# Classic slang for "cool" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 8, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101 "2005-11-08T20:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/41 "2005-11-09T15:42:02Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > Let us also not forget: > > **Jake** > > “Jake” is a favorite term of our much beloved **Rue DeDay** and is also used a lot in MMP therads. I think it’s more of a 40’s term. It goes back to at least 1914, actually: > [@OED Online](#): > > **1914** JACKSON & HELLYER Vocab. Criminal Slang 48 As an adjective ‘jake’ means good; satisfactory; acceptable; all-right. Negative words: Lame, weak ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/42 "2005-11-09T16:14:41Z")
A few years ago, an NPR news story about teen slang told us that “stupid” was an adverb, meaning “extremely;” “dope” meant “good.” That was the first time I had ever heard that “stupid dope” was a compliment. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/43 "2005-11-09T16:52:32Z")
23 Skidoo (From the teens or twenties I believe) Snazzy (forties and fifties) ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/44 "2005-11-09T18:01:01Z")
Well, how about **dope**? I remember that from at least late 80s early 90s. Gotcha some dope threads, yo (best when said by dumb white kids). ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/45 "2005-11-09T18:02:25Z")
Sorry, **AskNott** , didn’t see your post. I never heard “stupid dope” though. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/46 "2005-11-09T19:24:00Z")
**Jake** for “good” or “fine” (and possibly, by extension, “cool,” is a lot older than 1914. From the 1858 Gold Rush in British Columbia’s Cariboo: the [Wake Up Jake Saloon.](http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/www2i/.visual/img_med/dir_69/a_03771.gif) It’s still in business, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/47 "2005-11-09T19:30:16Z")
1990s “Frosty” tried real hard but just never got very far Late 70s’ “Mint” had currency in the Seattle area ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/48 "2005-11-09T19:53:43Z")
“Cool” has been around for a long time. There’s also “the cat’s ass”, and how that got to be a synonym for cool is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/49 "2005-11-09T20:32:21Z")
From the 1940’s, check out the lyrics to [A Zoot Suit.](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/a/azootsuit.shtml) > [@](#): > > HIM: > I want a zoot suit with a reet pleat > And a drape shape, and a stuff cuff > To look sharp enough to see my Sunday gal > > HER: > You want a reef sleeve with a right stripe > And a rare square, so the gals will stare > When they see you struttin’ with your Sunday pal Additional lyrics include the words “sharp,” “keen,” “hip,” and some odd rhyming adjectives. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/50 "2005-11-09T20:40:39Z")
From the late 19th century. Tony. Eg “That Fellow dresses awful Tony for a rube” ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/51 "2005-11-09T20:50:14Z")
I just thought of something “macaroni” was an 18th C. slang for posh/high end “yankee doodle…stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni” was the Brits’ way of saying Americans were so dumb/backward/yokel-esque that they’d think a simple feather in a simple cap was all that’s needed to pass for well-to-do (all through grade school, and I’m sure I’m not alone, I thought YD was an idiot thinking that a feather was a noodle) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/52 "2005-11-10T04:42:53Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I always thought of “hunky dory” as meaning “ok” or “fine,” not “cool.” > > “How are things going?” > “Everything’s hunky dory.” > > I can’t imagine anyone saying “Did you see that car? It’s hunky dory!” 😉 Good point. Ahhhh, the nuances of language. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/53 "2005-11-10T07:00:08Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > A few years ago, an NPR news story about teen slang told us that “stupid” was an adverb, meaning “extremely;” “dope” meant “good.” That was the first time I had ever heard that “stupid dope” was a compliment. :rolleyes: When I was in high school, we only used “dope” in a kind of sarcastic joking way - the same way we’d use “rad” or “groovy” or “the shizzle”, in a these-words-are-so-uncool-they’re-cool way. Or a we’re-so-white-and-from-the-surburbs way. So I don’t know when people were seriously using it to mean “cool” or “good.” I still use “awesome!”. I’m a nerd. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/54 "2005-11-10T07:03:30Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > I still use “awesome!”. I’m a nerd. _I_ still use “groovy”! ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/55 "2005-11-10T07:34:12Z")
> [@](#): > > **UncaStuart** : heard “neato” and “keen” late 50s as well as the short-lived “zorchy” And if something was really keen, it was _peachy_ keen! > [@](#): > > \*\*NurseCarmen[/b: 23 Skidoo I’ve read that local NYC lore has it that the juxtaposition of the Flat Iron Building building and Madison Square Park across Broadway made a wind-tunnel that lifted women’s skirts and exposed their ankles. The expression “23 skidoo” supposedly originated when the police used it to disperse the men who gathered on 23rd to enjoy “the view.” **Dolores Reborn** mentioned “far out.” That was one of my favorites. I wish it would return the way “cool” did. “Far out” was in during the 1960’s and 1970’s. For me the ultimate negative word was _bummer_. You almost needed to add “man” to both of these for them to sound right. “Far out, man!” “Bummer, man.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/56 "2005-11-10T08:26:29Z")
“Far Out” ---
**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/57 "2005-11-10T10:46:25Z")
Ah, no one yet has mentioned “pimp”. That makes me happy, for I get to contribute it. “Pimp” has recently (at least, I think it was recent) been commisioned as an adjective that expresses positive evaluation of whatever it is predicated upon. e.g.: “Hey man, that’s a real pimp jacket!” or “I’m having a party tonight. It’s gonna be pimp!” ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/58 "2005-11-10T11:44:13Z")
I remember my classmates in the 80’s saying “Ace!” a lot. Perhaps that one was limited to my school? ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101/59 "2005-11-10T12:16:56Z")
In Ireland, most particularly in Dublin it’s (f\*\*\*ing) _deadly_ and has been for ages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-slang-for-cool/330101.md?page=2)