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.
1970s — 31 terms
Showing top 31 by views70
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soca
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊gist (Nigerian)
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊burnout
1974🌱 Lifestyle & Wellness
🔊latency
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊diff
1975🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊craic
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊troopie
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊40 mike-mike
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cortado
1970🍔 Food & Drink
🔊pull a sickie
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊making off without payment
1978🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊grown-ass
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊jobsworth
1973🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊boot boy
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Jobcentre
1973🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊1PP
1973🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊irie
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊Guzz
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊scally
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊nooner
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊piss-taker
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊fang it
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Rocky
1976🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊balls about
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊beat off
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊firepower kill
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊fabby
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊throw a sickie
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊canola oil
1978🍔 Food & Drink
bluesky
🔊Alpen
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊snow bunny
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊ass out
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊rollie
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊after school special
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊nigger lottery
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊neoconservatism
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Alf
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊agri-food
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊catch a buzz
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊fair suck of the sauce bottle
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊FUD
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
twitter
🔊brick
1970?? Drugs & Substances
bluesky
🔊pickin' and grinnin'
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊know when to fold 'em
1978⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊401(k)
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊chuck a sickie
1970💼 Corporate & Work
🔊aerogard
1972🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊Accy
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cheese fries
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊post-punk
1970🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊what it is
1972🎤 Black culture & AAVE
youtube
🔊airball
1979⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊kick ass and take names
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊OCCB
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊nutmeg
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊cockblock
1972🎮 Gaming
🔊gnarly
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊triggered
1970🌐 Internet & Memes
bluesky
🔊Canuck
1975⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Amtrak
1971💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊greenie
1973⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊texta
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊assholism
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊whack-a-mole
1977👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
bluesky
🔊liftback
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊animal house
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Archie Bunker house
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Cheggers
1976⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Alford plea
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gork
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Mareva injunction
1975🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊jive turkey
1970👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊cashpoint
1972🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊gangsta lean
1974🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊dirty pillow
1974🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊mobile
1978🎮 Gaming
bluesky
🔊meathead
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊duck butter
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊double-nickel
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gazonga
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊corflute
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊ice kachang
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊paratransit
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊shonky
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊America at home
1971🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊patrial
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊get one's ya-yas out
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊awesome
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊drink the Kool-Aid
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊hail mary
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊refer someone to the reply given in Arkell v Pressdram
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
cockblocker
1971🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Section 226
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊schoolies week
1975🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊pootle
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Norwich Pharmacal order
1974⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊naughty step
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊corporate welfare bum
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bazonga
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊First Nation
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊Harvey Smith sign
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Malfunction Junction
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Dutch disease
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊dy-no-mite
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gong show
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊brick house
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cultural Marxism
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊group of death
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊crackhead
1978⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊chicken-in-a-basket circuit
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊djent
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊lamington
1977🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊bong hit
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊packing for Perth
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊faith-based
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊beresque
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Chocolate City
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Miller test
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊green ban
1973🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊choke and puke
1977🗺️ 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.