I pass a guy talking on the phone. All I can hear of his conversation is “My bad.” This colloquialism has been around for a few years, and it took me awhile to start using it like everyone else. It made me wonder about all the slang words people have used over the years. According to Brie Dyas’ and Katie Borque’s article “The Most Popular Slang the Year You Were Born” in Good Housekeeping, below are examples of widespread colloquialisms in certain years.
1926: Gold-Dig
The money-flush times of the Roaring Twenties gave rise to this term for a woman who is interested in a man, but only for his money. It came from the appropriately titled novel "Mantrap" by Sinclair Lewis.
1934: Boffo
This word originated from the burgeoning comedy scene, where a line that delivered a big laugh was a "boffo."
1941: Dreamboat
Yet another phrase borrowed from Hollywood, this time to refer to a handsome actor. Though generally used for younger celebrities, Cary Grant is still a dreamboat.
1953: Hippie
Though hippies defined the latter half of the '60s, its use as slang predates the decade. A permutation of hipster, the hippie is described as "usually exotically dressed" and "given to the use of hallucinogenic drugs." "Far out" also enters the lexicon here, as jazz lingo.
1964: Aw-Shucks
According to Paul Dickson’s Authorisms, American author and journalist Tom Wolfe was apparently the first to turn this expression of humility into a verb in the November 1964 issue of Harper’s Bazaar. “Up on the terrace … the Secretary of the Interior of the United States is sort of aw-shucksing around.”
1975: Detox
This one had two meanings: One was for the burgeoning California health scene (and the "detox" juice cleanses and diets that would become popular), but the other one was for the increased need for alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
1982: Buff
Interestingly, the 80s brought a whole new vocabulary for describing the male physique. And the buff-est of them all? Arnold.
1992: NOT
The Saturday Night Live sketch and movie "Wayne's World" brought this almost-immediately-overused declaration.
2000: Whassup?
This was inescapable thanks to the late1999 Budweiser ad, which starred Paul Williams and Fred Thomas. Like "jiggy," this slang was also immediately overused.
2012: Catfish
This term comes from a documentary-turned-MTV reality show about a man who falls in love with a woman online, only to find out she's not who she says she is. This term has come to represent anyone who lies about who they are online, especially in a romantic relationship.
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