Slang time machine
Every English slang term has a moment it first showed up in print or on someone's lips. We've tagged 4,786 terms with a first attested decade — from 18th-century thieves’ cant through to 2020s internet vocabulary. Pick a decade below.
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1930s — 91 terms
Showing top 91 by views30
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George
1931bluesky
🔊dunny
1933🔊
gaff
1930🔊
absobloodylutely
1935🔊
woke
1930tiktok
🔊Mabo
1936🔊
tenderoni
1930🔊
Belisha beacon
1934🔊
jailbait
1934🔊
Adam and Eve on a raft
1930🔊
sellotape
1937🔊
schmear
1930🔊
pantech
1930🔊
pendent jurisdiction
1933🔊
daks
1930🔊
crumpet
1936bluesky
🔊payola
1938🔊
kerfuffle
1930bluesky
🔊A-list
1930bluesky
🔊big mama
1930bluesky
🔊racist
1932bluesky
🔊Eirean
1937🔊
AA
1935🔊
Ivy League
1933bluesky
🔊German
1934bluesky
🔊chantoosie
1932🔊
Ameche
1939🔊
not in Kansas anymore
1939bluesky
🔊jockey briefs
1934🔊
aggressive
1938bluesky
🔊deep-fry
1930🔊
revise
1930bluesky
🔊swinging
1930bluesky
🔊bicycle monarchy
1938🔊
have it off
1930🔊
bupkis
1931🔊
woodshed
1930🔊
fuck the dog
1935🔊
piffy on a rock bun
1930🔊
amateur hour
1935bluesky
🔊boondoggle
1935bluesky
🔊rambler
1935🔊
frammis
1930🔊
barrow boy
1939🔊
pull one's head in
1930🔊
ute
1930🔊
crusty
1930bluesky
🔊quint
1935bluesky
🔊diddly-squat
1934🔊
spelunker
1930🔊
dil-ya-ble
1930🔊
Gordon Bennett
1937🔊
Glyndebourne
1934🔊
C-man
1930🔊
pavlova
1930🔊
local
1938bluesky
🔊Dorothy dollar
1939🔊
Cobb salad
1937🔊
chow mein bun
1930🔊
Antifa
1932bluesky
🔊friend of Dorothy
1939🔊
A-2
1931🔊
Palko test
1937🔊
honey joys
1930🔊
Sadie Hawkins dance
1937🔊
freeloader
1930bluesky
🔊knickerbocker glory
1930🔊
Johnny-one-note
1937🔊
Taswegian
1930🔊
cuddly-wuddly
1938🔊
submarine sandwich
1930🔊
don't touch that dial
1939🔊
Blockburger test
1932🔊
bullpup
1930🔊
biffy
1935🔊
bazillion
1939bluesky
🔊buster
1930bluesky
🔊Adrian Quist
1930🔊
cup of joe
1931🔊
hero sandwich
1937🔊
moxie
1930bluesky
🔊chopped liver
1930🔊
Daily Heil
1930🔊
lateral
1934bluesky
🔊indict a ham sandwich
1930🔊
Green River Ordinance
1931🔊
pablum
1931bluesky
🔊Blimpery
1934🔊
dreamboat
1930bluesky
🔊pocketbook
1939bluesky
🔊fitness
1935bluesky
🔊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.