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.
1950s — 25 terms
Showing top 25 by views50
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chuffed
1957🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊lime (Caribbean)
1950🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊parasocial
1956🌐 Internet & Memes
tiktok
🔊manito
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊300 Club
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊sabi
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊dinlo
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊hooper
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊dale
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊brick oneself
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bint
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊bamsee
1950🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊pea-souper
1952🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊KAP
1955🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊thick as mince
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ning-nong
1950🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊goona
1950🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊gee-eyed
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊tater tot
1953🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊jaga
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊smokie
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊new math
1958🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊24 Sussex Drive
1958🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊'hon
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊1 Sussex Drive
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊AAA
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊northie
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊'couta
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Admiralty ham
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊a whole nother
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊aces and spaces
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊jandal
1957🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊admass
1955🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊FAA
1958🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊ackempucky
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊A-level
1951🌐 Internet & Memes
🔊country-fried
1950🍔 Food & Drink
🔊ACSM
1954🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊chase tail
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊certified mail
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊finocchio
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cancer stick
1958🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊admag
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊paddle pop
1950🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊belt up
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Keeling schedule
1958🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊after a while, crocodile
1955🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Saran Wrap
1953🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊petukh
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊university of life
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊fish finger
1955🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊ace out
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊far out
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Yahtzee
1956🌐 Internet & Memes
🔊hedgehog
1953⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊Palookaville
1954🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊esky
1950🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊gobsmacked
1959🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Darwin stubby
1958🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊Manipogo
1957⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
twitter
🔊bug out
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊finger-lickin' good
1956💼 Corporate & Work
🔊Golden Horseshoe
1954🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊grinch
1957🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊I just work here
1950🌐 Internet & Memes
🔊pothead
1957?? Drugs & Substances
🔊bash the bishop
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊electron gap
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊brainiac
1958🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Israeli couscous
1953🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cruft
1959⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊fox
1953⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊pull the football
1951🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊sheepshagger
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊body snatcher
1955⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊cancerette
1953🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊grinch foot
1957🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊empty suit
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Bo Derek
1956🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊lavender lad
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊frob
1958👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊Beeb
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊if-by-whiskey
1952🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊lovely jubbly
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊I know you are but what am I
1957🌐 Internet & Memes
🔊bullhorn
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Hansardize
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊bada bing bada boom
1958🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bazoom
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ridgy-didge
1953🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊lurgy
1951🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊German chocolate cake
1957🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊padayatra
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊codswallop
1959🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊hot button
1956🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Journey into Space
1953🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊go ballistic
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊jolly-hockey-sticks
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊in a while, crocodile
1955🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊merry widow
1952🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊buddyroo
1951🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊one-way ticket to Palookaville
1954⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊top of the morning
1959⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊mumbo sauce
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊happy little vegemite
1950🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊brasco
1950🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Broderick Crawford
1950⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊kueh pie tee
1956🍔 Food & Drink
🔊done and dusted
1953🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊jungle bunny
1950🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊grinch toe
1957🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊grinch paw
1957🗺️ 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.