Ain't that the berries! (that is great!)
As easy as sliding off a greasy log backward. (very easy)
Barking up the wrong tree. (you are wrong)
Be like the old lady who fell out of the wagon. (you aren't involved, so stay out of it)
Busy as a stump-tailed cow in fly time. (very busy)
Caught with your pants down. (surprised and unprepared)
Chugged full. (full and over-flowing)
Do go on. (you must be joking)
Don't bite off more than you can chew. (attempt what you can accomplish)
Don't count your chickens until they hatch. (first know the results)
Don't let the tail wag the dog. (the cheif is in charge, not the Indians)
Don't let your mouth overload your tail. (talking too much)
Either fish or cut bait. (work or make way for those who will)
Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then. (everyone is sometimes lucky)
Every dog should have a few feas. (no one is perfect)
Fly off the handle. (angry and lashing out)
Get the short end of the stick. (not invited and treated wrong)
Give down the country. (give someone a peice of your mind)
Go hog wild. (have a good time)
Go off half-cocked. (have only half the facts)
Go to bed with the chickens. (in bed early)
Go whole hog. (go for it all)
Gone back on your raisin. (deny heritage)
Got your feathers ruffled. (upset and pouting)
Happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. (doesn't grasp or worry what's going on)
Have no axe to grind. (no strong opinion)
Holler like a stuck pig. (someone mislead you)
I do declare. (usually means nothing)
In high cotton. (rising up in society)
In a coon's age. (been a long time)
Like a bump on a log. (lazy and doing nothing)
Like two peas in a pod. (act and think alike)
Mend fences. (settle differences)
Scarce as hen's teeth. (no such thing)
Sight for sore eyes. (Nice to you!)
Stomping grounds. (familiar territory)
Sun don't shine on the same dog's tail all the time. (you'll get what you deserve)
That takes the cake. (surprised)
Too big for one's britches. (someone taking themself too seriously)
Two shakes of a sheep's tail. (done quickly)
Well, shut my mouth. (shocked and speechless)
1930’s detective slang
ReplyDeleteAbercrombie - A know-it-all
Abyssinia - This means “I’ll be seeing you” and if you say it really fast you will be able to actually hear it as you say the word.
Aces, snazzy, hot, nobby, smooth, sweet, swell, keen, cool - Very good
All the way - Chocolate cake or fudge with ice cream
All wet - No good
Ameche, horn, blower - Telephone
Ab-so-lute-ly – Affirmative
All six, hit on – to hit on all six cylinders, 100% percent performance
All wet - describes an erroneous idea or individual, as in, "he's all wet."
And how - I strongly agree!
And howl – emphatic response like, “You said it!”
Apple – Everyone has heard of “the big apple” (being New York) however did you know that the word “apple” referred to any big city in the 1930s?
Applesauce- an expletive same as horsefeathers, As in "Ah applesauce!"
Attaboy - well done!; also Attagirl!
Babe, broad, dame, doll, frail, twist, muffin, kitten – These words were all slang for the fairer sex; they simply referred to women.
ReplyDeleteBaby - Glass of milk
Bean shooter, gat, rod, roscoe, heater, convincer - Gun
Beat - Broke
Behind the grind - Behind in one's studies
Big house, hoosegow - Prison
Bleed - to extort or blackmail
Blinkers, lamps, pies, shutters, peepers - Eyes
Blow Your Wig – Used to say that someone was very excited. I.e. “Don’t blow your wig, Johnny, it’s just a new car.”
Booze, hooch, giggle juice, mule - Whiskey
Brodie - A mistake
Brunos, goons, hatchetmen, torpedoes, trigger men - Hired gunmen and other tough guys
Bulge - Having the advantage
Bumping gums, booshwash - Talk about nothing useful
Butter and egg fly, hot mama, sweet mama, sweet patootie, dish, looker, tomato - An attractive woman
Butter and egg man - The money man, the man with the bankroll
Buzzer - Police badge
Baby - sweetheart. Also denotes something of high value or respect.
Baby vamp – attractive female usually used by college boys – other terms include: angel, thrill, bird, live one, peach, choice bit of calico, sweet patootie, panic
Balled Up - confused, messed up
Baloney - nonsense!
Bank's Closed - no kissing or making out - i.e. - "Sorry, Mac, the bank's closed."
Barb – college student that was not part of a fraternity
Barleycorn, John – popular personification of bootleg alcohol – this term was used throughout Prohibition
Barrel House – illegal alcohol distillation plant
Bearcat - a hot-blooded or fiery girl
Beat it - scam or get lost
Beat one's gums - idle chatter
Bee's knees - extraordinary person, thing, idea; the ultimate also “Cat’s Meow”
Beef - a complaint or to complain
Beeswax - business, i.e. None of your beeswax."
Bell bottom - a sailor
Bent – drunk, ossified
Berries - That which is attractive or pleasing; similar to bee's knees, as in "It's the berries."
Bible Belt - Area in the South and Midwest where Fundamentalism flourishes
Big six - a strong man; from auto advertising, for the new and powerful; six cylinder engines
Bimbo - a tough guy
Bird - general term for a man or woman, sometimes meaning strange or odd
Blind Pig – place where illegal alcohol was served, like a speakeasy. Blind Pigs had deceptive or “blank” fronts –often were in basements, behind peep-holed doors or in the back of legitimate businesses
Blocker –Southern term for moonshiner or bootlegger
Blotto – drunk, ossified, bent
Bluenose - An excessively puritanical person, a prude
Bohunk- derogatory term to describe a central European immigrant (used from 1900-1930)
Bootleg - illegal liquor also called busthead
Breezer - a convertible car
Brown – Bootlegger’s term for whiskey
Brown plaid – bootlegger’s term for Scotch
Bubs – women’s breasts (used as description from 1900 on)
Bug-eyed Betty – unattractive or unpopular girl, often this term was used by college boys – other 1920’s slang include: pig’s coattail, washout, mess, flat tire, chunk of lead, crumb
Bull - (1) a policeman or law-enforcement officer including FBI (2) nonsense (3) to chat idly, to exaggerate
Bull Session - Male talkfest, gossip, stories of sexual exploits
Bum's Rush - ejection by force from an establishment
Bump Off - to murder or kill
Bunny- term that conveys sympathy and endearment for lost or confused person
Bus – old, worn out big vehicle (used from 1915 onwards)
Bushwa – softer version of bull shit also spelled booshwash
Butterfly’s boots, the – anyone or anything that is great or dreamy like the cat’s meow
Cabbage, lettuce, kale, folding green, long green. - Color of money
ReplyDeleteCadillac – While now this word simply refers to a car, in the 1930s it referred to an ounce of cocaine or heroin.
Cake-eater – a ladies’ man
Canned – drunk, ossified, bent
Canary - A female vocalist
Caper - a criminal act or robbery
Carry a torch - To have a crush on someone
Cash - a kiss
Cash or check? - Do you kiss now or later?
Cast a kitten – to have a fit Cats or alligators - Fans of swing music
Cat's meow - Something splendid or stylish, similar to bee's knees; the best or greatest, wonderful.
Cat's pajamas - Same as cat's meow or cat’s whiskers or gnat’s eyebrows Cave - One’s house or apartment
Chase yourself, go -get lost (from 1900 onwards)
Chassis - the female body from 1930
Cheaters - Eyeglasses
Check - kiss me later
Chewing gum – double talk
Check or checker - A dollar
Chicago overcoat - Coffin. There was a ton of gang violence in Chicago during the 1930s so it was not uncommon for the word “Chicago” to be used as a lead word for a slang term relative to violence.
Chicago typewriter, chopper, gat, Tommy Gun - Thompson Submachine Gun
Chisel - Swindle, cheat, work an angle
Cinder dick - Railroad detective
City juice, dog soup - Glass of water
Clam-bake Wild swing - Used to describe a party, always in conjunction with a fun time. I.e. “My birthday party is going to be a clam bake!”
Clip joint - Night club or gambling joint where patrons get flimflammed
Copacetic - Wonderful, fine, all right
Coffin varnish – bootleg or homemade alcohol, also called horse liniment, stuff, and tarantula juice
Copper - Policeman
Crumb, A fink - A loser by social standards
Crush - An infatuation
Crust - To insult
Curve - Disappointment
Cute as a bug's ear - Very cute
ReplyDeleteDaddy - a young woman's boyfriend or lover, especially if he's rich
Dame - a female (term used since 1900, gained wide use in the 1930’s and 1940’s)
Dapper - a Flapper's dad
Darb - An excellent person or thing (as in "the Darb" - a person with money who can be relied on to pay the check)
Dead hoofer or cement mixer Bad dancer
Dead soldier - an empty beer bottle
Deb – a debutante
Dick/gumshoe/flatfoot – Detective. If you think about the character “Dick Tracy” you will remember that he was a detective during the 1930s. The slang word for detective back then was “dick” so basically they were calling him Detective Tracy in the slang vernacular of the time.
Dig Think hard or understand
Dil-ya-ble A phone call
Dingy Silly
Dizzy with a dame Very much in love with a woman, sometimes at great risk to themselves, especially if she's someone else's moll
Dog house String bass
Doggy Well dressed but in a self conscious way
Doll - an attractive woman
Dolled up - dressed up
Dollface Name for a woman when a man is pleading his case or apologizing
Dope - drugs
Doss Sleep
Dough - money
Double-cross - to cheat, stab in the back
Drag – college dance
Drilling, plugging, throwing lead, filling someone with daylight, giving someone lead poisoning - Shooting a gun (at someone)
Drumsticks, pins, pillars, stems, uprights, get away sticks, gams - Legs
Dukes, paws, grabbers, meat hooks - hands
Dry – person who is against drinking and for Prohibition
Dry up - shut up, get lost
Dumb Dora - a stupid female also called Dumbbell
Drunk - Bleary-eyed, bent, blind, blotto, boiled, boiled as an owl, burning with a blue flame, canned, corked, corned, crocked, edged, embalmed, fried, four sheets in the wind, full, ginned, half-cocked, half seas over, half-screwed, half-shot, happy, high, hoary-eyed, jazzed, jingled, lathered, liquored, lit, lit up like a Christmas tree, lit up like a store window, lit up like the commonwealth, loaded, loaded for bear, loaded to the muzzle, lubricated, oiled, over the bay, ossified, owled, paralyzed, plastered, pie-eyed, pickled, piffed, piped, polluted, potted, primed, saturated, slopped, sloppy, stiff, stinko, soused, squiffy, stewed, sprung, tanked, tight, under the table, wall-eyed, wet, woozy
Earful - enough
ReplyDeleteEdge - intoxication, a buzz
Eel’s hips – variation of cat’s meow
Egg - A crude person or a person who lives the big life
Egg harbor Free dance
Eggs in coffee Run smoothly
Evil In a bad mood
Ethel – effeminate man
Face A Caucasian
Fag – before 1920, a cigarette, after 1920, a cigarette or effeminate man Fem, filly, flame, flirt, fuss Constant girl companion to a boy
Fella - guy
Fire extinguisher - a chaperone
Fish -(1) a college freshman also can be a first timer in prison
Five spot, a Lincoln $5 bill
Flapper –free-spirited young woman
Flat tire – a dull, insipid, disappointing date. Also known as a pill, pickle, drag, rag, oil can
Flivver - a Model T; after 1928, could mean any old broken down car
Flapper - A stylish, brash, hedonistic young woman with short skirts & shorter hair
Fly boy - a glamorous term for an aviator
Fried – drunk, ossified, bent
Frosh –first year student at college
Gat/rod/heater/convincer – A couple of these words are still used today when referring to a gun.
Gay - happy
Genius An extremely, unbelievably, dumb persons
Giggle Juice – The 1930’s slang term was used to describe alcohol, often found in illegal speakeasies during the prohibition. I.e. “What’s in this giggle juice, it’s great!
Giggle water - an intoxicating beverage; alcohol
Gin mill Place that serves liquor, sometimes illegally
Glad rags - "going out on the town" clothes
G-man Federal agent, term coined by Machine Gun Kelly
Gobble-pipe Saxophone
Golddigger Attractive young woman actively hunting for a rich man
Goods, the – the desired material
Goof – stupid bumbling person
Goon - hoodlum
Greaseball, half portion, wet smack, wet sock, jelly bean - Unpopular person. This slang word was a way to tell or say that someone that they was unpopular, disreputable, unworthy, etc. I.e. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Anna, but your boyfriend is a greaseball.”
Grifter A con man or woman
Gumming the works To cause something to run less smoothly
Gunsel Gunman with a hint toward being a reckless loose cannon or young homosexual (insult)
Hard boiled Tough
ReplyDeleteHair of the dog - a shot of alcohol
Half seas over – thoroughly drunk also known as “half under”
Hayburner - (1) a gas guzzling car (2) a horse one loses money on
Heebie-jeebies - The jitters, anxiety
Heel – scoundrel
He-man - a masculine man Hocks, plates, dogs - Feet
High-hat - To snub or a snob
Hip – savvy –used since 1915
Hip flask – small container used to carry alcohol, hidden by the hip or in a big pocket –fad item in 1920’s
Hit on all sixes - to perform 100 per cent; as "hitting on all six cyclinders"
Hokey-Pokey – inexpensive candy or ice cream for children
Hooey - nonsense
Hoofer - Dancer
Honey cooler A kiss
Hop, rag, jolly up, romp, wingding Dance or party Horn – This means telephone.
Hooch/Booze – This was a term for whiskey.
Horsefeathers - an expletive; same usage as applesauce
Hot mama/looker/ Tomato/dish/sweet patootie – These were all terms to describe good looking women.
Hotsquat Electric chair
House dick, house peeper House detective
Hotsy - totsy - pleasing
Hurdy-gurdy – a hand organ often played in the streets
It - sex appeal
Iron - a motorcycle
Jack - money
Jake – all is is okay, as in, "Everything is Jake."
Jalopy - Old car
Jane - any female
Java - coffee
Jitney - a car employed as a private bus. Fare was usually five cents; also called a "nickel"
Joe - coffee, An average guy
Joed Tired
Joe Brooks – someone who is fashionably dressed
Joe Zilch – any male college student also known as Joe College or Joe Yale
John - a toilet
Joint - A club, usually selling alcohol, also called speakeasy, club,
Juicy Enjoyable
Juice joint - a speakeasy
Kale - money
K balling Salvaging parts from junked rail cars to rebuild others
Keen Attractive or appealing, Very Good
Kibosh Squelch
Kippy Neat
Knock-up – get pregnant not on purpose
Know One’s Onions – know what you are talking about
Lady legger – female bootlegger
Lam, on the – running away from the police Lay off – knock it off
Level with me - be honest
Line - Insincere flattery
Lippy Talkative, smart mouthed, a wise cracker
Live wire - a lively person - wild
Low down All the information
Lunger Someone with tuberculosis
Make tracks, dangle Leave in a hurry, leave abruptly
ReplyDeleteMeat wagon Ambulance
Micky, Micky Finn Drink spiked with a knock out drugs
Mitt me kid! Congratulate me
Moll A gangster's girlfriend
Murder! Wow!
Milquetoast – timid, mild person
Mind your own potatoes- mind your own business Moonshine – bootleg alcohol
Nuts! - Telling someone they are full of nonsense
Neck - Kissing with passion Nifty - great, excellent
Okie Migrant worker from Oklahoma
Off the cob - Corny
Ofay – African American term to describe white people
Old Boy – male term to address other men also “Old man”
On the lam - fleeing from police
On the level - legitimate, honest
On the up and up - on the level
Ossified - a drunk person
Owl - a person who's out late
Pachuco Young Mexican living in the US
Packing heat, wearing iron - Carrying a gun
Pally - Friend, chum, sometimes used sarcasticly
Palooka (1) a below-average or average boxer (2) a social outsider, from the comic strip character Joe Palooka
Patsy - Innocent man framed for a criminal charge
Pet - Same as neck, but more so
Piker - (1) a cheapskate (2) a coward
Pill (1) a teacher (2) an unlikable person(3) Disagreeable person
Pin – announce an engagement or agreement to be serious by giving or receiving a sweetheart’s fraternity pin
Pinch - To arrest
Pinko – liberal
Pip (1) Attractive person (2) extraordinary person or thing, sometimes used sarcastically
Pitching woo, making whoopee Making love
Platter A record
Plenty rugged Big and strong
Prom-trotter – gregarious student who attends school social functions and likes to dance
Putting on the Ritz - after the Ritz hotel in Paris; doing something in high style
Quiff – cheap prostitute
Rag-a-muffin - a dirty or disheveled individual
Razz- to make fun of or take the piss out of, heckle
Ring-a-ding-ding A good time at a party
Ritzy - Elegant (from the hotel)
Rot gut, bathtub gin Prohibition alcohol usually made in back rooms and of low quality
Rub – student dance party
Rube – hick
Rummy – drunk, alcoholic
Rush – try to get into a fraternity
Sawbuck $10 bill
Scat singer A vocalist who improvises lyrics, substituting nonsense syllables for words
Scrub Poor student
Shake a leg Hurry up
Skin tickler A drummer
Slugburger Adding day-old bread to ground beef.
Slip me five Shake my hand
Smooth Well dressed without qualification
Snipe Cigarette
Sourdough Conterfeit money
Speakeasy Bar disguised as something else or hidden behind an unmarked door
Squat Nothing
Stool pigeon, snitch Someone who informs to the police
Suds, salad, dough, moolah, rhino, bacon (as in bring home the bacon), bread - Money
Sap - a fool
Says you - a reaction of disbelief
Scratch – money
See a man about a dog, have to – phrase to describe “I need to leave now”, often referring to going out and buying bootleg whiskey
Sheba - A woman with sex appeal (from the move Queen of Sheba) or (e.g. Clara Bow)
Sheik - A man with sex appeal (from the Valentino movies)
Shiv - a knife
Sinker - a doughnut
Sitting pretty – in a great position
Snake’s hips – cat’s whiskers or bee’s knees
Snoot full, have a – to be drunk
Snuggle pup – teenager term for a sweetheart who likes to cuddle
Sockdollager – knock out punch
So’s Your Old Man – reply showing irritation from 1915 onwards
Speakeasy – Irish word to describe an illicit, undercover bar selling bootleg liquor also called blind pig and scatter
Spifflicated - Drunk. The same as canned, corked, tanked, primed, scrooched, jazzed, zozzled, plastered, owled, embalmed, lit, potted, ossified or fried to the hat
Spoon - to neck, or at least talk of love
Stuck On – infatuated, in love with
Struggle buggy - the backseat of a car (where young couples made out)
Stuck On - Having a crush on
Swanky - Ritzy
Swell - Wonderful. Also: a rich man – more in later 1930’s
Slip Me Five – Used as a way to say that a person wanted to shake hands with another. I.e. “Lou, how’s it going? Slip me five, you old dog!”
Take a powder, blow, split, scram, drift Leave
ReplyDeleteTaking the rap, taking the fall Taking responsibility for someone else's crime or crimes
Talkies – movies with sound
The high hat A response in which one excludes another with irreverence and intent to offend
The kiss off The final goodbye as in exile or death
Tin Small change
Tin can, flivver A car
Tin ear, Ickie Someone who did not like popular music
Tin Pan Alley - the music industry in New York, located between 48th and 52nd street
Togged to the bricks Dressed up
Tomato - a female
Toot, on a – drinking spree
Trip for biscuits A task that yields nothing
Twit Fool or Idiot
Trigger Men – This was (and sometimes still is used) a term for hired gunmen.
Up and up – on the level, legitimate
Wet – stupid, unsophisticated also can be someone who is against Prohibition and for the legalization of alcohol
Wet Blanket - a solemn person, a killjoy
Whacky Crazy
What's your story, morning glory? What do you mean by that?
Wheat Person unused to city ways
Whisper Sister – female proprietor of a speakeasy
Whoopee - To have a good time
Wife – affectionate term to describe college dorm roommate
Wooden nickels, don’t take any – a fad expression of 1920, that meant “don’t do anything stupid – take care of yourself.”
Yo! Yes
You and me both I agree
"You shred it, wheat” You said it
A surprise for me was finding out that a "cadillac" was an ounce of coke or heroin, never heard of that before.
ReplyDelete