Posted on 11/22/2024 7:28:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind
There are a few easy ways to determine someone’s age. You can ask them how old they are, look at their driver’s license, or, to make it more fun, toss out an educated guess based on the slang terms they use. Many slang words and phrases are pretty indicative of a certain time period. That’s because new terms are coined each generation, while older slang eventually falls out of fashion. Generational divides can be spotted by the popular slang terms that came about during each time period.
The Silent Generation encompasses people born between 1928 and 1945, when slang wasn’t as popular as it is today. Watching movies or reading books written during these years will reveal language that seems formal to modern ears. That said, by the 1950s, members of the Silent Generation had coined a few slang terms that were embraced by the youth. “Daddy-o” referred to someone cool, and a person was “cruising for a bruising” if they were looking for trouble. It was the following generation, however, that introduced several slang words that are still used today.
Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) embraced slang on a wider scale, coining sayings such as “boob tube” (“television”), “threads” (“clothing”), and “ticked off” (“annoyed”), to name just a few. Boomers also came up with “dig it” for when you’re really into something, or saying you have to “split” when it’s time to leave. Other slang words from this time include “groovy” (“cool”), “square” (“uncool”), and “moo juice,” to describe a fresh glass of milk.
Generation X includes anyone born from 1965 through 1980. Gen Xers are known for living a somewhat grungier lifestyle than their predecessors, as evidenced by the music that became popular in the late 1980s and early ’90s. This generation popularized terms such as “gnarly” and “phat.” “This rocks” describes something that’s amazing, and slang terms including “dude” and “homeslice” became positive terms of address. A Gen Xer would also tell someone to take a “chill pill” to calm down, invite someone back to watch TV at their “crib,” or call something “bogus” if it’s false.
Millennials, the more popular term for Gen Y, are people born from 1981 to 1996. The rise of this generation coincided with the rise of the internet, so many slang terms are the initialisms that developed out of internet culture: “BRB” (“be right back”), “OMG” (“oh my god”), “TBH” (“to be honest”), among others. Millennials are also responsible for coining words such as “bae” (to talk about their significant other) and “slay” (to praise someone doing something exceptionally well). You may also hear a millennial use “adulting” when behaving responsibly, “keeping it 100” when being real and truthful, or “getting swole” when lifting weights at the gym. This generation may also feel serious “FOMO,” which means a “fear of missing out.”
Gen Zers, also known as “zoomers,” came into the world between 1997 and 2012. For many older adults today, Gen Z slang is enough to make your head spin. But terms such as “cheugy” (“outdated”) and “sus” (“questionable” or “dishonest”) are part of a coded language that these young people share. Another popular series of terms coined by this generation are “cap” (“false”), “no cap” (“true”), and “capping” (“lying”).
Generation Alpha generally includes anyone born since 2010. If you’re a member of the Silent Generation — or even a millennial — then some of the most popular Gen Alpha slang may sound like an alien language. Take, for example, the slang term “skibidi,” which can refer to something that’s either cool or bad, or even be used as complete gibberish. Its origin is a meme called the “Skibidi Toilet,” and there’s an associated viral dance trend. If this still doesn’t make sense to you, you’re not in Gen Alpha. It’s enough to know that “skibidi” is often used as an exclamation in bizarre situations. For something that does make more sense, try “rizz,” an abbreviation of “charisma,” used to describe someone with the trait. Gen Alpha also uses the Greek letters “sigma” and “beta” to describe something that’s good or weak, respectively.
Perhaps you didn’t read the Generation Alpha slang descriptions and thus missed that I was coining a new phrase combining a Silent Gen. phrase with a Gen. Alpha slang term.
Okay, well I didn’t know you knew that. I wasn’t even a part of that generation, but old movies is where I learned of that saying. 😋
Were you one of the older kids in your family?
I’m one of the younger ones in my baby Boomer family, and all these terms are in my lexicon. I even heard “cruisin’ for a bruisin’” when I was a kid.
I imagine I didn’t after reading that the article was a waste of time. 😋
FWIW I’m a Boomer. I grew up hearing the previous generations talk.
That’s how we did it back then. The older generations taught the younger generations. :)
I agree. This guy was paid to write this awful article? There was TONS of slang during the Silent Generation. He did not research his article well at all.
My kids used that. Also “heard” from the youngest and his buddies.
Why does the Silent Generation encompass 18 years, the Baby Boomers 19 years, and all subsequent generations are 16 years.
Well, I wasted some of my time. I read some of the article and skipped other parts. About 35% - 65%.
I suggest reading popular fiction actually written in that era.
Yes. Slang was popular.
The most important slang term is missing for Boomers - “bitchin’.”
pie eyed
beat it
packing heat
dizzy broad
“This is so retarded. Born in 1963 and I have nothing in common with folks born in the late 40s and 50s...”
Early Boomer. In 1963 I was in 7th grade and vividly remember hearing Kennedy had been killed. Vietnam directly impacted a lot of us. We had an entirely different life experience.
“Generation Jones” is now used to differentiate the 1954-1965 cohort from early Boomers. It never made sense to extend the Boomer cohort to 20 years.
I would like to point out that some of us Boomers were using that phrase when the Gen Xers were still pooping their diapers.
But if they want to ride on our accomplishments that's OK with me. :)
And "wicked" means "bitchin'."
When my youngest was in maybe 3rd or 4th grade, I wanted to see if his brother’s old hand-me-down jacket would fit him. He wanted to be a pizza delivery guy for Halloween, and the jacket made perfect sense. So when he went to try it on, he kept saying, “Mom, this jacket is tight!”
I looked at him and said, “Are you sure? It looks like it fits great!”
We went around and around. Even though it was “tight” he wanted to wear it. Puzzled, I said “fine!” We weren’t in a position to spend much money. I figured he could throw a baseball cap on his head and carry an empty pizza box around. If the jacket was too small, it wouldn’t matter for one night.
On Trick or Treat night, I walked with him and his slightly older sister, who was a Rubik’s cube for her costume. It was a box with construction paper for the squares, and the straps from an old backpack. We passed by one kid, who saw her costume and said, “Man, you’re a Rubik’s cube? That’s TIGHT!”
“Tight” suddenly made sense. I learned that night I had to pay closer attention to the slang of the next generation.
Hoser.
That’s totally bogus.
“That was a waste of two minutes.”
HaHa! True, but it took me a little longer because I had to re-read a few of those weird terms.
A lot of slang terms were regional. Growing up in the ‘Burgh area, our universal term of contempt for someone was “jaggoff”. It was said with a particular upper lip sneer that I can’t describe.
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