Top Ten Tuesday: Roaring 20’s Slang We Need To Bring Back

Posted May 29, 2018 by ReadandWander in Top Ten Tuesday / 0 Comments

Happiest of Tuesdays Wanderers and Bibliophiles! So I have this running list of all the amazing blog ideas that pop into my head throughout the week… and some how the days and weeks fly by without ever bringing them to life (insert sad face with a sigh here). Well my friends, I am hoping to change that today with my first Top Ten Tuesday!

I’d love to say this will be weekly, but lets be real, motherhood + school + reading takes up most the space in my day. Also, final dream job interview is today so life might be changing (fingers crossed).

So let’s shoot for monthly, savvy?

So without further ado…

Top Ten Roaring 20’s Slang We Need to Bring Back

First, I would like you all to know that in my research for this list (yes, nerd girl here totally did research) I made a few observations…

There were a WHOLE lot of interesting terms to describe murder and divorce/marriage… seriously. Rise of the mob? Feminist movement? Or just a whole lot of angry, dry Americans?

Here are some examples:

If you were married you might have a ‘manacle‘ (wedding ring) or if you were engaged, a ‘handcuff‘ (engagement ring). A divorcee was a ‘fire alarm‘ and to be divorced was to ‘drop the pilot‘ or be ‘out on parole.’ Delightful…

So in my life, I was handcuffed then put a manacle on less 90 days after being out on parole.

But wait, it gets better… here are 15 ways to talk about killing in the 1920’s:

Blip off, blow one down, bump, bump off, take the big sleep, chilled off, croak, cut down, do the dance, Harlem sunset, knock off, lead poisoning, pooped, pop and rub out.

What was going on people?!

Alright, Back to Our List

Applesauce! – expletive or flattery. AKA ‘Horsefeathers!’

This will be much better for my daughter to repeat than my current expletives…

Bearcat – Lively, spirited and fiery woman

Yaass! Where my Bearcats at?!?

https://flic.kr/p/dg3A1tYaass! Where my bearcats at?!

Bees Knees – The best!

Do bees even have knees? And why would they be the best? Can they fly giant robots?

Bimbo – great person or macho man

I am totally here for one less way to shame a woman. And hey, look at that original meaning?!?

Chin Music – gossip

Perfect for a Taylor Swift song, am I right?

Ducky – very good

Have you seen NCIS? Ducky is the bees knees!

“Go chase yourself!”: “Get out of here!”

The 1920’s alternative to ‘Bye, Felicia’

Know One’s Onions – to be well educated on a subject

I don’t know what onions have to do with it, but count me in

Rhatz! – How disappointing!

Rats are ghastly. And very disappointing in their ghastliness.

https://flic.kr/p/796dm9

Swell – good

Gee, shucks (shrug and kicks invisible dirt)

Spifflicated – Drunk. Also see Ossified

In my 30s, I truly need a better word to describe the debauchery I see during the rare trip to a bar… or military ball.

The Cat’s Meow – extremely excellent

The sky is the limit with this one… tiger’s spots, turtle’s neck, duck’s quack, frog’s angles, snake’s hip… anything goes!

 

 

What words would you bring back from the past?