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.
1980s — 53 terms
Showing top 53 by views80
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slay
1980🔥 Gen Z & TikTok
tiktok
🔊jawn
1981🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊circle back
1980💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊buff
1980🎮 Gaming
discord
🔊move the needle
1980💼 Corporate & Work
🔊AFK
1989🎮 Gaming
irc
🔊gutted
1984🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊bandwidth
1980💼 Corporate & Work
🔊deep dive
1980💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊synergize
1980💼 Corporate & Work
🔊scope creep
1985💼 Corporate & Work
🔊ABDL
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊shoegaze
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊sprint
1980💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊RACI
1980💼 Corporate & Work
🔊bogan
1985🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊rolling
1980?? Drugs & Substances
bluesky
🔊dogfood
1988💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊reskill
1980💼 Corporate & Work
🔊upskill
1980💼 Corporate & Work
🔊forest bathing
1982🌱 Lifestyle & Wellness
🔊align
1980💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊a-alike
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊flow
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊retro
1980💼 Corporate & Work
bluesky
🔊diss track
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊thingo
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊IMO
1980🌐 Internet & Memes
texting
🔊motate
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ABCD
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊picky bits
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊Kenyan time
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊batty boy
1985⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊squirty cream
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊dream pop
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊pindown
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊mad
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊Cajun microwave
1980🍔 Food & Drink
🔊caffeinate
1980🍔 Food & Drink
🔊lob-on
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊skillo
1985🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊radical
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊Charlie
1980?? Drugs & Substances
bluesky
🔊absoflippinglutely
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Seppo
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊cheesedick
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊bollocked
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊0800 number
1985⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊realness
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊0-dark-hundred
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊absofreakinglutely
1985🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊weegie
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊PB
1980🎮 Gaming
🔊aspro
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊nontraditional student
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊boss
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
bluesky
🔊gag a maggot
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊phwoar
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊New Age traveller
1985⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊bamma
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊basehead
1985🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊nonsports
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊relo
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊sickening
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊13th month
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊kiasu
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊mixtape
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊'er indoors
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊narrative verdict
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊cushty
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊feature creep
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊pavement special
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Canadian tuxedo
1980👗 Fashion & Lifestyle
🔊buttload
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊boom bap
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊A-gang
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊kamp
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊misso
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊11B
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊aged care
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊Marley
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊African-American
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
bluesky
🔊chemical cosh
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊drummy
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊toey
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
🔊abortuary
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Plastic Paddy
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊ballistic
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊Westie
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
bluesky
🔊A4
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊crack onto
1980💘 Relationships & Dating
🔊farmstall
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ADR
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊shurely shome mishtake
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊yomp
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊aceboy
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊tekkie
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊chest button
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊yas
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊midnight chow
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊petrolhead
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊float someone's boat
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊ad-seg
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊Chapter 7
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊cypher
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊AVO
1980🇦🇺 Australian & NZ slang
texting
🔊emo
1985🎵 Music & Lyrics
🔊twee
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊leh
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊angry fruit salad
1980⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊Jints
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
🔊shade
1980🎤 Black culture & AAVE
bluesky
🔊fish cop
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊full monty
1980🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
🔊triple-double
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊dime
1980?? Drugs & Substances
bluesky
🔊bogus
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
bluesky
🔊lo-fi
1980🎵 Music & Lyrics
bluesky
🔊posterized
1980🗺️ Regional & Other
🔊woobie
1983⚡ Tech, Dev & AI
🔊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.