Slang time machine
Every English slang term has a moment it first showed up in print or on someone's lips. We've tagged 1,000 terms with a first attested decade — from 18th-century thieves’ cant through to 2020s internet vocabulary. Pick a decade below.
1890s — 24 terms
Showing top 24 by viewsAllen charge
1896🗺️ Regional & Other
bonzer
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
eggs Benedict
1898⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
cinema
1890🌐 Internet & Memes
Jimmy Woodser
1892🗺️ Regional & Other
deflate
1891⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
neenish tart
1895🗺️ Regional & Other
fatty boombalatty
1899🗺️ Regional & Other
quick-and-dirty
1896🗺️ Regional & Other
garden city
1890⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
uitlander
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
Jewnited States
1892🗺️ Regional & Other
redcap
1890⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Jacky Howe
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
shiralee
1892🗺️ Regional & Other
piepowder
1897⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
comstockery
1895🗺️ Regional & Other
roque
1899🗺️ Regional & Other
Godzone
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
Gibson Girl
1890👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
hootchy-kootchy
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
Gunga Din
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
spruik
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
field house
1895🗺️ Regional & Other
bastille
1897🗺️ Regional & Other
smoodge
1898🗺️ Regional & Other
breadpill
1892🗺️ Regional & Other
private-wire house
1894🗺️ Regional & Other
solidus
1899🗺️ Regional & Other
nonplussed
1899🗺️ Regional & Other
caucus
1896🗺️ Regional & Other
pogey
1891🗺️ Regional & Other
golliwog
1895⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
benevolent assimilation
1898🗺️ Regional & Other
bloody noun
1892🗺️ Regional & Other
Belyando spew
1891🗺️ Regional & Other
military-industrial complex
1890🗺️ Regional & Other
Heinz 57
1896🗺️ Regional & Other
diesel
1892⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Kris Kringle
1893🗺️ Regional & Other
exoduster
1899🗺️ Regional & Other
prissy
1895🗺️ Regional & Other
line drawing
1891🗺️ Regional & Other
stoush
1893🗺️ Regional & Other
fossick
1893⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
corset
1893⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
jumbuck
1896🗺️ Regional & Other
Attestation dates come from etymologies originally sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0) and editorial expansion authored on Slangora. They reflect the earliest documented use we found for each term, not necessarily the moment it was coined.