voting records are not classified. It also appeared later in “Lisa’s Wedding” after Marge weaves the words “Hi Bart” on a loom to try to pique her son’s interest in weaving, to which he responds “meh”.
Taylor Swift’s new album is a bit meh.
#6. yuppie
The term yuppie originated in the 1980s and is used to refer to young urban professionals who are successful in business and considerably affluent.
He was disappointed in her choice of restaurant, a noisy, yuppie hang-out, the sort of place where design took precedence over comfort.
#7. lung dart
- 2000, Jack Croft, The Doctor’s Book of Home Remedies for Men (page 51)
“Smoking just makes things so much worse,” says Dr. McNally. See your family doctor if you need help; there are more ways than ever now to assist you in getting off the lung darts.
Humphrey Bogart spends much of the moving working on lung darts.
#8. shake a leg
The phrase is sometimes used to mean ‘get going’ or ‘hurry up’. It was explicitly defined that way in the New York Magazine in 1904. “Shake a leg … meaning to ‘hurry up’.”
Let’s shake a leg, you guys. We gotta be there in twenty minutes.
#9. glow-up
The phrase was popularized (and may have been originated) by rapper Chief Keef, who used the term (spelled glo up—now a common alternate spelling) to refer to a positive improvement in his 2013 song “Gotta Glo Up One Day.” Chief Keef’s play on grow up in the song was also a reference to his crew, known as the Glo Gang.
It’s been amazing to witness Grace’s glow up as she has transformed from an awkward tween into a TikTok trendsetter.
#10. don’t @ me
Expression: Similar to “No offence” or “back off”, “Don’t @ me” literally means don’t mention my name in a tweet, comment, etc., but is usually used in pretext of something predicted by the presenter to be offensive to a social audience of a specific type.
Donald Trump is the best president ever. Don’t @ me.
