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.
1900s — 92 terms
Showing top 92 by views00
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100 percent
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bhai
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊it girl
1900👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊nonstarter
1900💼 Corporate & Work
🔊jollof
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊grand so
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊kuya
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊deadly (Irish)
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊wahala
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊umlungu
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊akka
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊naushadar
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bas
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊dinarly
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊gugu
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊oyinbo
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊pakat
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊nol-kole
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊kiddy widdy
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊8 ball
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊mampara
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊fuddy-duddy
1904👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊cabbing
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Ah Soh
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊almond rocks
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊rubby-dubby
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊afterling
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊podge
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊doke
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊amakweta
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊char kway teow
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊kway teow
1900🍔 Food & Drink
🔊smoko
1900💼 Corporate & Work
🔊goundy
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊jam-tree
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊docky
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊make off without payment
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊prossy
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊goober-grabbler
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cop one's whack
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bushie
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊dongsaeng
1900🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊bora saul
1900🍔 Food & Drink
🔊kamaʻaina
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊mamaw
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊midnight feast
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊dodie
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊gorru
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Bailey
1900🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊toolie
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊spud cocky
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊wombat-headed
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊alikreukel
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊parandero
1900🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊brick shithouse
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊abakwetha
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊red-throated loon
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊stinge
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊dough goddy
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊nanaji
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊red Ned
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊Queen's cowboy
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊up sticks
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊bejesus
1900🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊hotter than a pistol
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊grandmum
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊23 Skidoo Street
1906🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊moko jumbie
1900🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊already
1903🗺️ Regional & Other
youtube
🔊get across
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊'Obby 'Oss
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊shonk
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊gooly
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊candy apple
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊packsack
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ABC island
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊bostin'
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊23 skidoo
1906🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊polac
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊candroy
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊chopsy
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊jawbox
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊French donut
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊katsap
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊callover
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊cherch
1900👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊abatagati
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊CCA
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊abe
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊'fraid so
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊achari
1900🍔 Food & Drink
🔊bindy
1900🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊wage packet
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊pesarattu
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Angelina
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊non-U
1907⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊check off
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Matilda
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊A plus
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊jaffa
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊bastard horn snake
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊pass-remarkable
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊klompie
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cuzzy
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊parataniwha
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊dassiepis
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊jill
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊duck-arsed
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊a pound to a penny
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊javitri
1900🍔 Food & Drink
🔊Kinkaider
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊English as apple pie
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊oh my gosh
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
youtube
🔊loopy
1900🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊110 proof
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊kadala
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊city boy
1900💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊paddlecock
1900🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊kheera
1900🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊able rating
1900⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊More on how slang travels through time
The lifecycle of a slang word
Mint, scale, ironize, retire — how every viral term moves through the same five stages.
Where slang is born now
The platforms and subcultures that mint vocabulary in 2026 — and why TikTok shifted everything.
AAVE and internet slang
The single biggest source of new mainstream English vocabulary, and why most of the words you used today started here.
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.