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These Slang Terms Reveal Which Generation You Were Born In
Word Smarts ^ | 11/22/2024 | Bennett Kleinman

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.

Silent Generation

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

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

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

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.”

Generation Z

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

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.


TOPICS: History; Society; Word For The Day
KEYWORDS: 23skiddoo; generation; slang; wboopie
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

While hiking in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, I took my scouts to the base of Fontana Dam........ I told them”now that’s awesome”


81 posted on 11/23/2024 5:39:25 AM PST by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Where is ZORRO when California so desperately needs him?)
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To: Sirius Lee
Yep, I know all of those too. Reminiscing with old friends about the stupid things we used to do can be entertaining, for a little while. Slang saying may be interesting to some as well. I didn't try to spoil your fun swell time.

I merely corrected his slang, as it was not accurate

But Sirius Lee, we have already hashed this out, and I now understand what he was doing. I thought his mistake was a genuine mistake. So why are you not having a fun swell time still? 🤣

82 posted on 11/23/2024 5:51:53 AM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: SeekAndFind

“The Silent Generation encompasses people born between 1928 and 1945, when slang wasn’t as popular as it is today. “

The author gets so much wrong here you have to wonder if the article is AI.

First of all slang some of which is still in use today, goes back to at least the gold rush 1840plus. See Mark Twain who delighted in exposing it in his short stories and anecdotes. “You bet!” Is one such phrase “kicked the bucket” is another. Years ago I read articles listing street lingo between the twenties and forties and was stunned at how much there was that the movies left out. As for the boomer’s contributions the author mixes up jazz hipster lingo going back to the 1920s 1950s with legit boomer lingo. This person doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about.


83 posted on 11/23/2024 6:07:51 AM PST by TalBlack (Time to use the Law and the Power. Good luck Mr. President.)
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To: HYPOCRACY

As far as I know Daddy-o was a term of derision teens aimed at adult males. It did not indicate that the teen thought the target “cool”. This article gets so much so wrong I smell AI.


84 posted on 11/23/2024 6:15:08 AM PST by TalBlack (Time to use the Law and the Power. Good luck Mr. President.)
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To: cgbg

It’s skibidi, IMO, dude.


85 posted on 11/23/2024 6:35:44 AM PST by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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To: Windcatcher

And “awesome.”


86 posted on 11/23/2024 6:36:51 AM PST by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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To: cgbg

Skibidi


87 posted on 11/23/2024 6:39:44 AM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie
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To: SeekAndFind

Sup Dawg


88 posted on 11/23/2024 6:40:53 AM PST by Cold_Red_Steel
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To: SeekAndFind

As a kid in the Bay Area in the early 70s there were a couple words that were new to me that have stood the test of time.

Rip-off

Gross— it used to mean just overly large-“A gross miscarriage of Justice”. Then it suddenly meant disgusting and repulsive.


89 posted on 11/23/2024 9:01:10 AM PST by married21 (As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Some keen words, totally based, buncha simps outtas ight hippies.


90 posted on 11/23/2024 10:21:08 AM PST by Karliner (Heb 4:12 Rom 8:28 Rev 3, "...This is the end of the beginning." Churchill)
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To: SeekAndFind

OK


91 posted on 11/23/2024 11:08:10 AM PST by TBP (Decent people cannot fathom the amoral creulty of the Biden-Harris regime.)
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To: HypatiaTaught

Great post. :-) I agree with you about the music. We were young in a time like no other. I’m glad we got to live it.


92 posted on 11/23/2024 12:23:42 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
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To: Bigg Red
E Gads!
Far out!
That’s a doozy!
The deuce, you say!
Gee, that’s swell!
Say, why I oughta…..
Peachy keen!

93 posted on 11/23/2024 1:12:38 PM PST by HandyDandy (Borders, language and culture. Michael Savage)
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To: SeekAndFind

They certainly got the 50s and 60s wrong.


94 posted on 11/23/2024 2:06:10 PM PST by Albion Wilde (“Did you ever meet a woke person that’s happy? There’s no such thing.” —Donald J. Trump)
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To: Robert DeLong

No, not a serious topic at all. Just a groovydelic trip down memory lane. :)


95 posted on 11/23/2024 4:45:04 PM PST by TigersEye (If you voted for Kamala you're a squirrel murdering communist!)
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To: HandyDandy

The cat’s meow
The bee’s knees

One slang word that does not seem to die is “cool.” It is my understanding that it originated with jazz musicians in the 1930s.


96 posted on 11/23/2024 4:49:54 PM PST by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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To: SeekAndFind

whatever...


97 posted on 11/23/2024 4:51:10 PM PST by heavy metal (smiling improves your face value and makes people wonder what the hell you're up to... 😁)
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To: Robert DeLong
I merely corrected his slang, as it was not accurate

How could it have been inaccurate? I made it up brand new on the spot.

98 posted on 11/23/2024 5:03:45 PM PST by TigersEye (If you voted for Kamala you're a squirrel murdering communist!)
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To: Bigg Red

I believe the word “jazz” itself began as slang.


99 posted on 11/23/2024 5:35:23 PM PST by HandyDandy (Borders, language and culture. Michael Savage)
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To: HandyDandy

Indeed, it did. And my mother (b.1912) once told me that when she was a teen “jazz” was not a nice word.


100 posted on 11/23/2024 7:59:54 PM PST by Bigg Red (Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
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