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 — 29 terms
Showing top 29 by views20
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arvo
1927🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊clutch
1920🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊Jaffa cake
1927🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Abe Lincoln
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊jimmies
1922🌐 Internet & Memes
🔊cat
1920🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊32-county
1922⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊1031 exchange
1921⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Madison Avenue
1920🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊absofuckinglutely
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Jaycee
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊G-men
1928🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊faggoty
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊aah, Bisto
1920🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Aggieland
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Durex
1929🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊booder
1920🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊zap
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊drongo
1920🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊kleenex
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Chrimbo
1928🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Weet-Bix
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊hipster
1920🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊sagamore
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gatsby
1925🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊jalopy
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊teal
1923🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊big mo
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊zipper
1925💘 Relationships & Dating
bluesky
🔊Twizzler
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊skint
1925🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊curb cut
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊palooka
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊c-note
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊jamoke
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊scofflaw
1923⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Leary biscuit
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊sandhog
1928🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊rooned
1921🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊hobbyist
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Zimmer frame
1927🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Bob's your uncle
1924🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Gordie Howe hat trick
1928🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Nevada gas
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊sad sack
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊Pullman
1928⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊grockle
1920🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊starkers
1923🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Negro History Week
1926🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊apartheid
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊lilyturf
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cowson
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊fat cat
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊Crossroads of America
1925🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊monomark
1925🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊doofus
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊fart through silk
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cream
1929🍔 Food & Drink
bluesky
🔊cooze
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gloriosky
1927🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊flub
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊heart as big as Phar Lap
1926🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊live paycheck to paycheck
1929🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Geddes Axe
1920🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊kitchen sink
1924⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊duco
1920⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊how are you diddling
1927🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Mickey Mouse
1928🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊Governor Winthrop desk
1924🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊fresh fucked fox in a forest fire
1920🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊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.