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What slang terms were used in the 80s?
What words were used in the 80s?
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Apr 27, 2018 · Surprisingly, some of the most popular 80s phrases actually originated much earlier in our history. But they found a resurgence in the 1980s and became synonymous with that decade. We have comprised the ultimate list of 1980s slang terms along with their definition and use.
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Feb 5, 2024 · Sure, the preceding decade had words like "funky" and "groovy," but the 80s slang for "cool" took a turn for the downright outrageous. Here are some of the best slang terms from the 1980s that could sum up "cool" in a couple of more syllables: awesome - extremely impressive or excellent; bitchin' - really cool or excellent
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- Bodacious
- Big Whoop
- Hella
- Buff
- Gnarly
- Gazillionaire, Bazillionaire, and Buttload
- Duh
- Foodie
- Tubular
- Eat My Shorts
According to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, this word—a blend of bold and audacious meaning “excellent, wonderful, very enjoyable”—was coined in the 19th century but found new life in the 1970s thanks to CB radio, where it was used to reference a strong incoming signal. In 1989, it was featured heavily in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure; you can see...
In the early 20th century, someone might have expressed their dismissiveness of something by using the phrase big deal. But in the 1980s, they went with big whoop, which was apparently formed by combining the word big with whoop, “A cry of ‘whoop’, or a shout or call resembling this, used to attract attention, as a summons, or to express derision, ...
According to Green’s, this adverb can mean either “a lot of” or “very, extremely, really,” and it’s an abbreviation of helluva, as in, “he had one helluva headache.”
The etymology of the word buff, meaning “a muscular body,” is uncertain; the OED posits that it might be related to the verb buff, as in “To impart the velvety surface usual in buff leather for belts, etc.” One thing we do know for sure is that it made its debut in print in 1982’s Valley Girls’ Guide to Life: “Well, dudes have gotto be totally buf,...
It’s probably not a surprise that gnarly comes from gnarled. According to the OED, the word originated in the 1970s as a surfing term meaning “dangerous, challenging,” perhaps in reference to rough seas. Green’s notes that gnarly can be a term of disapproval, meaning “bizarre, frightening, amazing,” or, conversely, it can be used to describe someth...
We have the ‘80s to thank for these slang words referring to people who have a lot—like a lot a lot—of money. The OED dates gazillionaire to 1980 and bazillionaire to 1987. Just a year later, the similarly defined buttload debuted in Richard Rayner’s book Los Angeles Without a Map.
This word, also frequently used in the phrase “no duh,” is, according to Green’s, a “grunt of incomprehension ... often used as a rejoinder, implying that the first speaker is stupid.” The OED’s first citation is a 1943 Merrie Melodies cartoon: “Duh ... Well, he can't outsmart me, ’cause I'm a moron.” In 1964,The New York Times Magazinenoted that t...
In the late 19th century, a foodist was a proponent of a particular diet; later, the term was used to refer to people who knew a lot about food. Other terms, like gastronaut, have been used to describe the same type of person over the years, but the term that ultimately won out was foodie, which appeared in New York magazine in 1980.
Tubular, from the Latin tubulus and the French tubulair, began its life in the 1680s as a word meaning “having the form of a tube or pipe; constituting or consisting of a tube; cylindrical, hollow, and open at one or both ends; tube-shaped.” But in the '80s, it took on a new meaning entirely—this one related to waves. According to the OED, surfers ...
That’s shorts as in underwear. This phrase dates back to the early 1970s (Green’s cites a 1975 issue of the Harvard Crimson: “They chant cheers as [...] unrefined as ‘A quart is two pints, a gallon is four quarts; Harvard men will eat Yale’s shorts’”) but you might remember it from John Hughes’s 1985 film The Breakfast Club. Later, it would be used...
- Rad & Radical. I thought this would be a great one to start with, since I used radical as a superlative in the title of this post HAHA! It’s clearly my favorite of these 80’s slang terms, and the one I say most commonly. ‘
- Gag Me With a Spoon. As long as your friends don’t take this one too literally, ‘Gag me with a spoon’ is a hilarious catchphrase that I’d love to see on a t-shirt.
- Betty. I love this one, especially with Taylor Swift’s song reminding me of it whenever I listen to her Folklore album. A Betty is someone you think is pretty, fabulous or a babe, usually a girl or a woman.
- Bad. Now, hold on! This one’s not as simple as it seems. Bad isn’t bad, it’s good. Really. Like saying ‘sick’. I know this is confusing but trust me, it’s really a phrase coined from the 80’s.
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- Not even. "Not even" is a quick way of saying, "I think you're wrong, but I'm too lazy to get into a whole thing where I list the reasons why." If the person you're talking to retorts with "even," then the argument is officially over.
- Gag me with a spoon. "Gag me with a spoon" is an expression you can use when you want to show disgust or disappointment and it's not enough just to say, "I disapprove."
- Have a cow. In the '80s, if you were getting overly emotional or upset about something, you were "having a cow." How exactly this cow was being had is open to interpretation—but really, there's no good literal or metaphorical way to have it.
- No duh. When someone utters something that is extremely obvious and apparent, there were a lot of "no duhs" in response in the '80s. Example: "Do you think growing a rat tail was maybe not the best look for me?"
Aug 9, 2023 · Meaning of the Slang Term: GOAT. Slang for Money. Rediscover the '80s through its iconic slang terms like 'rad', 'tubular', 'gnarly', and 'totally awesome'. Dive deep into the colloquial lingo that defined this vibrant decade, capturing its spirit and enthusiasm.
It got me wondering what some of their favorite 1980s American English slang terms were, and if I could bring them back into my vocabulary. Check out what I found, featuring my made up friend Kyle and his buddies!
