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 — 32 terms
Showing top 32 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
🔊grown-ass
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊making off without payment
1978🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊1PP
1973🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊Jobcentre
1973🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊jobsworth
1973🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊boot boy
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Guzz
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊irie
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊scally
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊beat off
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊nooner
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊balls about
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Rocky
1976🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊Alpen
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊fang it
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊firepower kill
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊snow bunny
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊piss-taker
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊canola oil
1978🍔 Food & Drink
bluesky
🔊throw a sickie
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊ass out
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊neoconservatism
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊rollie
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Alf
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊nigger lottery
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊fabby
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊after school special
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊FUD
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
twitter
🔊fair suck of the sauce bottle
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊catch a buzz
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊brick
1970?? Drugs & Substances
bluesky
🔊agri-food
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊Accy
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊401(k)
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊aerogard
1972🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊pickin' and grinnin'
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cheese fries
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊post-punk
1970🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊chuck a sickie
1970💼 Corporate & Work
🔊know when to fold 'em
1978⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊kick ass and take names
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊airball
1979⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊what it is
1972🎤 Black culture & AAVE
youtube
🔊OCCB
1970🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊gnarly
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊nutmeg
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊cockblock
1972🎮 Gaming
🔊triggered
1970🌐 Internet & Memes
bluesky
🔊Canuck
1975⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Amtrak
1971💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊whack-a-mole
1977👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
bluesky
🔊texta
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊greenie
1973⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊assholism
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊animal house
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gazonga
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊gangsta lean
1974🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊duck butter
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cashpoint
1972🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Alford plea
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊liftback
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Archie Bunker house
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊hail mary
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊mobile
1978🎮 Gaming
bluesky
🔊patrial
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊meathead
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊Cheggers
1976⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Mareva injunction
1975🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊double-nickel
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊get one's ya-yas out
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ice kachang
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊dirty pillow
1974🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊corflute
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊jive turkey
1970👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊drink the Kool-Aid
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊awesome
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊gork
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊America at home
1971🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Norwich Pharmacal order
1974⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊refer someone to the reply given in Arkell v Pressdram
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
schoolies week
1975🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊naughty step
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊shonky
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊corporate welfare bum
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Section 226
1970🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊bazonga
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Harvey Smith sign
1971🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊pootle
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊dy-no-mite
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊paratransit
1972🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Dutch disease
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊chicken-in-a-basket circuit
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊cockblocker
1971🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊First Nation
1970🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊group of death
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊gong show
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊crackhead
1978⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊Malfunction Junction
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cultural Marxism
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊packing for Perth
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊beresque
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊brick house
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊lamington
1977🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊bong hit
1978🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Chocolate City
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Miller test
1973🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊djent
1970🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊faith-based
1970⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊choke and puke
1977🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊green ban
1973🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊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.