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.
1940s — 36 terms
Showing top 36 by viewsno cap
1940🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
bet
1940🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
bussin
1940🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
cap
1940🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
frfr
1940🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
finna
1940🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
chops
1940🎵 Music & Lyrics
groovy
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
gaslight
1944🌐 Internet & Memes
Herkimer Jerkimer
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
Janet and John
1949🗺️ Regional & Other
axe
1940🎵 Music & Lyrics
Bambi lover
1942🗺️ Regional & Other
reindeer games
1949🗺️ Regional & Other
radar
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
Fauci ouchie
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
Harlem sunset
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
de Havilland Law
1943🗺️ Regional & Other
quinella
1942🗺️ Regional & Other
millennial
1947⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Nikon choir
1946⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Big Bang
1949🗺️ Regional & Other
VP Day
1945🗺️ Regional & Other
impeachment
1945⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Fibber McGee's closet
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel
1942🗺️ Regional & Other
oater
1945⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
candy striper
1944🗺️ Regional & Other
nit nurse
1942⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells
1944🗺️ Regional & Other
ten pound tourist
1946⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
ten pound pom
1946⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
laundromat
1940👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
pac-a-mac
1949⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Californication
1947🗺️ Regional & Other
Winnipeg couch
1945🗺️ Regional & Other
Dumbo ear
1941🗺️ Regional & Other
Gossage
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
bob-a-job
1949🗺️ Regional & Other
Smokey Bear
1944⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
Hills Hoist
1945🗺️ Regional & Other
cowabunga
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
fortune cookie
1942🍔 Food & Drink
boofhead
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
country ham
1944🗺️ Regional & Other
closet case
1946🗺️ Regional & Other
pruno
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
knockers
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
cop out
1942⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
green card
1946🗺️ Regional & Other
hot rod
1945🗺️ Regional & Other
Dunkirk spirit
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
cybernat
1942🌐 Internet & Memes
Duckburg
1944🗺️ Regional & Other
honky
1946🗺️ Regional & Other
burn coal
1946🗺️ Regional & Other
like turkeys voting for Christmas
1944⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
ronson
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
hold the ring
1942⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
light bill
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
crapola
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
diaper wrap
1949⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
fucking A
1947🗺️ Regional & Other
twitterpated
1942🗺️ Regional & Other
bhapa
1947🗺️ Regional & Other
brainstorm
1945⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
sprog
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
brupper
1949🗺️ Regional & Other
know shit from Shinola
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
googolplex
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
brownie point
1944⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
boondocker
1944🗺️ Regional & Other
cock up
1948🗺️ Regional & Other
pushbike
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
grok
1949⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
catbird seat
1942🗺️ Regional & Other
asswipe
1947🗺️ Regional & Other
copperfasten
1948⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
shufti
1940🗺️ Regional & Other
comely maidens
1943🗺️ Regional & Other
lilo
1940⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
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.