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.
1920s — 32 terms
Showing top 32 by viewsclutch
1920🎮 Gaming
cat
1920🎵 Music & Lyrics
Madison Avenue
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
drongo
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
zap
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
palooka
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
Zimmer frame
1927🗺️ Regional & Other
fat cat
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
zipper
1925💘 Relationships & Dating
sandhog
1928🗺️ Regional & Other
c-note
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
fart through silk
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
gatsby
1925🗺️ Regional & Other
Negro History Week
1926🗺️ Regional & Other
sagamore
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
hobbyist
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
sad sack
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Weet-Bix
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
kitchen sink
1924⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Leary biscuit
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
Nevada gas
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
Chrimbo
1928🗺️ Regional & Other
grockle
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
jalopy
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
apartheid
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
jamoke
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
teal
1923🗺️ Regional & Other
scofflaw
1923⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Geddes Axe
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
doofus
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
cream
1929🍔 Food & Drink
cooze
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
cowson
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
monomark
1925🗺️ Regional & Other
live paycheck to paycheck
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
gloriosky
1927🗺️ Regional & Other
Durex
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
starkers
1923🗺️ Regional & Other
booder
1920🎵 Music & Lyrics
Pullman
1928⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
lilyturf
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
kleenex
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
fresh fucked fox in a forest fire
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
Bob's your uncle
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
rooned
1921🗺️ Regional & Other
big mo
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
heart as big as Phar Lap
1926🗺️ Regional & Other
curb cut
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
flub
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
Twizzler
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
how are you diddling
1927🗺️ Regional & Other
Gordie Howe hat trick
1928🗺️ Regional & Other
Crossroads of America
1925🗺️ Regional & Other
Mickey Mouse
1928🗺️ Regional & Other
hipster
1920🎵 Music & Lyrics
duco
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Governor Winthrop desk
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
skint
1925🗺️ 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.