# When did you first hear the term “yuppie” **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2024, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045 "2024-07-31T05:23:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/21 "2024-07-31T12:12:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > While the preppies attended college the term stuck to them. > > As soon as they got out of college, they morphed into yuppies. “Young upwardly mobile urban professionals”. Which was early 1980s. Coincides with my experience. Preppie was around back when I was in HS, first heard “yuppie” while myself in college in the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/22 "2024-07-31T12:35:31Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Well, the reason I think I remember it is because my hick cousins used to call them guppies - gay yuppies. Not that they were but, hey, they (my cousins) were from east Texas. Their homophobia aside, the late 60s was when I spent time with them and guppie was a take off of yuppie - not yippie. I’m skeptical. This assumes gay people open enough in east Texas to br identifiable. Wasn’t that time when gays still hid? ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/23 "2024-07-31T12:40:45Z")
I remember hearing the term in the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/24 "2024-07-31T12:52:28Z")
Early eighties. I distinctly remember being on a Blue Line El train in Chicago at the Irving Park Station reading about it in the Tribune. I can’t recall the exact year. As I recall, the term yuppie had a close association with young prosperous Reaganites, which was newsworthy because young people were supposedly becoming Republicans instead of leaning lefty. The Alex Keaton phenomenon, if you will. Yuppie has always had a pejorative tang to it. (Off-topic: Did you guys know that I’ve been spelling pejorative wrong all these years? I always thought it was prejorative, as in prejudice. Huh.) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/25 "2024-07-31T13:32:19Z")
Mid-late eighties. Thinkpieces about the show _Thirtysomething_, and also that episode of _Cheers_ in which Norm pretends to be a gay interior decorator to gain favor with a pair of yuppies. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/26 "2024-07-31T13:36:28Z")
You and puzzlegal are right, it was preppies not yuppies. My memory must be fading as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/27 "2024-07-31T13:40:26Z")
The first specific recollection of hearing the term that I recall was during a radio advertisement for a high end apartment. Maybe 1984-ish? Where the announcer was describing the squash courts, gyms, swimming pool, private parking, and other amenities they offered and the announcer said "even though I hate the term, I guess you could call me a “yuppie”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/28 "2024-07-31T14:31:02Z")
Early 80s. It could be that the first time I heard it, it was as an acronym. Maybe I read it in a magazine article, rather than hearing it “on the street”. Preppies are another kettle of fish. I first became aware of them in 1980, in college. I thought it was a new thing. So I find it interesting to watch older TV shows and see the preppie uniform was in place long before us hick farmers ever heard of it. Culture used to take a while to seep to the midwest. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/29 "2024-07-31T14:48:21Z")
As a kid around 1983 or '84, although I didn’t hear it, I read it in the paper and promptly asked my parents, “Aunt R. and Uncle G. are sort of yuppies, right?” They informed me that there was no “sort of” about it 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/30 "2024-07-31T15:00:43Z")
The first reference I found in our local newspaper archive was 1984. That’s about the time I probably first heard it. (We’re always a little behind the times.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/31 "2024-07-31T15:21:44Z")
Mid to early 80s. I think I first noticed the word in a magazine article about the preppie generation becoming the yuppie generation. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/32 "2024-07-31T15:23:19Z")
And from a cursory glance thru some newspaper archives, it really started picking up steam and gaining some currency in 1982–at least in the printed word. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/33 "2024-07-31T15:25:13Z")
Here’s Amazon’s listing for _The Yuppie Handbook_ from 1984. By then, the term must have been familiar enough to be a punchline, but still novel enough to be a clever punchline. > **[The Yuppie Handbook: The State-of-the Art Manual for Young Urban Professionals:...](https://www.amazon.com/Yuppie-Handbook-State-Manual-Professionals/dp/067147684X)** > > The Yuppie Handbook: The State-of-the Art Manual for Young Urban Professionals \[Marissa Piesman, Marilee Hartley, Lonni Sue Johnson\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Yuppie Handbook: The State-of-the Art Manual for Young Urban... ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/34 "2024-07-31T16:04:22Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > “[The Preppy Handbook](https://www.amazon.com/Official-Preppy-Handbook-Lisa-Birnbach/dp/0894801406)” came out in 1980, if Amazon is to be believed, but by that time was simply documenting a well-established phenomenon. “Preppie” is what the protagonist’s girlfriend calls him in Erich Segal’s _Love Story_ which came out in 1970. So the term had probably been in use for some years before that. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/35 "2024-07-31T16:21:07Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Does your terrible memory recall it as being used to mean the same thing? Or maybe something different? Ha ha, I would love to say, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s it!’. But I must fess up to the truth that I was mis-remembering. I bow to the consensus. > [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > Since this is asking for personal experiences, it should be in IMHO, not FQ. Moving. Oops, that was my intent, sorry… and thanks. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’m skeptical. This assumes gay people open enough in east Texas to br identifiable. Wasn’t that time when gays still hid? It assumes nothing of the kind. They are a bit homophobic and slightly racist as well, but they do have a couple of television sets and thus have a working knowledge of the world. This has got to be the weirdest reason I’ve been accused of lying. Why in the world would I lie about having homophobic relatives. I’m about as far from that as possible, in fact my own daughter is gay. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t associate with that branch of the family tree. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/36 "2024-07-31T16:39:16Z")
Not suggesting that you’re lying but that you may be mixing up different memories. Would there have been gay yuppies shown on television then? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/37 "2024-07-31T16:44:32Z")
And actually wasn’t Billy Crystal’s character of Jody one of the first gay characters on television? I think that started in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/38 "2024-07-31T16:47:12Z")
I remember the salary minimum to qualify as a Yuppie in 1984: $40K [![](https://assets.artworkarchive.com/image/upload/t_jpg_profile_2000/v1/user_3593/_MG_6602_oiqtpu) ](https://assets.artworkarchive.com/image/upload/t_jpg_profile_2000/v1/user_3593/_MG_6602_oiqtpu) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/39 "2024-07-31T17:15:39Z")
By 1985, the term was known enough to inspire the song Yuppiedrone by The Pheromones: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg2iKxbeucQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg2iKxbeucQ) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045/40 "2024-07-31T17:53:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not suggesting that you’re lying but that you may be mixing up different memories. > > Would there have been gay yuppies shown on television then? Well first of all, as I mentioned, the people he referred to probably weren’t actually gay - he just used that pejorative term for the yuppie lifestyle. And of course, culturally, they would have been on TV. There would have also been news, news shows and variety shows. Lots of Yuppies on TV. My memory of that is clear. My memory of _when_ it was, not so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-first-hear-the-term-yuppie/1005045.md?page=3)