# What "old" slang do you still use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027 "2005-03-11T14:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/1 "2005-03-11T14:49:35Z")
I’m fairly young, 29, and I teach in a middle school. I am constantly trying to keep up with the new slang, so I can be the hippest cat around 🆒 Regardless of my efforts, I always end up slipping up and causing a great burst of laughter when I say something like “Let’s bust a move on these math problems yo!”. Mostly I do this fun. However, when I was talking with some coworkers yesterday and mentioned that an event was “off the hook”, they had no idea what I was talking about. They said that off the hook could only mean someone didn’t have to get in trouble for what they did. This caused me to wonder how many people still were using the great slang words and phrases from many moons ago. Don’t be ashamed, just lay it on me man. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/2 "2005-03-11T14:57:24Z")
I’m 26, and I still use words like _swell_, _aces_, and _jake_ (all for good things). I love all that '30s/'40s/'50s slang. I will use '80s slang (now co-opted by clueless advertisers), but only for comedic or ironic effect, like if macaroni and cheese is “totally tubular… TO THE MAX!” or someone’s kittens are "radical… TO THE EXTREME! ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/3 "2005-03-11T15:08:17Z")
I say things “gross me out the door.” I also say things are “neato” “nifty” and “groovy.” ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/4 "2005-03-11T15:10:51Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I’m 26, and I still use words like _swell_, _aces_, and _jake_ (all for good things). I love all that '30s/'40s/'50s slang. That slang is so old it’s become cool again! I’ll have to start sprinkling some “jake” into my conversations. I recently said “That’s the bomb!” to my dismay. Better than “That’s the whip!” which was apparently never cool to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/5 "2005-03-11T15:16:37Z")
Thanks to my ex, ‘dude’ is now permanently imbedded into my daily lexicon. Not the short ‘dude’, but ‘dood’. I do like to tease my daughter with 80’s ValSpeak and have said to her “Gag me with a spoon, like, fer shur”. In public. Loudly. Numerous times. And you can’t take my ‘cool’ away from me. When I’m nagged about using the word ‘cool’ I say ‘Nifty, Daddy-O’ or ‘faboo’. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/6 "2005-03-11T15:26:16Z")
**Groovy**. I used this in the late-1980s/early-1990s. Back then, I’d get the _strangest_ looks! But I noticed that in the '90s ‘groovy’ came back and lost its impact. I still use it though. **Hep**. I used to use this one a lot in the '80s. Heck, I wasn’t even _around_ in the '50s (or the '40s, or whenever it was used). I still use it occasionally. **Aces**. Usually said with exaggerated enthusiasm, and accompanied by a ‘thumbs up’ (one thumb). **Right on**. This seems to be very popular here in the PNW. I’ve tried not to use it, since it is used by everybody, but it still slips in. **Yo, 's up?** Having lived in L.A. for so long, this one stuck. No one says it up here (except for my **homies** (transplants from the **LBC** ). ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/7 "2005-03-11T15:33:46Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > And you can’t take my ‘cool’ away from me. Ditto and leave my “You’re the Bees knees” and “Llamas pajamas” alone too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/8 "2005-03-11T15:33:58Z")
What’s funny is when I hear the kids using slang that I used when I was their age, but they think it’s brand new. Yesterday, my stepdaughter called my stepson a “whigger”. I nearly blew orange juice out my nose laughing. They thought it was a new term, and were quite dismayed to find out that it came from the '60s. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/9 "2005-03-11T15:37:01Z")
I use “awesome” and “sweet” quite a bit, but I always thought they were kind of “Maine” things more than old-skool slang. I also say “dig?” which was actually before my time, but I like it. I’ve no idea how I acquired it. It’s a good word. If you don’t use it right, you’ll sound like a total fuckin’ tool, so be careful. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/10 "2005-03-11T15:38:23Z")
> [@AbbySthrnAccent](#): > > Ditto and leave my “You’re the Bees knees” and “Llamas pajamas” alone too. 😃 It’s “Puddy’s PJ’s here”, but I like “Llamas Pajamas”. May have to steal that one! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/11 "2005-03-11T15:39:47Z")
erm, not “Puddy’s PJ’s here”, but rather “Puddy’s PJ’s” here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stranger\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@The\_Stranger\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stranger_1)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/12 "2005-03-11T15:44:22Z")
I refuse…absolutely refuse…to give up the word “Dude” from my lexicon. Since I live in Southern California, and I surf, “Dude” is a necessary component of my everyday speech habits. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/13 "2005-03-11T15:45:48Z")
> [@The\_Stranger](#): > > Since I live in Southern California, and I surf, “Dude” is a necessary component of my everyday speech habits. Dude. Word. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/14 "2005-03-11T15:46:25Z")
Oh and “there’s the rub”. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/15 "2005-03-11T15:48:31Z")
When folks ask me how I’m doing, I usually reply "fair to middlin’ ". ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/16 "2005-03-11T15:52:17Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > When folks ask me how I’m doing, I usually reply "fair to middlin’ ". I say ‘scattered-to-broken’. (WX-speak. Pilots will understand.) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/17 "2005-03-11T15:56:40Z")
I am trying to introduce “Ninja, _PLEASE!_” into the lexicon, as an exclamation of skepticism or exasperation. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/18 "2005-03-11T16:03:12Z")
I refuse to give up my use of old British slang, garnered from countless readings of Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin and Tom Holt. And Bob’s your uncle. (But surely Bjorn Stronginthearm is my uncle?) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/19 "2005-03-11T16:04:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And Bob’s your uncle. I like ‘Bob’s your mother’s live-in lover’. [sub]_The Young Ones_ reference.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027/20 "2005-03-11T16:08:03Z")
Kinda tongue-in-cheek, but I do use these words: Moxie Gams Broad Cat (as in “person”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-old-slang-do-you-still-use/294027.md?page=2)