# What’s your favorite slang term from any time in history?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 24, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888 "2026-07-24T00:35:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/41 "2026-07-25T02:12:33Z")
When I was in high school back in the 80s’ my friends and I would say, when we thought something was cool, it was “killer”.
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### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/42 "2026-07-25T07:16:32Z")
Are we ready to bring back “Gag me with a spoon”?
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### Author:  [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/43 "2026-07-25T07:21:09Z")
We are not.
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/44 "2026-07-25T07:45:44Z")
One thing I’ve learned from being a wrestling fan and attending a bunch of indie shows is that you can make a GREAT first impression when meeting a wrestler, or anyone else in the business for that matter, if you address them as “brother”.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/45 "2026-07-25T08:34:33Z")
What’s your damage?
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### Author:  [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/46 "2026-07-25T09:41:15Z")
When I was in middle school in Indiana, people used to say “You got joaned on” when someone insulted you. I haven’t heard that expression used in decades.
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/47 "2026-07-25T12:40:30Z")
I’m still trying to make “fetch” happen.
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### Author:  [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/48 "2026-07-25T12:58:02Z")
from back in 60-70’s “jive turkey”
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### Author:  [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/49 "2026-07-25T13:34:10Z")
I’ve been interested in a possible transition of ‘posh’ in the UK. My great uncle used it occasionally in a disgusted tone toward snobs in a letter during World War II.
Yet now a UK host Jamie Oliver uses it to promote a thrifty recipe. I’ve wondered if posh could be positive now. I think it’s still negative but wanted to ask about that.
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### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/50 "2026-07-25T14:26:13Z")
Grody
Stoved up (Extremely tired or injured)
Lol
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### Author:  [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/51 "2026-07-25T14:45:07Z")
My dad used to call an umbrella a bumbershoot. I still use it occasionally.
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### Author:  [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/52 "2026-07-25T15:45:02Z")
I was once in the slightly awkward position of explaining what that meant to a young black man.
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### Author:  [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/53 "2026-07-25T15:51:50Z")
I still use “cool” and “boss.”
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### Author:  [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/54 "2026-07-25T16:09:27Z")
Can be either, IMO- it’s not really a value judgement in itself, it all comes down to context. It can be used in a positive way for something stylish or aspirational, or negatively to describe something snobby and pretentious.
Posh cocktails- probably positive.
[Jacob Rees-Mogg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Rees-Mogg)- probably negative.
Odd that you picked up Jamie Oliver using the word as a positive, but missed [Posh Spice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Beckham), back in the '90s.
I can’t quite get past the crude but effective Australian term for ‘not here to waste time’; ‘I’m not here to fuck spiders’.
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### Author:  [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/55 "2026-07-25T16:11:10Z")
We used to say “cool beans”
I like “Rowrbazzle” myself from Pogo to denote frustration, but I never heard others use it.
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### Author:  [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/56 "2026-07-25T17:40:03Z")
As others have said, I think in today’s world “groovy” and “man” are perhaps the most widely understood and used classic slang terms. A person might not use the terms, but they certainly know what they mean. Any slang older than those starts to be effected or stilted IMHO.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/57 "2026-07-25T18:10:15Z")
> [@rbroome](#):
>
> I think in today’s world “groovy” and “man” are perhaps the most widely understood and used classic slang terms
You dont think “Okay” and maybe “dude” doesnt top that list? Okay is now International , spoken all over the world by people who otherwise do not speak a word of English.
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### Author:  [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/58 "2026-07-25T18:17:32Z")
I would argue that “okay” may have crossed over from slang to perfectly ok speech, largely for the reasons you cite. While other languages may have equivalents, “ok/okay” is spoken and understood practically universally.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/59 "2026-07-25T18:19:15Z")
Of course, I agree- but once upon “in any time in history” it was slang.
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### Author:  [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/60 "2026-07-25T18:21:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> “in any time in history”
Ok, no need for me to split that particular hair, then!
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