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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1970s — 136 terms
Showing top 120 by views70
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meltdown
1979bluesky
🔊Rocky
1976bluesky
🔊burnout
1974🔊
craic
1970🔊
gist (Nigerian)
1970🔊
cortado
1970🔊
diff
1975discord
🔊brick
1970bluesky
🔊pull a sickie
1970🔊
making off without payment
1978🔊
1PP
1973🔊
troopie
1970🔊
grown-ass
1970🔊
latency
1970🔊
boot boy
1970🔊
40 mike-mike
1970🔊
firepower kill
1970🔊
rollie
1970🔊
scally
1970bluesky
🔊canola oil
1978bluesky
🔊irie
1970🔊
Canada
1978🔊
gnarly
1970bluesky
🔊snow bunny
1970🔊
Alpen
1971🔊
soca
1970bluesky
🔊nooner
1970🔊
Guzz
1970🔊
piss-taker
1970🔊
ratfucking
1970bluesky
🔊throw a sickie
1970🔊
neoconservatism
1970🔊
agri-food
1970🔊
catch a buzz
1970🔊
beat off
1970🔊
OCCB
1970🔊
drink the Kool-Aid
1978bluesky
🔊ockerism
1970🔊
nutmeg
1970bluesky
🔊Alf
1970🔊
what it is
1972youtube
🔊duck butter
1973🔊
texta
1970🔊
refer someone to the reply given in Arkell v Pressdram
1971Canuck
1975🔊
Malfunction Junction
1973🔊
b-boying
1970🔊
faith-based
1970bluesky
🔊charabanc
1972🔊
Accy
1970🔊
pickin' and grinnin'
1970🔊
ass out
1970bluesky
🔊packing for Perth
1977🔊
aerogard
1972🔊
numbnuts
1970bluesky
🔊chuck a sickie
1970🔊
fabby
1970🔊
dickwit
1970🔊
post-punk
1970bluesky
🔊whack-a-mole
1977bluesky
🔊FUD
1970twitter
🔊nigger lottery
1970🔊
401(k)
1978🔊
caliber
1976bluesky
🔊fang it
1970🔊
after school special
1972🔊
cockblock
1972🔊
airball
1979🔊
get one's ya-yas out
1970🔊
Mareva injunction
1975🔊
pootle
1970🔊
triggered
1970bluesky
🔊cockblocker
1971🔊
snackwich
1970🔊
balls about
1970🔊
greenie
1973🔊
dirty pillow
1974🔊
choke and puke
1977🔊
cheese fries
1970bluesky
🔊patrial
1971🔊
paratransit
1972🔊
shonky
1970🔊
Amtrak
1971bluesky
🔊gangsta lean
1974🔊
Archie Bunker house
1970🔊
bong hit
1978🔊
animal house
1978🔊
cultural Marxism
1973🔊
jobsworth
1973🔊
schoolies week
1975🔊
Jobcentre
1973🔊
naughty step
1970bluesky
🔊awesome
1970bluesky
🔊gork
1970🔊
cashpoint
1972🔊
mediaperson
1970🔊
bazonga
1970🔊
Dutch disease
1977🔊
Chocolate City
1970🔊
djent
1970🔊
mobile
1978bluesky
🔊assholism
1970🔊
jive turkey
1970🔊
kick ass and take names
1970🔊
hellagood
1970🔊
Miller test
1973🔊
America at home
1971🔊
Section 226
1970🔊
corporate welfare bum
1972🔊
double-nickel
1970🔊
dy-no-mite
1970🔊
group of death
1970🔊
First Nation
1970bluesky
🔊corflute
1970🔊
Alford plea
1970🔊
Harvey Smith sign
1971🔊
Cheggers
1976🔊
gong show
1970bluesky
🔊hail mary
1970bluesky
🔊chicken-in-a-basket circuit
1970🔊
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.