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What slang terms were used in the 1920s?
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The eagers was a 1920s slang term for anxiety or overeagerness. Here’s an example from a 1928 slang dictionary: “Don’t get the eagers now—just take things easy.” Frizzler
5 days ago · This glossary of early twentieth century slang in the United States is an alphabetical collection of colloquial expressions and their idiomatic meaning from the 1900s to the 1930s. This compilation highlights American slang from the 1920s and does not include foreign phrases. The glossary includes dated entries connected to bootlegging ...
- Cat
- Sheik
- Palooka
- Dewdropper
- Boob
- SAP
- Cake Eater
- Jobbie
- Yellow-Belly
- More in 1920s Slang
Starting off with one of the most common and generic slang terms for men in the 1920s, first we have “cat”. This term was used widely in the United States and other parts of the western world, and really just referred to any man. It was most often used for particularly suave or cool men, or at least men who were, in one way or another, “in the know...
Next we have “sheik”, a much more specific slang term that referred not just to a man but to a particularly handsome one. At first, the term simply meant a handsome man, and over time it evolved to have the more specific meaning of the kind of cool, hip man who hung around with flappers during the ‘20s. So, again, this one was reserved for cool men...
Next we have “palooka,” a term with quite a different meaning to the ones we’ve looked at so far. A palooka, in 1920s slang, was a stupid or clumsy person, someone without manners and who is very uncouth. It could sometimes be used to refer to any such person, but in the vast majority of cases, it referred to a man. “Look at that palooka there!” fo...
Next we have “dewdropper,” a term that generally referred to a stupid, lazy man who never worked or did anything with his time. This was a very common term in the 1920s and is to some extent even still used today. It was vastly more common in the 1920s, though, where it was widely understood to mean something akin to the “couch potato” of the moder...
This may well be one you’ve heard in the movies. A “boob” is a slang term for a stupid man, again often one who is clumsy and uncouth and who is not capable of doing much. It’s very often used as gangster slang in movies and television, for example for the hapless henchman who can’t do his job properly. It was also, though, definitely a term that w...
As you can see, there were many slang terms in the 1920s to describe men who were stupid. “Sap” is another of these—a sap is a man who is not the smartest guy around. There’s not a great deal more to it than that—this one was a clear insult and is still, to a lesser extent, used today. “That sap is going to get us all in trouble,” for example. The ...
You might have an idea what this one would refer to, but you’d probably be wrong. A “cake eater” was a man who was good with the ladies, and who would spend a lot of time in the company of women. It was not a man who ate lots of cake or just ate a lot in general. It would, then, be something of a compliment to call a man a “cake eater”—assuming he ...
A general slang term for a man without any specific connotations in most cases was “jobbie”. This usually did not have any specific meaning and just referred to any man, although it could also refer to the kind of handyman who did lots of odd jobs here and there, whether in employment or just as cash in hand. “He’s a good jobbie, you know,” for exa...
A common, if older, slang term in the 1920s for a cowardly man was “yellow belly”. This was not used to the same extent in the 1920s as it had been before, but among certain circles this was still a very common slang term at that time. As mentioned, this was something you would use when someone was being cowardly or timid. “Look at that yellow bell...
Mar 21, 2022 · Verbally travel back in time with these 1920s slang words and phrases! Check out their fun meanings because, hey, you might even use them in conversation.
Feb 9, 2024 · What 1920s slang is so good, it deserves a comeback? Learn some of the best slang words and phrases from the '20s with this extensive list of examples.
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Oct 21, 2016 · 4. Moll (1920s) The 1920s was The Jazz Age, an era marked by flappers, illegal booze, and speakeasies. And a "moll" was someone's girlfriend — especially a gangster's girlfriend. 5. Gentleman...
Oct 19, 2012 · On small tables like those at which “zozzled” (drunk) flappers and “jelly beans” (their boyfriends) once illegally imbibed “foot juice” (cheap wine) or “jag juice” (hard liquor), you can read...
