Glossary of early twentieth century slang
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Excerpted from:
Fitzgerald: My Lost City, Personal EssaysThe tempo of the city had changed sharply. The uncertainties of 1920 were drowned in a steady golden roar. But the restlessness of New York in 1927 approached hysteria. The parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper. but all those benefits did not really minister to much delight.
– F. Scott Fitzgerald[1]
Melodrama films captivate the audience by weaving narratives that evoke intense emotions. These films primarily focus on family dynamics, centering around characters who face adversity and exploring themes of duty and love. The melodramatic format portrays characters navigating their challenges with unwavering determination, selfless acts, and bravery. Movie critics and theater owners often use the certain expressions to describe the movies they are reviewing or showing.[2][3][4]
In crafting an article for a particular silent film WP:MOSFILM recommends a section titled Critical reception. That section consists of movie critiques by professional critics and direct quotes from audience members.
This listing is a general glossary of slang terms commonly used by silent movie critics, theater owners, and film fans to describe the melodramatic films they are reviewing or screening. This glossary offers a fast reference to the slang used in these movie reviews.
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0-9
[edit]- 86
- 1. Soda-counter term meaning an item was no longer available[5]
- 2. "Eighty-six" means to discard, eliminate, or deny service[5]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/1920_-_S._S._Kresge_Lunch_Counter.jpg/250px-1920_-_S._S._Kresge_Lunch_Counter.jpg)
A
[edit]- abe's cabe
- 1. Five dollar bill[6]
- 2. See fin, a fiver, half a sawbuck[6]
- absent treatment
- Engaging in dance with a cautious partner[7]
- ab-so-lute-ly
- Affirmative, Yes[7]
- ace
- One dollar bill; see clam[8]
- air tight
- Very attractive[7]
- airedale
- Unattractive man[7]
- alarm clock
- Chaperone[7]
- alderman
- Man's pot-belly or simply a prominent belly of a man; see bay window[9]
- all wet
- Erroneous idea or individual e.g. "He's all Wet"[8]
- alibi
- Box of flowers or candy[7]
- and how!
- I Strongly agree![7]
- ankle
- To walk, e.g. "Let's ankle!"[7]
- ankle excursion
- Walk i.e. walk home[7]
- apple-knocker
- 1. Farm laborer mostly a Fruit picker[10]
- 2. country bumpkin or Hick[10]
- applesauce
- 1. Flattery[7]
- 2. Nonsense, e.g."Aw, Applesauce!"[8]
- armchair
- Love nest[7]
- attaboy!
- Well done! or Attagirl![12]
Example
A "cotton glaumer" picks cotton, an "apple knocker" picks apples and other fruit— 1923 book by Nels Anderson[11]
B
[edit]- babe
- Attractive person usually a woman and sometimes meaning a significant other[13]
- baby
- Something of high value or respect including your sweetheart[13]
- baby grand
- Heavily built man[7]
- badger game
- An extortion scheme that loosely takes its name from the illegal practice of badger-baiting. It revolves around a scheme to deceive someone, put them in a compromising position, and then extort money from them.[14]
- balled up
- Confused, messed up[15]
- bally nipper
- Tomboy[7]
- baloney
- Nonsense[7]
- banana oil
- The act of using insincere flattery and deception, particularly with the intention to deceive[16]
- bangtails
- Race horses who's tail is cut horizontally to resemble a tassel e.g. "I wagered on those bangtails in the third race." [17] [15]
- bank's closed
- No kissing or making out e.g. Sorry, Mac, the bank's closed![7]
- barber
- Talkative individual[17]
- barney
- Scandal walker[18]
- barneymugging
- Love-making[7]
- barrelhouse
- cheap saloon speakeasy or brothel[19]
- bathtub gin
- Homemade spirit, made in a bathtub[20]
- bay window
- Funny, yet unflattering nickname for a man's pot belly e.g. He's trim and tough, with no bay window and zero patience; see alderman[20]
- be on then nut
- To be broke[15]
- bean-picker
- Person who tries to patch up trouble[7]
- bean-shooter
- Gun[15]
- bearcat
- Hot-blooded, vivacious woman[15]
- beat It
- Scram, get lost[15]
- beat one's gums
- Idle chatter e.g. someone "beats one's gums"or "Flap one's gums"[8]
- bee's knee's
- Equivalent names[a]
- 1. Extraordinary person
- 2. Splendid or stylish idea
- 3. Cocktail with gin, lemon and honey
- 4. Admirable
- beef
- Problem, e.g. "What's your beef?"[21]
- beeswax
- Business, e.g. "none of your beeswax"[21]
- beezer
- Nose; see also schnozzle smeller[17]
- behind the eight ball
- 1. In a difficult position
- 2. e.g. In a § Jam[21]
- bell bottom
- Sailor[7]
- bell polisher
- Man who lingers in apartment vestibule late at night[7]
- belly laugh
- Deep, full-bodied laugh[22]
- belt
- Drink, swallow or swig of liquor[23]
- bent
- 1. Individual who is intoxicated or inebriated i.e. drunk[24][25][b]
- 2. Spoiled and ruined 1910s [26]
- 3. Person who is criminal and corrupt 1910s [26][27]
- bent cars
- Stolen Automobiles; 1930s [26][25]
- bent outta of shape
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- bent hairpin
- Elderly maid[7]
- berries
- Great or Money e.g. "It's the Berries"[7]
- berry patch
- 1. A man's special attraction to a girl[21]
- 2. The intimate area of a woman e.g."You won't be seeing my berry patch tonight, pal."[18]
- bible belt
Area in the south and midwest where fundamentalism flourishes[21]
- big cheese
- 1. Someone of importance and influence[7]
- 2. Big Boss
- 3. See § big shot
- big house
Prison[28]
- big one
- Death[29]
- big shot
- Someone of importance and influence; Big boss; see big cheese[30]
- big six
- From auto advertising, for the new and powerful six cylinder engines inferring a Strong man e.g. Go send our big six to collect the money[28]
- big sleep
- Death[17]
- big timer
- Charming and romantic man[7]
- billboard
- Flashy man or woman[7]
- bim
- Woman[17]
- bimbo
Tough guy or strong man; see also hard-boiled Bruno[7]
- bindle
- The bundle containing cloths and possessions usually carried by a tramp[31]
- bindle Punk Or Bindle Stiff
- Tramps or hobos; Migratory harvest workers[31]
- bing
- Solitary confinement cell used for punishment[31]
- bird
- Broad term for a man or woman, sometimes indicating "unusual," behavior e.g. "what a funny old bird"[7]
- biscuit
- Pettable flapper[28]
- bit
- Prison sentence[32]
- black hats
- Bad person, especally a villain or criminal in a movie, novel, or play; Heavy in a movie e.g. The Black hats show up at the mansion[33]
- blaah
- No good[7]
- blind
- Alternate names for intoxicated; Drunken bout[34][b]
- § drunk
- blind date
An appointment is set for a show or dance where your partner is someone you don't know, usually a friend of a friend[35]
- blind pig
- Unlicensed, illegal drinking establishment e.g. They just opened a new blind pig down the street serving some first-class hooch; see speakeasy[36][35]
- blind tiger
- Unlicensed, illegal drinking establishment e.g. They just opened a new blind tiger down the street serving some first-class hooch; see speakeasy[36][35]
- blip off
- Kill someone[17]
- blooey
- Condition when one has gone to pieces[7]
- blotto
- Alternate names for intoxicated[37][b]
- § drunk
- blouse
- Leave from somewhere[7]
- blow
- 1. Crazy party[7]
- 2. Leave[7]
- 3. Big wad in nightclubs
- blow someone down
- Kill or murder someone; blow someone away[38]
- blower
- Telephone[28]
- blue serge
- Sweetheart[7]
- bluenose
- Excessively puritanical person; prude[28]
- blushing violet
- Publicity hound[7]
- bo
- Man; see also buster mac pal[17]
- bob cut
- There were various bob haircuts, but the most common involved cutting both the bangs and back in a straight line, typically with the back shorter and off the neck i.e. shingle bob; e.g. Most flappers had their hair bobbed[39]
- bohunk
- 1. Derogatory name for an Eastern European immigrant (out of use by 1930) except in certain anti-immigrant circles[40]
- 2. Stupid, clumsy person[40]
- boiled as an owl
- Alternate names for intoxicated[41][b]
- § drunk
- boiler
- Automobile[17]
- boob
- Dumb guy[39]
- boob-tickler
- Girl who has to entertain her father's customers from out of town[7]
- bookkeeping
- The art of making a date[7]
- booklegger
- Dealer in suppressed novels[7]
- bootleg
- Illegal alcohol[39]
- bootlegger
- Someone who makes or sells alcohol illegally[42]
- booze
- Drink or shot of Alcohol[43]
- boozehound
- Heavy consumer of alcohol[44]
- bop
- To kill[45]
- box
- Safe or a bar[46][47]
- box job
- Safecracking[46]
- brace
- Interrogate informally; confront someone; Beg for money[48][49]
- bracelets
- Handcuffs (term originated before the 20th century) e.g. The house dick slapped a pair of bracelets on me [50][49]
- break It up
- Stop that; quit the nonsense; stop quarreling and fighting[51]
- breeze
- 1. Breeze Off i.e. leave; depart[52]
- 2. Leave; move; go quickly[53]
- breezer
- Convertible car[39][54]
- breezy
- 1. Easy going; jovial; cheerful[52]
- 2. One movie reviewer refer to the hero of a film A Stranger from Somewhere as a Breezy Westerner
- brillo
- Someone who lives fast and is a big spender[7]
- broad
- 1. Woman
- 2. Expression used solely by men to refer to a woman and widely considered offensive by womenl[55]
- bronx cheer
- 1. Loud spluttering noise mimicking fluctuance that expresses complete disapproval[55]
- 2. see raspberry[39]
- brown
- Whiskey in the 1920s[56]
- bruno
- Tough guy, strong man, enforcer; see also bimbo hard-boiled[17]
- brush-ape
- Anyone from the sticks; hayshaker, farmer[18]
- bub(s
- Female breast(s)[57]
- bucket
- Automobile; see also cowpie crate heap jalopy[17]
- bug's ear
- 1. Always with the connotation of being small e.g.Your baby is cuter than a bug's ear[58]
- 2. Attractive, Charming and cute
- bug eyed
- Amazed: astounded in the 1920s i.e. He looked all bug-eyed[59]
- bulge, the
- Advantage e.g. have the bulge on[60]
- bull(s)
- 1. Uniformed policeman; law-enforcement official; plaincloths cop[61]
- 2. Chat idly, to exaggerate[62]
- 3. railroad security guard[63]
- bull session
- Male talkfest, gossip, stories of sexual exploits[64]
- bum's rush
- Thrown out of an establishment[8]
- bump
- Kill, murder, assassination[65]
- bump gums
- Argue; talk excessively; see run one's gums[66]
- bump off
- Kill, murder, assassinate[67]
- bunk
- Nonsense[7]
- bunny
- Term of endearment applied to the lost, confused, etc often coupled with "poor little"[17]
- burn powder
- Fire a gun[68]
- bus
- Automobile, airplane, boat, large truck; 1910s[69]
- bust
- Boxer[7]
- bushwa
- Euphemism for "bulls#*%"[62]
- buster
- Man; see also bo mac pal[70]
- busthead
- Illicitly distilled liquor[71]
- butt me
Give me a cigarette[7]
- butter and egg man
- 1. Man with the bankroll or money[17]
- 2. Yokel who comes to town
- The chin; point of the chin[72][73]
- Professional killer[74]
- Police[74]
- Dancing very close to each other[7]
- butt(s)
- 1. Cigarettes
- 2. Remainder of smoked cigarette or a cigarette[73]
- buzz
- Searches for person and arrives at their doorstep[74]
- buzzer
- Policeman or private detective 's badge[75]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/The_Big_House_film_poster.jpg/250px-The_Big_House_film_poster.jpg)
Example
I jammed the roscoe in his button and said, "Close your yap, bo, or I squirt metal."— In his article for the Ottawa Citizen, William Denton mentioned Sam Spade, the famous detective character from Dashiell Hammett's works, quoting him as saying:[17]
C
[edit]- C
- cocaine[76]
- c note
- $100 e.g. pair of c's = $200[17]
- cabbage
- Money[17]
- caboose
- Jail[17]
- cake basket
- Limousine[7]
- cake eater
- 1. Often times a cake eater was the opposite of a flapper e.g.The individual is dressed in tight-fitting attire, including a belted coat with pointed lapels, one-button pants, a low snug collar, and a greenish-pink shirt with a jazzbo tie; see flaming youth[18]
- 2. Spoiled rich person; Playboy[77]
- 3. Lady's man[78]
- 4. self-indulgent effeminate young man[77]
- can
- 1. Prison; holding cell at a police station; being imprisoned 1910s[80]
- 2. Dilapidated, run-down automobile; 1920s[80]
- canary
- 1. Informer; stool pigeon[81]
- 2. Female vocalist typically fronting a band[82]
- can house
- Bordello; brothel[83]
- canned
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk[84]
- cannery
- prison[83]
- canceled stamp
- Shy girl at a dance or party[7]
- can-opener
- Safecracker who opens cheap safes[17]
- caper
- 1. Criminal act or robbery[85]
- 2. Drunken spree[85]
- carry a torch
- Developing strong emotions for someone, yet enduring unrequited love[86]
- case dough
- Using one's last remaining funds[87]
- cash
- Kiss[88]
- cash or check
- Do we kiss now or later?[88]
- cast a kitten
- 1. Expressing intense and unexpected emotions; see have kittens[89]
- 2. Experience a sudden outburst of laughter, fear, or anger e.g. "He got so upset, I thought he was going to have kittens."[89]
- cat
- Man[17]
- cat's meow
- Equivalent names[a]
- see bee's knee's
- cat's pajamas
- Equivalent names[a]
- see bee's knee's[18]
- cellar smeller
- Man with a perchant for showing up where liquor is being served[88]
- celestial
- Derogatory term for Chinese or East Asians[91]
- century
- One hundred dollars i.e. $100[17]
- charlie
- Man with a mustache[88]
- chassis
- Female body[92]
- cheaters
- Eyeglasses[8]
- check
- Kiss me later[88]
- check your hat
- Call me later[88]
- cherry smashes
- Weak kisses[88]
- chewing gum
- Double-speak, or ambiguous talk[93]
- chicago lightning
- Gunfire[93]
- chicago overcoat
- Coffin[17]
- chicago typewriter
- Thompson submachine gun; see chopper[93]
- chick
- Young woman[94]
- chilled off
- Killed; murdered[95]
- chin
- Conversation; talking[95]
- chin music
- Punch on the jaw[88]
- chinese squeeze
- Grafting by skimming profits off the top[96]
- chippy
- Woman of easy virtue[97]
- chisel
- Swindle or cheat[98]
- chiv
- knife; stabbing or cutting weapon[98]
- choice bit of calico
- Desirable female[97]
- chopper
- Nickname because of the damage its heavy .45 caliber rounds did to the human body; see chicago typewriter[99]
- chop squad
- A squad of hitmen wielding Thompson submachine guns; also chopper squad[96]
- chump
- Person marked for a con or a gullible person[100]
- ciggy
- Cigarette[101]
- cinemagoer
- Frequently attends motion pictures (1920)[97]
- clam
- Money i.e. One Dollar bills; see ace[8]
- clammed
- Close-mouthed (clammed up[102]
- clean sneak
- Escape from a robbery with no clues left behind[103]
- clip joint
- Nightclub where the prices are high and the patrons are fleeced[104]
- clipped
- 1. Shoot dead[105]
- 2. cheated or fleeced [106]
- close your head
- Shut up[17]
- clothesline
- Person who tells neighborhood stories[88]
- clout
- Shoplifter[17]
- clubhouse
- Police station[17]
- cocaine fiend
- 1916, the term "Cocaine Fiend" was fashionable. The term was used in trade journal of the period. However using "Cocaine addict" as a replacement phase seems a little less harsh to readers
- coffin varnish
- Bootleg liquor, often poisonous[108]
- coin
- Money; loot[109]
- coke
- cocaine; cocaine addict[76]
- cokehead
- Someone who engages in frequent and uncontrollable cocaine consumption [111]
- come to time
- 1. Expression used in prizefighting
- 2. Step up to continue the contest once the rest period is over and time is called
- 3. Meet expectations
- con
- Confidence game, swindle[113]
- con artist
- Person who cheats or tricks others by persuading them to believe something that is not true[113]
- con game
- Scam in which the victim is persuaded to trust the swindler in some way[113]
- conk
- Head[114]
- cooler
- solitary confindment cell in a prison[115]
- cop
- 1. Police officer[116]
- 2. Catch; capture[116]
- 3. Steal; swipe[116]
- copacetic
- Wonderful, fine, all right e.g."everything is copacetic"[8]
- copped
- Catch; Capture: Arrested by the cops[117]
- copper
- Policeman[118]
- corn
- Bourbon; corn liquor; rum[119]
- corn shredder
- Bad dancer i.e. young man who dances on lady's feet[88]
- corked
- Alternate names for intoxicated; see § drunk[118][b]
- corridor vamp
- Someone who ogles the opposite sex[88]
- cowpie
- Automobile; see also bucket crate heap jalopy[88]
- cowpie warmup
- Car ride[88]
- crab
- Figure out[120]
- crabhanger
- Reformer[18]
- crack wise
- Make a sarcastic, flippant, or sardonic comment[121]
- crape hanger
- Zealous reformer[88]
- crasher
- Person who attends a party uninvited[88]
- crate
- Automobile; see also bucket cowpie heap jalopy[122]
- croak
- To die; to be Killed; murdered[123]
- croaker
- Doctor[124]
- crush
- Have romantic interest; Infatuation[64]
- crushed out
- Escaped i.e. from jail:Prison break[125]
- cuddle-cootie
- Young man who takes a girl for a ride usually on a bus[88]
- cuddler
- One who likes to make out[88]
- cut down
- Strike down; kill; incapacitate[126]
- cutting yourself a piece of cake
- Making yourself wait patiently[18]
Example
"It calls for a picked clientele of fans who are able to visualize and distinguish mortal from immortal as portrayed in the flesh. It will not appeal to the Flapper, the Lounge Lizard and Cake Eater, nor to the less intelligent."— 1923 Exhibitor's Trade Review assessment of the film - Puritan Passions[79]
Example
The Rent Collector (Vitagraph), with Larry Semon — A scream, a whirlwind, a cyclone of fun. For action and real fun his comedies are the snake's hips and the cat's meow.— 1923 Exhibitors Herald Patron's Movie Review[90]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Campbell_Thompson.jpg/250px-Campbell_Thompson.jpg)
Example
Browne finds a dead woman, whose jewels are missing. Foumier discovers that Browne is a cocaine fiend, and . . .— 1916 Moving Picture World Review of No. 16 Martin Street[107]
Example
Wanted: Love *** Abe has Coin *** Girls Kid him— 1915 Article Headline of Abe Deuce's letter to the editor of Los Angeles Record [110]
Example
Newspaper article ddicts are nicknamed according to the kind of drug they use. One addicted to cocaine is called a cokehead, coke, snowbird, sniffer.— 1923 newspaper article explaining drug usage and terms[76]
Example
They Like 'Em Rough,' with Viola Dana. – Comedy-drama in which a husband uses cave man tactics to make his flapper wife come to time— 1922 Exhibitors Herald Movie Review[112]
D
[edit]- daddy
- Young woman's wealthy boyfriend or lover (sugar daddy)[127]
- daddy-o
- Term of address usually directed towards older males[128]
- daisy
- None too masculine[17]
- dame
- Female. did not gain widespread use until the 1930's[17]
- dance
- To be hanged[129]
- dangle
- Leave, get lost[17]
- dapper
- 1. Neatly dressed or elegant
- 2. Flapper's dad[88]
- darb
- 1. Man who pays the check; gink with a roll of coin[18]
- daylight
- Similar to the idea of "letting the daylight in" or "fill him with daylight" i.e. create a hole by either shooting or stabbing[130]
- dead soldier
- Empty beer bottle[129]
- deb
- Debutant[129]
- deck
- 1. Refers to a single-dose packet, bag, or glassine envelope of cocaine e.g. deck of cocaine[131]
- 2. Pack of cigarettes e.g. Deck of Luckies[130]
- declaration Of Independence
- Divorce[88]
- derrick
- Shoplifter[17]
- dewdropper
- Young man who sleeps all day and doesn't have a job[88]
- dib
- Share of the proceeds[129]
- dick
- Private investigator coined around 1900, the term finds major recognition in the 20's[129]
- dimbox
- 1. Taxicab[88]
- 2. Hack
- dimbox Jaunt
- Taxi ride[88]
- dincher
- Half smoked cigarette[88]
- dingledangler
- Person who persists in telephoning[18]
- dingus
- Thing[17]
- dip
- Pickpocket[17]
- dip the bill
- Have a drink[17]
- ditzek
- Anything funny[88]
- dish
- 1. Pretty woman[133]
- 2. Provide infomation to talk[134]
- dive
- Disreputable or low quality bar[135]
- dive ducat
- Subway ticket[88]
- dizzy
- 1. Deeply in love with a woman e.g. Are you dizzy with that dame[134]
- 2. Stupid; making a bad decision e.g. Don't do that - are you dizzy?[134]
- do the dance
- To be hanged[17]
- dog kennels
- Pair of shoes[18]
- dogs
- Feet[88]
- dog jock
- Man who walks his wife's dogs[88]
- doll
- Attractive woman[135]
- dolled Up
- Dressed up[88]
- don't know from nothing
- Doesn't have any information[135]
- don't take any wooden nickels
- Don't do anything stupid; also don't take any wooden dimes[136]
- dope
- Any form of illicit drugs[137]
- dope fiend
- Drug addict usually cocaine or opium[137]
- dope peddler
- Drug dealer[137]
- doublecross
- Cheat, stab in the back[136]
- dough
- Money[138]
- drag a sock
- Walk or dance[139]
- drift
- Go i.e. leave[17]
- drill
- Shoot[17]
- drop a nickle
- 1. Place a phone call to the police and provide information about someone; Alternative expression - "drop a dime"[140]
- 2. Actually making a phone call[140]
- droppers
- Hired killers[17]
- dropping the pilot
- Getting a divorce[139]
- drugstore cowboy
- Well-dressed man who loiters in public areas trying to pick up women[139]
- drum
- Speakeasy[17]
- dry
- Place where alcohol is not served or person opposed to the legal sale of alcohol[141]
- dry Up
- Cover up; Keep quiet about; stop talking[142]
- dry-gulch
- 1. Murder or kill someone[141]
- ducat
- Ticket[17]
- duck soup
- Easy Ticket[17]
- ducky
- Very good[139]
- dud
- Wall flower or dress up[139]
- dud up
- Dress up[143]
- dumb dora
- 1. Stupid, especially a woman[144][145]
- 2. Foolish woman often applied to a flapper[146]
- dummer
- 1. Thug who robs drunks[147]
- 2. Thief who robs homes when the occupants are away[147]
- dumkuff
- Nutty[139]
- dump
- 1. Roadhouse, club; more generally, any place[17]
- dust out
- Leave, depart[17]
Example
. . .Audrey to get her some coke. Audrey calls Max, the piano player, and he gives her a deck, which Cleo pretends to take
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Dumb_Dora_1925.png/250px-Dumb_Dora_1925.png)
E
[edit]- ear muffs
- Radio receivers[18]
- earful
- Enough[139]
- edged
- Intoxication, a buzz e.g. When he was edged, his personality completely changed[148]
- edisoned
- Questioned[139]
- egg
- 1. Person who lives the big life[139]
- 2. Man[17]
- egg harbor
- Fall dance[139]
- eggs in the coffee
- Easy[17]
- elbows
- Cops[17]
- electric cure
- Electrocution[17]
- elephant ears
- Police officer or dectective[149]
- embalmed
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- embalmer
- Bootlegger[139]
- ethel
- Effeminate man; male homosexual[150]
- eye opener
- Marriage[139]
F
[edit]- face stretcher
- Older woman trying to look younger[139]
- fade
- Go away, get lost[17]
- fag
- 1. Cigarette[151]
- 2. Some time around 1920, the term meant a homosexual[152]
- fakeloo artist
- Con man[151]
- fall guy
- Victim of a frame[151]
- father time
- Any man over 30[139][153]
- feathers
- Small talk[139]
- feet
- Clumsy dancer[139]
- fella
- Man, Guy, Fellow e.g. That john sure is a swell fella ; see also bo buster mac pal[154]
- few drinks, a
- Common euphemism for drinking an unspecified amount of alcohol usually in the context of attending a Speakeasy[155]
- fig leaf
- One piece bathing suit[139]
- filches
- Steal or pilfer someone's possession, especially if it's something small[156]
- fin
- $5 bill and abe's cabe[6]
- finale hopper
- 1. Young man who arrives after all bills are paid[18]
- 2. Always eager to make empty promises and never present when it matters[18]
- finder
- The individual responsible for detonating the safe as part of a safe blowing crew; see yegg[158]
- finger
- Identify or direct someone, especially to a professional killer; Put the finger on or to finger someone[17][159]
- finger man
- finger man snitch inside person find the finger man[159]
- fink
- Informant; stool pigeon[159]
- fire alarm
- Divorced woman[139]
- fire bell
- Married woman[139]
- fire extinguisher
- Chaperone at a dance or party[139]
- fish
- 1. First timer in prison i.e. a new fish[160]
- 2. Heavy drinker e.g. You drink like a fish[160]
- flaming youth
- In the 1920s, the term referred to a group of young men known for their wild and flamboyant behavior; Male counterpart to a flapper; see cake eater[161]
- flapper(s)
- 1. Unconventional young woman, often from a middle-class background, typically in her late teens or early twenties, defied her parents' wishes by embracing a bold, unconventional lifestyle with short bobbed hair, revealing outfits, lipstick, and a free-spirited attitude; Flappers are associated with the Jazz Age of the 1920s[162]
- flat
- Broke[17]
- flatfoot
- Policeman esp officer who walks a beat[163]
- flat shoe
- Dispute between flapper and her goof[139]
- flat tire
- 1. Dull insipid, disappointing date[139]
- 2. see Drag, Oilcan, Pickle, Pill, Rag
- flattie
- Flatfoot, cop[17]
- flatwheeler
- Young man who takes a young lady to an egg harbor[18]
- flimflam
- Swindle[17]
- flippers
- Hands[17]
- flivver
- 1. Ford model T[17]
- 2. After 1928, could mean broken down car[163]
- floater
- Person making trouble and then disappears[139]
- flogger
- Overcoat[164]
- floorflusher
- Insatiable dancer[139]
- flop
- 1. Go to bed; fall asleep[165]
- 2. Grown-up who is disagreeable, socially awkward, and unsuccessful; 1920s[165]
- 3. Intentionally lose a fight by taking a dive; 1920s [165]
- 4. Woman who is fat, clumsy, and lacks cleanliness; 1900-1930s [165]
- 5. Cheap room in hotel or bed; 1910s [165]
- 6. Abrupt change in political policy[165]
- 7. Seat[139] [166]
- 9. Hit; knock down; 1910s [165]
- flophouse
- 1. Cheap transient hotel used by people down on their luck[167]
- flour lover
- Girl with too much face powder[139]
- fluky
- Odd; Different[139][18]
- fly boy
- Glamorous term for an aviator[8]
- fog
- Attack; Assault;Shoot[168]
- foot juice
- Cheap red wine[169]
- for a row of
- Distance[139]
- for crying out loud
- Another way of saying - are you for real?[139]
- forty-niner
- Man who is prospecting for a rich wife[18]
- four flusher
- Person who feigns wealth while mooching off others[139]
- frail
- Woman[170]
- frame
- 1. Giving false evidence to set up someone[171]
- frau
- Wife[172]
- fried
- Alternate names for intoxicated e.g. fried to the hat[b]
- § drunk[171]
- frog's eyebrows
- Nice; fine; outstanding[18][171]
- fry
- To be electrocuted[172]
- futz
- Euphemism for f*%k e.g. Don't futz around[171]
- fuzz
- Police officers(1930s)[173]
Example
After his arrival, Dippy filches many of the guests of their valuables— 1922 Exhibitors Herald Movie Review[157]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/MGM_Chorus_Girls.png/250px-MGM_Chorus_Girls.png)
Example
They Like 'Em Rough,' with Viola Dana – Comedy-drama in which a husband uses cave man tactics to make his flapper wife come to time— 1922 Exhibitors Herald Movie Review[112]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Ford_1921.jpg/250px-Ford_1921.jpg)
G
[edit]- g man
- Government man; FBI employee[174]
- gal
- Woman assistant, secretary; female factotum[175]
- gams
- Woman's legs[139]
- gander
- 1. Dressing up; Getting ready and duding up[139][174]
- 2. Look, close scrutiny, glance e.g. Take a gander at those gams[176]
- 3. Criminal lookout[176]
- gandy dancer
- A member of a crew responsible for attaching rails to ties, often called a section hand or track laborer[177]
- gashouse
- rough[17]
- gas station
- Place that sells gasoline; term was coined in 1925[178]
- gasper
- Cigarette[17]
- gat
- Pistol, Hand gun; see roscoe[43]
- gatecrasher
- Attending party, type of entertainment without an invitation or ticket i.e. uninvited guest; see crasher[43]
- get-hot!
- Encouragement for a hot dancer[139]
- gay
- 1. Happy or lively Happy, joyful, and lively[179]
- 2. No connection to homosexuality in 1920[179]
- get a wiggle On
- Get a move on, get going[8]
- get in a lather
- Get worked up; angry; agitated e.g. Stay away from Eddy when he get's into a lather[180]
- get sore
- Get mad; angry[178]
- getaway sticks
- Women's Legs; see gams[180]
- get it
- Killed; Murdered [178]
- get-up
- Outfit[178]
- giggle water
- Intoxicating beverage; alcohol; also Giggle Juice[17]
- gigolo
- Hired escort or dancing partner for a woman[181]
- gimp
- Cripple i.e. One who walks with a limp; Gangster Dion O'Bannion was called gimpy due to his noticeable limp[182]
- gimlet
- Chronic bore[139]
- gin mill
- Seller of hard liquor; Cheap speakeasy[17]
- gink
- Man or fellow[182]
- give the air
- Break a date[139]
- give the knee
- Dance cheek-to-cheek and Toe-to-Toe[139]
- glad rags
- Clothing to 'go out on the town; Attire to wear to parties or special occations[183]
- glom
- The act of stealing; also glaum[184]
- glorious regalia
- Chic clothing of a flapper[139]
- go chase yourself
- Get lost; Scram[183]
- gold digger
- Woman who associates or marries a man for his wealth (1915)[8]
- goods, The
- 1. Incrimination evidence, the facts, the truth, e.g. make sure the cops don't get the goods on you [183]
- 2. Narcotics of any sort[185]
- goof
- 1. Bumbling, stupid person[185]
- 2. Flapper's boyfriend[139][183]
- goofy
- 1. Crazy, Silly, follish[186]
- 2. In love[139][183]
- goog
- Black eye inflicted by a blow to the head[187]
- goon
- strong imitating man; compensated troublemaker[188]
- gooseberry lay
- Stealing clothes from a clothesline[189]
- gowed-up
- High on dope[17]
- grab some air
- Put your hands up[190]
- grab a flop
- Sit down on a seat[139]
- graft
- Obtaining money through dishonest means, especially bribery[191]
- grand
- One thousand dollars; $1000[191]
- green apples
- Homely woman[139]
- green glorious
- Money and checks[183]
- greenland
- A park[139]
- grift
- Confidence game or swindle; also grifter i.e. Con man[192]
- grill(ed)
- Interrogation; intense and prolonged questioning[193]
- grindhouse(s)
- Low-budget film theater that shows primarily exploitation films i.e. Term first appeared in 1920s and derived from burlesque theaters on 42nd Street in New York City; Origins based on early projectionists used a grinding or cranking motion[194]
- grubber
- One who borrows cigarettes[139]
- grubstake
- Invitation to dinner[18]
- grummy
- Depressed[183]
- grungy
- Envious[196]
- gum
- Opium[76]
- gumshoe
- Detective or private investigator; also gumshoeing i.e. pertaining to a undercover investigation[197]
- gun for
- Searching for someone with the intention of causing them significant harm. e.g. He was out gunning for Tom[198]
- guns
- Pickpockets; Hoodlums[17]
- gussie
- Shy person[196]
- guy
- A gender-neutral way to address any individual (1910)[199]
Example
Flyers made from San Francisco to Hawaii. It is just a hoak meller that will, for the better part, carry in some of the smaller grindhouses.— 1926 Variety Movie Review[195]
H
[edit]- hack
- Taxicab[17]
- hair of the dog
- Taking shot of booze to help recover from a hangover especially the day after going on a Toot; also The hair of the dog that bit you[200]
- half
- Fifty-cents; 50 cents i.e. $.50[201]
- half cut
- Happily intoxicated[18]
- half seas over
- Alternate names for intoxicated; see § drunk[202][b]
- half under
- Alternate names for intoxicated; see § drunk[203][b]
- handcuff
- Engagement ring or wedding band[196]
- happy-dust
- cocaine[76]
- hard
- Tough; see also bimbo hard-boiled Bruno[17]
- hard-boiled
- Tough i.e. tough guy, e.g. "He sure is hard-boiled!" ; see also bimbo Bruno[196]
- harlem sunset
- Fatal injury caused by knife (1930s)[204]
- harp
- Irishman[205]
- hash house
- Cheap restaurant[17]
- hatchet man
- Killers, gunmen[17]
- heartwrenching
- Appealing to one's deepest emotions or inner feelings; Tug at one's heartstrings; also heart-tugging[206]
- have the bees
- To be rich[207]
- have kittens
- 1. Expressing intense and unexpected emotions; see cast a kitten[89]
- 2. Experience a sudden outburst of laughter, fear, or anger e.g. "He got so upset, I thought he was going to have kittens"[89]
- hayburner
- 1. Gas guzzling car i.e. automobile that uses a lot of fuel and gets poor gas mileage[208]
- 2. race Horse one loses money on[200]
- 3. Someone who smokes marijuana[209]
- head doctors
- Psychiatrists[210]
- heap
- Old automobile; see also bucket, cowpie, crate, jalopy[211]
- heat
- 1. The police[212]
- 2. Pursuit by law enforcement [211]
- heater
- Gun, pistol, revolver; see gat; see roscoe[213]
- heavy sugar
- Indicator of wealth through possession or condition[214]
- heebie-jeebies
- The state of being extremely nervous caused by fear, worry, stress, etc; named after the 1926 single by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five - hit song[196]
- heeler
- Poor dancer[196]
- hen coup
- Beauty parlor[196]
- hep
- 1. Wise; up-to-date[215]
- 2. Jazz musician[215]
- highbrow
- Intellectually stimulating, highly cultured, sophisticated, cultured or learned person[205]
- high hat
- Haughty, Snobbish, Unapproachable[196]
- highjohn
- Boyfriend[196]
- high pillow
- Person at the top; Individual in charge; the boss[216]
- highbinders
- Corrupt politician or functionary; highly pretentious, arrogant[217]
- hike
- Walk[196]
- hikers
- Knickerbockers[196]
- hinky
- Suspicious; curious [218]
- hiphound
- One who drinks hooch[18]
- hipster
- 1. During Prohibition - person who wears a hip flask of alcohol dating from the 1920s[219]
- 2. A dancer, particularly a female one[219]
- 3. one who espouses the bohemian life style of the period[220]
- his blue serge
- His girl[18]
- histrionics
- Intentionally exaggerated, overly emotional behavior designed to provoke a response[221]
- hit on all sixes
- To perform 100 per cent e.g. "hitting on all six cylinders"; also hitting on all cylinders[222]
- hitch
- a period of time spent in prison or jail[223]
- hitting on all eight
- In good shape, going well[17]
- hitting the pipe
- Smoking opium[17]
- hoary-eyed
- Alternate names for intoxicated; see § drunk[224][b]
- hock shop
- Pawnshop[17]
- hogs
- Engines[17]
- hoaky
- 1. Excessively contrived; Hackneyed; also hoakier, hoakiest, hoak[225]
- 2. Sentimental material in a film; alt spelling of hokey; see hokum[225]
- hoity-toity
- Behaviour adopted to demonstrate one's superiority; Pretentious or snobbish behaviour[226]
- hokum
- 1. An instance of excessively contrived, hackneyed, or sentimental material in a film[196]
- 2. Pretentious; nonsense; insane trash[227]
- holaholy
- Person that objects to necking[196]
- holy smokes
- Probation officer[196]
- hombre
- Man or fellow[17]
- honest squeeze
- Female companion or girlfriend;see squeeze[229]
- hooch
- Alcoholic drink made by Alaskan Indians (Hoochinoo), but more commonly refers to illicitly distilled liquor[230]
- hood
- Hoodlum[223]
- hooey
- Nonsense; Bullsh*t; Popular from 1925 through 1930 and used sparingly later on[231]
- hoof
- Walk[196]
- hoofer
- Dancer or chorus girl[196]
- hoosegow
- Jail[232]
- hop
- 1. Type of swing dance e.g. Lindy Hop; organized dance (1900s)[233]
- 2. Opiate, marijuana, morphine or other type of naracotics[233]
- hophead
- Morphine addict[76]
- hope chest
- Pack of cigarettes[196]
- hopped up
- Under the influence of drugs[234]
- hopper
- Dancer[196]
- horn in
- Get into a dance without an invitation[196]
- horsefeathers
- Exclamation of disbelief contempt; Unoffensive expletive e.g. darn; see Applesauce[235]
- hot
- Stolen; Recently stolen illegal goods[236]
- hot dawg
- Great![196]
- hot dog
- Relishing something with much delight![237]
- hot sketch
- Card or cut-up[8]
- hotsy totsy
- Fancy or sophisticated[196]
- house dick
- Security officer employed by a hotel or similar establishment; Hotel detective[238]
- houdini
- Arrive on time for a date[196]
- house peeper
- House or hotel detective[17]
- hush money
- Allowance from father[18]
- hype
- Shortchange artist[17]
Example
flyers made from San Francisco to Hawaii. It is just a hoak meller that will, for the better part, carry in some of the smaller grindhouses.— 1926 Variety Movie Review[195]
Example
. . . where Nazimova comes to a house of refuge, not knowing that Sills is there, and is pronounced dying by physicians, but is saved by Sills' prayer. To us who make and sell pictures, this "saved by prayer" situation registers as hokum, but just the same it has a genuine wallop for most of your customers, and consequently this final sequence effectively tops a very good red meat dramatic yarn.— 1924 Wid's Movie Review[228]
I
[edit]- ice
- 1. Diamonds e.g. That gal has more ice than the North Pole![239]
- 2. Kill e.g. That mug better be careful or he's gonna get iced![240]
- icy mitt
- When you have one-sided feelings for someone or when one is given the cold shoulder in a romantic relationships[241]
- idler(s)
- 1. A person who wastes time doing nothing; lazy person; sluggard[242]
- indian hay
- Marijuana[244]
- ing-bing
- As in to throw a fit[17]
- in stir
- In jail[17]
- insured
- Engaged[241]
- irish goodbye(s)
- Ethnophobic term used for someone who leaves a social gathering without saying goodbye; also irish exit[245]
- iron
- 1. Motorcycle, among motorcycle enthusiasts 1920s[17][246]
- 2. older automobile[247]
- 3. handcuffs[248]
- 4. carry iron i.e. armed[248]
- iron your shoelaces
- Go to the restroom e.g. It's time for me to iron my shoelaces[249][250]
- ish kabibble
- Retort e.g. I should care from the name of the musician in the Kay Kyser Orchestra[251]
- it
- Sex appeal; Actress Clara Bow was the "It" girl[246]
- it's the bunk
- I doub't that![241]
Example
In the park awaiting her train home she meets Forrest Chenoworth, a rich idler, whose money has gotten him into trouble with a lady named Jane.— 1920 Wid's Daily Movie Review[243]
J
[edit]- jack
- Money[17]
- jake
- Great, e.g. Everything's jake; see Copacetic[8]
- jalopy
- Dumpy old car; see also bucket cowpie crate heap[252]
- jam
- Trouble; Tight spot[17]
- jane
- Female[241]
- jasper
- Man; hick[17]
- jay bird
- Person who takes risks[241]
- java
- Coffee[17]
- jaw
- Talk[17]
- jazzman
- Performer of jazz[111]
- jeepers creepers
- 1. Polite expletive for Jesus Christ[254]
- 2. Exclamation![254]
- jingle-brained
- 1. Addled or intoxicated (1910)[255]
- 2. Not that bright, muddled[256]
- jigaboo
- Derogatory term for African-American (1920s)[257]
- jitney
- 1. Car employed as a private bus i.e. travel by bus or small car[258]
- 2. Bus charging a fixed fare usually five-cents i.e. "Nickel"[258]
- jobbie
- Man or woman[259]
- joe
- Coffee, e.g. A cup of Joe[8]
- joe brooks
- Perfectly dressed person[260]
- john
- 1. Prostitute's client[261]
- 2. Toilet or restroom[261]
- john d
- Individuals who use an abundance of polite language and insincere compliments[18][262]
- johnson brother
- Professional Criminal[263]
- joint
- 1. Establishment, bar, tavern or club selling alcohol[263]
- 2. Place e.g. My Joint[263]
- jorum of skee
- Drink of hard liquor[264]
- jug
- Jail[265]
- juice
- Money from bribery, corruption, or loan sharking[266]
- juice joint
- Establishment for serving illegal liquor during prohibition[266]
- junk
- Opium or Morphine[76]
- jump the gun
- Act prematurely[267]
- jumping tintypes
- Moving pictures[241]
- junk head
- Morphine addict[76]
- junkie
- Drug addict, especially a heroin user (1923)[268]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Broke%2C_baby_sick%2C_and_car_trouble%21_-_Dorothea_Langes_photo_of_a_Missouri_family_of_five_in_the_vicinity_of_Tracy%2C_California.jpg/250px-Broke%2C_baby_sick%2C_and_car_trouble%21_-_Dorothea_Langes_photo_of_a_Missouri_family_of_five_in_the_vicinity_of_Tracy%2C_California.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/JohnHeld_Tales_of_the_Jazz_Age_1922.jpg/250px-JohnHeld_Tales_of_the_Jazz_Age_1922.jpg)
Example
"His thousands of admirers are happy to know that no anti-toxin has yet been discovered to cure this master jazzman of his 'illness!'"— 1926 newspaper article praising band leader Fred Hamm[253]
K
[edit]- kale
- Money[17]
- keen
- Something or someone attractive or appealing[241]
- kick off
- Die[17]
- kicking the stem
- smoking opium[76]
- kiddo
- A casual way for a man to address a woman he knows[269]
- killjoy
- Solemn person[241]
- kike
- Derogatory label for Jewish people, specifically those who immigrated from Eastern Europe as opposed to older German immigrants from previous decades[270]
- kippy
- Neat or Nice[241]
- kiss
- 1. Land a blow or punch[271]
- 2. Drink from a bottle[271]
- kisser
- Mouth[17]
- kitten
- Woman[17]
- kneeduster
- Skirt[241]
- knock
- Prison sentence[272]
- knock off
- 1. Stolen[273]
- 2. Killed, murdered[273]
- 3. Beaten, defeated[273]
- knockover
- 1. Murder, kill[274]
- 2. Rob or steal with violence[274]
- 3. Arrest especaially after a raid[274]
- 4. Intentionally get someone in trouble[274]
- knock up
- Make a woman pregnant; impregnate[274]
- know your onions
- 1. Know one's stuff e.g. Joe really knows his onions when it comes to cooking[275][276]
- 2. Knowledgeable about a given subject or task; also know one's onions; knowing one's onions; knew one's onions; known one's onions[277]
L
[edit]- lalapazaza
- Good sport[241]
- lam, on the
- On the run[8]
- lammed off
- Ran away or escaped[17]
- large
- $1,000 e.g.Twenty large would be $20,000[17]
- law, the
- Police officer[278]
- Laying on the hip
- smoking opium[76]
- lay off
- Smoke of opium[279]
- lay out
- 1. Defeat or overcome i.e. to lay out someone[279]
- 2. Knock someone out in a fight[279]
- 3. Kill someone[279]
- lead
- Term used for bullets e.g. Fill ya full of lead[280]
- lead poisoning
- To be shot; Bullets, specifically when embedded in the victim's body; also lead cocktail[280]
- lead pusher
- gun; gat[280]
- left holding The Bag
- Leave someone holding the responsibility or blame is to abandon them[281][282]
- lens louise
- The person who dominated all the conversations[241]
- let george do it
- Work evading phrase i.e.Let someone else cover the cost of achieving the shared benefit[282]
- let's blouse
- Work evading phrase e.g.Let's blouse this clambake![241]
- lettuce
- Green folding money i.e. lettuce leaves[283]
- level wth me
- Be honest, trustworth, true[283]
- lid
- Hat[17]
- limey
- 1. Englishman, Briton, or person of British descent; an English or British immigrant[284]
- 2. English or British ship[285]
- line
- 1. Untruth or exaggeration, often told to seek or maintain approval from others e.g. "to feed one a line"[286]
- 2. Insincere flattery[282]
- lip
- 1. Underworld attorney i.e. criminal attorney e.g. Why don't you use Louie the Lip?[287]
- 2. backtalk[288]
- lip stick
- Cigarette[241]
- live wire
- Energetic, vibrant, individual e.g That joe is a real live wire[287]
- lollygagger
- 1. Young man who enjoys making out[241]
- 2. Lazy person; slacker; see idler[289]
- loogan
- Man with a gun[17]
- looker
- Good looking person of either sex especially a women[290]
- look-out
- Somebody keeping watch for approaching enemies, police, or any potential danger i.e. Person accompanying criminals while they commit a crime and warns them of approaching police or witnesses[291]
- lounge lizard
- Guy that is sexually active; ladies man[292]
- lousy with
- Have abundance of[17]
- lug
- Bullet[17]
Example
It calls for a picked clientele of fans who are able to visualize and distinguish mortal from immortal as portrayed in the flesh. It will not appeal to the Flapper, the Lounge Lizard and Cake Eater, nor to the less intelligent.— 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review Movie Review[79]
M
[edit]- m
- 1. Morphine[76]
- mac
- Man; see also bo buster pal[293]
- mad money
- Carfare home used by a flapper if she has a fight with her date[241]
- made
- Recognized[17]
- main drag
- Most important street in a town or city[8]
- manacle
- Wedding ring[241]
- map
- Face[17]
- marbles
- Pearls[17]
- mark
- 1. Victim of swindle or fixed game
- 2. Sucker
- maroon
- 1. Person marked for a con
- 2. Gullible person
- mazuma
- Money[17]
- mawkish
- 1. Excessively or falsely sentimental
- 2. Showing a sickly excess of sentiment
- meal ticket
- When he calls, the flapper invites the man to have dinner[241]
- meat wagon
- Abulance[17]
- meller
- Melodrama film
- mellerdrammer
- Pronunciation spelling of melodrama
- melodrama
- Drama abounding in romantic sentiment and agonizing situations
- meringue
- Personality[241]
- michigan bankroll
- 1. Roll of counterfeit paper money or a roll of money-sized paper surrounded by one or more genuine bills
- 2. Large roll of paper money in small denominations
- mick
- Derogatory term for irishmen
- mickey finn
- Drink drugged with knock-out drops
- middle aisle
- Marry
- mill
- Typewriter[17]
- milquetoast
- 1. Henpecked male based on the Comic book character Caspar Milquetoast
- 2. Very timid person
- 3. Wimpy
- mind your potatoes
- mind your own business
- mitt
- Hand
- mob
- 1. Gang, but not necessarily mafia
- 2. Black Hand
- 3. Crew
- mohaska
- 1. Gun
- 2. Firearm
- 3. Piece
- moll
- Gangster's girlfriend[8]
- money keen
- Describing someone with a strong focus on acquiring wealth, often at any cost
- moniker
- Name
- monogolist
- Young man who hates himself[18]
- mooch
- Leave[241]
- moonshine
- Homemade alcohol
- mop
- Handkerchief
- mouthpiece
- Lawyer[18]
- mrs. grundy
- 1. Priggish tight-laced person
- 2. Prudish
- mud pipe
- Opium pipe[17]
- mugs
- Men - especially refers to dumb ones
- munitions
- Face powder[241]
- mulligan
- Irish cop
- mustard plaster
- A boy who lingers around and is not wanted[241]
Example
She plays a young wife whose husband falls for the assiduous attentions of a jazzy willo' the wisp. Many of the situations are mawkish and oversentimental, but Lila makes it all possible by her sincerity and poise.— 1924 Photoplay Movie Review[294]
N
[edit]- nailed
- Caught by the police[17]
- neck
- Kiss passionately
- necker(s)
- Girl who wraps her arms around her boyfriend's neck while dancing[241]
- nerts!
- That's Amazing[241]
- nevada gas
- Cyanide[17]
- newshawk
- Reporter[17]
- newsie
- Newspaper vendor[17]
- nibble one
- Have a drink
- nicked
- Stolen
- nifty
- Great, excellent[241]
- nippers
- Handcuffs
- nobody home
- Describes some one who is dumb
- noodle juice
- Tea[241]
- noodle
- Head
- nookie
- Sex
- nosebaggery
- Restaurant[241]
- not a good fellow
- 1. Discreetly indicate someone untrustworthy or dubious in character
- 2. Subtle way of warning others without causing a scene
- not necessarily mafia
- 1. Phrase to describe dubious activities or suspicious individuals
- 2. Not linked to organized crime
- not so good!
- Personally disapprove[241]
- now you're on the trolley
- Now you're right i.e. Now you're on board
- number
- Person
O
[edit]- oatmeal mush
- The superficial conversation of a cake eater[241]
- obituary notice
- Eviction declaration[241]
- off the track
- This person becomes insanely violent when they go off the track[17]
- oh yeah!
- I doubt it![241]
- oil burner
- Person who chews gum[241]
- oilcan
- An imposter[241]
- old boy
- 1. Male term of address, used in conversation with other males
- 2. Denoted acceptance in a social environment
- old fops
- People who are older than middle age[241]
- 3. "old man" "old fruit" e.g."How's everything old boy?"
- old pal
- Cocktail
- oliver twist
- Skilled dancer[241]
- ombibulous
- Lover of alcohol
- on a toot
- On a drinking spree
- on the lam
- 1. Running away, usually from the police; see lam, on the[8]
- on the level
- Legitimate, honest
- on the up and up
- On the level
- op
- Detective
- orchid
- Expensive item[241]
- orphan paper
- Bad checks[17]
- ossified
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- ostrich
- Person who is a Know-it-all[241]
- out on parole
- Divorced[241]
- out on the roof
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- owl
- 1. Person who's out late or stays up late[241]
- owled
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- oyster fruit
- Pearls
Example
Reviewing the 1928 "The Racket" - Eight January Chicago, racketeers who, for various good reasons, or on the lam and temporarily going straight in Los Angeles, we're rounded up and induced to work and this crook melodrama.— 1928 Motion Picture Classic Movie Review[295]
P
[edit]- packing heat
- Carrying a gun[17]
- pal
- Man; see also bo buster mac[296]
- palooka
- 1. Social outsider, from the comic strip character joe palooka, who came from humble ethnic roots
- 2. Below-average or stupid guy[17]
- panther piss or sweat
- Homemade Whiskey
- paint the town red
- 1. Go out and flamboyantly enjoy yourself
- 2. Movie reviewers used the phrase, to show the big city how red paint should be applied
- pan
- Face[17]
- panic
- Produce big reaction from one's audience
- panther sweat
- Whiskey
- paste
- Punch[17]
- pathos
- 1. The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions
- 2. That which awakens tender emotions, such as pity and sorrow
- 3. Contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression
- 4. Pathetic quality
- patsy
- 1. Person who is set up
- 2. Fool or chump
- paw
- Hand[17]
- peaching
- Informing[17]
- peeper
- Detective[17]
- peepers
- Eyes
- pen
- Penitentiary, jail[17]
- pen yen
- Opium
- peppy
- Energetic and full of vitality[298]
- percolate
- 1. To boil over
- 2. As of 1925, to run smoothly
- 3. "Perk"
- 4. Let things settle down while you mull things over
- person marked
- 1. Individual targeted for a scam or a setup
- 2. Used by con artists
- 3. Mark
- pet
- 1. Necking
- 2. Making out
- peterman
- Safecracker who uses nitroglycerin
- petting pantry
- Movie theater or cinema[299]
- petting party
- 1. One or more couples making out in a room or auto
- 2. Social event devoted to hugging[18]
- phonus balonus
- Complete nonsense
- pickpocket
- Pickpocketing involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft
- piece
- Gun
- piffle
- Baloney
- pigeon
- Stool-pigeon[17]
- piker
- 1. Cheapskate
- 2. Coward
- pill
- 1. Someone who irritates you e.g. "That person is being a real pill"
- 2. Teacher[298]
- 3. bullet[17]
- 4. see Cigarette[17]
- pillowcase
- Young man who is full of feathers[298]
- pinch(ed)
- Arrested e.g. He was pinched by the coppers[17]
- pinko
- Liberal
- pins
- Legs[17]
- pipe
- See or notice[17]
- pipe down
- Stop talking[298]
- pipes
- Throat[17]
- pipe that
- Did you listen to that[17]
- pitching woo
- Making love[17]
- plastered
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- plant
- 1. Someone who disguises themselves as neutral or affiliated with an organization, yet covertly works with another person or external group
- 2. Bury
- plastered
- Pie-eyed, Oiled, Intoxicated[18]
- playboy
- Older boyfriend[298]
- plug
- Shoot
- plugs
- People
- poke
- 1. Bankroll
- 2. Stake
- police-dog
- Young woman's fiance[18]
- pooped
- Killed
- pop
- Kill
- potted
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- pos-i-lute-ly
- Affirmative see pos-i-tive-ly[298]
- primed
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- priscilla
- Stay-at-home girl[298]
- pro skirt
- Prostitute
- produce the cash
- Kiss me![298]
- prom-trotter
- Student who attends all school social functions
- prune pit
- Anything that is traditional[298]
- puffing
- Mugging
- pug
- Pugilist, Boxer
- pull a daniel boone
- Vomit
- pump
- Heart
- pump metal
- Shoot bullets
- punch the bag
- Small talk [298]
- punch rustler
- Individual who spends the majority of their time at parties near the refreshments[298]
- punk
- Hood, Thug[17]
- pushover
- Person easily convinced or seduced
- puss
- Face
- put down
- Drink
- put the screws on
- 1. Get tough with
- 2. Question
- putting on the ritz
- 1. After the Ritz Hotel in Paris (and its namesake César Ritz)
- 2. Doing something in high style
- 3. Ritzy
Example
Dorothy Davenport handles the part of Violetta in an appealing manner, obtaining considerable pathos in the latter scenes— 1916 issue The Moving Picture World[297]
Example
but the pickpocket upsets the boat by relieving a number of the guests of their valuables, and then being obliged to flee— 1916 The Moving Picture World[157]
Q
[edit]- queer
- 1. Counterfeit[17]
- 2. Mishandle something[17]
- quiff
- 1. Cheap prostitute e.g. I'm no quiff![300]
- quilt
- Drink that warms one up[300]
R
[edit]- rag-a-muffin
- 1. Disheveled individual
- 2. Dirty
- rags
- Clothes[17]
- rain pitchforks
- Downpour
- ranked
- Observed; Given the once-over[17]
- rap
- Criminal charge
- rappers
- Fakes, set-ups
- rat
- Inform
- rate
- 1. To be good
- 2. To count for something
- rats and mice
- Dice, e.g. craps[17]
- rattler
- Train[17]
- ratz
- How disappointing or darn!
- razz
- To make fun of someone[298]
- real mccoy
- Genuine item[298]
- redhot
- Sort of criminal[17]
- red-light
- Eject from a car or train[17]
- reefer
- maujuwana cigarette [76]
- regular
- Normal or average i.e. Regular fella
- reel boy
- Man who likes to watch movies[298]
- reuben
- 1. Unsophisticated country bumpkin
- 2. Rube
- rhatz!
- Disappointing[298]
- rhino
- Money
- right
- Indicating quality[17]
- right gee
- Quality guy[17]
- ringers
- Fakes[17]
- ritz
- Stuck up[298]
- ritzy
- Elegant i.e. from the hotel
- rock of ages
- Woman over the age of 30[298]
- rock, the
- Alcatraz
- rod
- Gun[17]
- roscoe
- Gun[17]
- rotgut
- 1. Very bad or cheap alcohol
- 2. Bootleg liquor
- rub
- Dance party
- rube
- 1. Bumpkin; Easy mark[17]
- rubes
- Money or Dollars
- rub-out
- Killing[17]
- rughopper
- Man who does not date[298]
- rug shaking
- Dancing the shimmy[298]
- rumble, The
- News[17]
- rummy
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- rumrunner
- Someone who smuggles alcohol
- run one's gums
- Argue; talk excessively; see bump gums[66]
- rube
- Bumpkin; Easy mark[17]
- run out
- Leave or escape[17]
Example
I jammed the roscoe in his button and said, "Close your yap, bo, or I squirt metal."— In his article for the Ottawa Citizen, William Denton mentioned Sam Spade, the famous detective character from Dashiell Hammett's works, quoting him as saying:[17]
S
[edit]- sap
- Finale hopper, Fool, Idiot[18]
- sap poison
- Getting hit with a sap[17]
- sappy
- 1. Excessively sweet
- 2. Emotional
- 3. Nostalgic
- 4. Cheesy
- 5. Mushy
- savvy
- 1. Get me
- 2. Understand[17]
- sawbuck
- $10 bill e.g. a double sawbuck is a $20 bill or half-sawbuck is $5.00 dollars[301]
- says you
- Reaction of disbelief
- scatter
- 1. Saloon or speakeasy[17]
- 2. Hideout; room; lodging[17]
- schnozzle
- Nose; see also beezer smeller[17]
- scofflaw
- 1. A person who openly violates the law, particularly by not adhering to a law that is challenging to enforce
- 2. See also scofflaw
- scram
- Leave immediately
- scram Out
- Leave[17]
- screaming meemies
- 1. State of anxiety
- 2. The jitters
- scratch
- Money[17]
- scratcher
- Forger[17]
- screw
- 1. In pre-1930 talkies screw is used to tell a character to leave[17]
- 2. Get lost, get out[17]
- 3. Prison guards
- screwy
- Crazy e.g. "you're screwy!"
- scrooched
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- see a man about a dog
- I've got to leave now i.e. to have a drink[302]
- seetie
- Things that flappers despise[298]
- send over
- Send to jail[17]
- sentiment or Sentimental
- Feelings, especially tender feelings, as apart from reason or judgment, or of a weak or foolish kind
- shamus
- Detective (private[17])
- 1. Swindlers, especially at cards[17]
- 2. Sneaky person[17]
- A good dancer who spends his money freely[298]
- shatting on your uppers
- To be in financial despair; see uppers[17]
- sheba
- Woman with sex appeal (from the movie The Queen of Sheba)
- sheik
- Man with sex appeal (from the Valentino movies)
- shells
- Bullets[17]
- shifter
- Grafter[18]
- shine box
- Bar or club of black patrons
- shiv
- Knife
- show case
- Wealthy man's wife decked out in jewels[298]
- shylock
- Loanshark
- shyster
- Lawyer
- simolean(s)
- Dollar(s)
- sing
- Make a confession
- sinker
- Doughnut
- sip
- Female dancer[298]
- sister
- Woman
- sitting pretty
- In a prime position
- skate around
- Be of easy virtue
- skee
- Scotch Whiskey
- skid rogue
- Bum who can't be trusted
- skirt
- Attractive female
- slat
- Young man or boyfriend[298]
- slant, get a
- Take a look[17]
- slapper
- Reformer or the antithesis of a flapper[298]
- sleuth
- Detective[17]
- slug
- 1. To knock unconscious
- 2. bullet[17]
- smart person
- this was a compliment for someone who was street-smart and savvy, particularly in urban settings.
- smarty
- Cute flapper
- smeller
- Nose; see also schnozzle beezer[17]
- smith brother
- Man who never pays i.e. coughs up[298]
- smoked
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- smoke-eater
- 1. Any Smoker[298]
- smooth
- Man who cannot be trusted[298]
- smudger
- Close dancer[298]
- snake charmer
- Woman involved in bootlegging[298]
- snap a cap
- Shout
- snatch
- Kidnap
- sneaky person
- Someone who is cunning and deceptive, often involved in underhanded dealings
- sneeze
- Take
- sniffer
- 1. cocaine addict[76]
- snitch
- Informer, or to inform
- snooper
- Detective
- snort(s)
- Drink(s) of liquor
- snow
- cocaine[76]
- snowbird
- cocaine addict[76]
- snugglepup
- Young man who frequents petting parties[18]
- so's your old man
- Reply of irritation
- soak
- Pawn
- sob sister
- Female newshawk attempting to provoke a response from her readers through her emotional reporting[269]
- sock
- Punch
- sockdollager
- Event or action of great importance
- soda jerk
- Person who works at a soda fountain and dispense soda from a tap; also jerks soda[304]
- sodbuster
- Undertaker[18]
- soft shoe
- Trail behind someone[298]
- soup
- Nitroglycerine
- soup Job
- Crack a safe using nitroglycerine
- spade(s)
- Derogatory term for Afican-Americans
- speakeasy
- Illegal establishment selling liquor; see blind pig, bootleg[305]
- spifflicated
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- spiffy
- Elegant appearance
- spill
- Talk, inform[298]
- spinach
- Money
- spitting
- Talking
- spoon
- To neck, or at least talk of love
- square
- Honest
- squeeze
- Female companion or girlfriend.
- squirrel
- Hide[298]
- squirt metal
- Shoot bullets[17]
- static
- 1. Empty talk[298]
- 2. Conflicting opinion
- statts
- Conversation that means nothing[18]
- step Off
- To be hanged
- step off a wharf
- Ordering drinks and then refusing to cover the bill[298]
- stiff
- Corpse
- stilts
- Legs[298]
- sting
- Culmination of a con game
- stool pigeon
- Informer; see canary
- stoolie
- Stool-pigeon
- strangler
- What a spendthrift isn't[18]
- streeted
- Thrown out of a party[306]
- strike breaker
- Young woman who goes with her friend's "steady" while there is a coolness[306]
- strike me dead
- Bootleg liquor
- struggle
- Modern dance[306]
- struggle buggy
- Backseat of a car; Parent's worst nightmare[269]
- stuck on
- You have a crush on someone[306]
- stutter bus
- Truck[306]
- stutter-tub
- Motor boat[18]
- sucker
- Someone ripe for a grifter's scam
- sugar
- Money[18]
- sugar daddy
- Older boyfriend who showers girlfriend with gifts[306]
- swanky
- 1. Good, Elegant, Ritzy[306]
- sweetie
- Anybody she hates[18]
- swell
- Great[306]
- swindler(s)
- Individual(s) who deceive with the intention of stealing money or possessions from others[307]
Example
The two sharpers escape and join another member of the confidence game.— 1916 The Moving Picture World[303]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Krazy_Kat_LOC_npcc.04658.jpg/250px-Krazy_Kat_LOC_npcc.04658.jpg)
Example
I jammed the roscoe in his button and said, "Close your yap, bo, or I squirt metal."— In his article for the Ottawa Citizen, William Denton mentioned Sam Spade, the famous detective character from Dashiell Hammett's works, quoting him as saying:[17]
T
[edit]- tail
- Shadow or follow[17]
- take a bent stick
- A woman who may not be easily marriageable should consider settling for a loyal elderly admirer, rather than hoping for a perfect partner[26]
- take a powder
- Leave[17]
- take for a ride
- 1. Drive off with someone in order to bump them off
- 2. Take someone to a deserted location and murder them
- take on
- Eat[17]
- take the air
- Leave[306]
- take the bounce
- To get kicked out[17]
- take the fall for
- Accept punishment for
- tanked
- Alternate names for intoxicated[b]
- § drunk
- tasty
- Appealing[308]
- tea
- Marijuana
- tearjerker
- Emotionally charged film, novel, song, opera, with one or more sad passages or ending, so termed because it suggests one is likely to cry during its performance
- teetotaler
- Person who abstains from the consumption of alcohol
- tell it to sweeney
- Tell it to someone who'll believe it
- ten cent box
- Taxi cab see hack[308]
- that's the crop
- That's all of it
- the advantage bulls
- Plainclothes railroad cops
- the money man
- Man with the bankroll
- the nuts
- Good![308]
- the real mccoy
- The real thing
- they
- Refers to objecting parents[18]
- three letter man
- Homosexual
- three-spot
- Three-year jail term
- throw lead
- Shoot bullets
- ticket
- Private Investigator License (PI)
- tiger milk
- Some sort of liquor
- tight
- Attractive[308]
- tighten the screws
- Put pressure on somebody
- tin
- Badge
- tin pan alley
- Music industry in New York, located between 48th and 52nd streets
- tip a few
- Have a few drinks
- tomato
- 1. Attractive woman or Good looking girl with no brains[8]
- toddler
- finale hopper's faster sister[308]
- tooting The Wrong Ringer
- Asking the wrong person
- torpedo(s)
- Hired thug or hitman
- toss and hike
- Decide to pursue a new girl and reject the current one[308]
- trap
- Mouth
- trigger man
- Man whose job is to use a gun
- trip for biscuits
- Wild goose chase
- trotzky
- Mature woman with facial hair[308]
- trouble boys
- 1. Groups of young men known for causing mischief or getting into minor legal troubles
- 2. Gangsters
- turn up
- To give up or turn in to law enforcement officers[17]
- twist
- Woman[17]
- two bits
- Twenty-five cents ($.25) or Twenty-five dollars ($25)
U
[edit]- under glass
- In jail[309]
- unreal
- Special[308]
- up and down
- Gazing intently at someone[17]
- uppers
- To be in financial despair; see shatting on your uppers[17]
- upchuck
- Vomit, yak, spew, especially after consuming too much Giggle juice[308]
- upstage
- Sobby[308]
- urban set
- New gown[308]
V
[edit]- vag
- Vagrancy; Homelessness[17]
- vamp
- Female seducer of men; Aggressive female flirt[310]
- voot
- Money[310]
W
[edit]- walk in
- Party crasher[308]
- wallop(s)
- 1. A heavy blow, punch e.g. he gave him a mighty wallop
- 2. Emotional impact, psychological force e.g. that film has some serious wallop
- 3. Thrill, emotionally excited reaction
- waster
- 1. Someone or something that wastes
- 2. Someone who squanders or spends extravagantly
- water-proof
- Face that doesn't require make-up[308]
- weak sister
- Push-over[17]
- wear iron
- Carry a gun
- weasel
- Young man who steals a girl from her boyfriend[308]
- Weepie
- 1. Sad or sentimental film, often portraying troubled romance
- 2. Film designed to elicit a tearful emotional response from its audience
- weeping willow
- Same as crepehanger[18]
- wet
- Place where liquor is available or person who is in favor of legal alcohol sales
- wet blanket
- Person who spoils a fun moment i.e. Killjoy[308]
- whale
- Heavy drinker
- whangdoodle
- Jazz band[308]
- what's eating you?
- What's wrong?
- whiskbroom
- A man who cultivates whiskers[308]
- white lightning
- Moonshine
- white stuff
- Morphine [76]
- whoopee
- 1. Boisterous, convivial fun[308]
- 2. Having fun had with a romantic partner
- windsucker
- Braggart[308]
- wise guy
- Smart aleck
- wise Head
- Smart person[17]
- wise to be
- To have a good understanding e.g. put us wise[17]
- wooden kimono
- Coffin[17]
- woof! woof!
- Ridicule[308]
- wop
- Derogatory term for an Italian
- worker
- Woman who takes a guy for his money e.g. She Sizes Up As A Worker[17]
- wrestle
- Dance variant of Shimmy dance[308]
- wrinkle
- Girl's mother[308]
- wrong gee
- Not a good person
- wrong number
- Not a good fellow[17]
- wrong person
- Used in secretive conversations to indicate a mistake in identity, especially in dealings that required discretion.
- wurp
- Killjoy[308]
Example
. . . where Nazimova comes to a house of refuge, not knowing that Sills is there, and is pronounced dying by physicians, but is saved by Sills' prayer. To us who make and sell pictures, this "saved by prayer" situation registers as hokum, but just the same it has a genuine wallop for most of your customers, and consequently this final sequence effectively tops a very good red meat dramatic yarn.— 1924 Wid's Movie Review[228]
Example
In the park awaiting her train home she meets Forrest Chenoworth, a rich idler, whose money has gotten him into trouble with a lady named Jane. . . The alderman's son, a waster, is acquainted with Jane— 1920 Wid's Daily Movie Review[243]
Example
I am a one-sided person—what you call, perhaps, a wet blanket. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't gamble, I don't dance. I like my home. I do not like boldness, lack of restraint.
— 1923 Photoplay interview of Joseph Schildkraut[311]
Y
[edit]- ya follow
- Do you understand?
- yap
- Mouth[17]
- yard
- One hundred dollars ($100)[17]
- yegg
- Safecracker who can only open cheap and easy safes[17]
- yellowback
- 1. U.S. dollar having a yellow-colored back
- 2. Out West during the Civil War, California used currencies with yellowback, while out East, they used greenbacks
- Yenshee
- Opium[76]
- Yenshee baby
- Opium addict[76]
- you slay me!
- That's funny!
Z
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Animal alternatives having the same meaning as Bee's Knees [312]
Bee's ankles, bee's knee's, Bullfrog's beard,
Canary's tusks, Cat's Canary, Cat's cuffs,
Cat's eye, Cat's eyebrows, Cat's kimono,
cat's meow, cat's pajamas, Cat's underwear,
Cat's whiskers, Clam's garters, Cuckoo's chin,
Dog's ankles,Dog's bollocks, Duck's Quack, Eel's hips,
Eel's ankle, Elephant's adenoids,
Elephant's arches, Elephant's eyebrows,
Elephant's instep, Elephant's hips,
Elephant's wrist, Frog's ankles,
Frog's elbow, Frog's eyebrows, Gnat's elbow,
Goat's whiskers, Grasshopper's knees,Hen's eyebrows, Kitten's ankles, Leopard's stripes,
Monkey's eyebrows, Pig's feet, Pig's wings,
Puppy's tail, Pussycat's whiskers, Sardine's whiskers, Snake's ears, Snake's hips, Snugglepup's bow-bow, Spider's ankles, Tiger's spots, Turtle's neck, - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x In the early 20th century, people commonly used these terms to describe being inebriated: Dalzell 2012, pp. 12
- Bent
- Blind
- Blotto
- Bolognied
- Canned
- Crocked
- Boiled as an owl
- Corked
- Embalmed
- Fried
- Fried to the Hat
- Half Seas Over
- Half Under
- Hoary-eyed
- Jammed
- Jiggered
- Juiced
- Lit
- Oiled
- Out like a light
- Out on the roof
- Ossified
- Owled
- Pie-eyed
- Piffled
- Plastered
- Polluted
- Potted
- Primed
- Shellacked
- Shot
- Stew to the hat.
- Scrooched
- Smoked
- Spifficated
- Tanked
- Zozzled
References
[edit]- ^ Fitzgerald, F.S.; West, J.L.W. (2005). Fitzgerald: My Lost City: Personal Essays, 1920-1940. The Cambridge Edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald (in Basque). Cambridge University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-521-40239-2. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- ^ Brooks, P. (1995). The Melodramatic Imagination: Balzac, Henry James, Melodrama, and the Mode of Excess. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-06553-4. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Costello, Robert B., ed. (1991). Random House Webster's College Dictionary. New York: Random House. p. 845. ISBN 978-0-679-40110-0.
- ^ Stevenson, Angus; Lindberg, Christine A., eds. (2010). New Oxford American Dictionary, Third Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1091. ISBN 978-0-19-539288-3.
- ^ a b "What Does 'Eighty-Six' Mean?". merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster, an Encyclopaedia Britannica company. 2005. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Roaring 20s Slang". quizlet.com. 2024 Quizlet, Inc. 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Dalzell 2012, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Curland, Richard (September 10, 2016). "Historically Speaking: 1920's slang reflected the era's cultural shift". The Bulletin. Norwich, Connecticut. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 10.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 6.
- ^ Anderson, Nels (1923). "The hobo; the sociology of the homeless man". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 30.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 5.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 39.
- ^ a b c d e f Geneviene 2018, p. 6.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr fs ft "Twists, Slugs and Roscoes - A Glossary of Hard-Boiled Slang". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. July 5, 1998. p. 41. Retrieved August 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Compiled by William Denton
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am O'Flahavan, Leslie (2021). "Flapper's Dictionary – by Ella Hartung, 1922". ewriteonline.com. EWRITE LLC. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
Listing copied from the authentic 1922 Flapper's Dictionary by Ella Hartung
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 68.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 17.
- ^ a b c d e Geneviene 2018, p. 7.
- ^ "Belly Laugh". An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
The first known use of belly laugh was in 1916
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 90.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 22.
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Chapman 1987, p. 93.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 71.
- ^ a b c d e Geneviene 2018, p. 8.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 101.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 25.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 105.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 27.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 28.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 94.
- ^ a b c Chapman 1987, p. 30.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 123.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 128.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 132.
- ^ a b c d e Geneviene 2018, p. 9.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 36.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 145.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 158.
- ^ a b c Chapman 1987, p. 159.
- ^ Lighter 1994, p. 246.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 160.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 168.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 126.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 42.
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 7.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 171.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 44.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 45.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 133.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 177.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 46.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 184.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 189.
- ^ Martin, Gary (January 1, 1997). "Phrase Finder". phrases.org.uk. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 192.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 199.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 8.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 10.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 200.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 202.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 51.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 207.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 52.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 214.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 216.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 55.
- ^ Lighter 1994, p. 131.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 225.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Geneviene 2018, p. 11.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 227.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r ""Birds" and "Babies" play at "Doctors' Parties" as all "Lay on the Hip"". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. May 12, 1923. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 233.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 14.
- ^ a b "Puritan Passions with Glenn Hunter and Mary Astor". Exhibitors Trade Review. New York, Exhibitor's trade review, inc. September 15, 1923. p. 720. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 276.
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 75.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 237.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 236.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 239.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 61.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 184.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 248.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Dalzell 2012, p. 12.
- ^ a b c d Chapman 1987, p. 205.
- ^ "The Rent Collector (Vitagraph)". Exhibitors Herald. Chicago, Exhibitors Herald. March 10, 1923. p. 1283. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 255.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 263.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 270.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 271.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 274.
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 12.
- ^ a b c Geneviene 2018, p. 16.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 278.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 282.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 288.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 289.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 292.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 294.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 298.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 297.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 13.
- ^ "LAEMMLE - No. 16 Martin Place". The Moving Picture World. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company. July 15, 1916. p. 583. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 309.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 76.
- ^ "Wanted: love; Abe has coin; girls kid him". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record (Los Angeles, California). January 4, 1915. p. 7. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
Abe Deuce's letter to the editor of Los Angeles Record
- ^ a b "Surprising Words from the 1920s". merriam-webster.com. 2024 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
- ^ a b "Metro-They Like "Em Rough"". Exhibitors Herald. Chicago, Exhibitors Herald. August 5, 1922. p. 487. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 319.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 320.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 325.
- ^ a b c "Cop". Merriam-Webster.com. An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ "Copped". Merriam-Webster.com. An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 17.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 330.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 14.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 339.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 87.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 270.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 89.
- ^ "Crush-out". Merriam-Webster.com. An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ "Cut Down". Merriam-Webster.com. An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 19.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 95.
- ^ a b c d e Geneviene 2018, p. 20.
- ^ a b Denton, William (May 25, 2016). "Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang". miskatonic.org. Miskatonic University Press. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ McClure's Magazine 1917, p. 62.
- ^ "Comments on the Films - Exclusively by our own Staff". The Moving Picture Weekly. October 14, 1916. p. 540. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 105.
- ^ a b c Tradii 2018, p. 16.
- ^ a b c Geneviene 2018, p. 21.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 22.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 419.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 423.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Dalzell 2012, p. 13.
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 17.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 437.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 238.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 23.
- ^ "Slang of the 1920". local.aaca.org. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Beard, Robert. "A Historical Dictionary of American Slang". alphadictionary.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 443.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 436.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 123.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 458.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 462.
- ^ a b c Geneviene 2018, p. 27.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 468.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 28.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 385.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 483.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 486.
- ^ a b ""A Stranger from Somewhere" - Five-Reel Bluebird Photoplay With Franklin Farnum in a Dual Role". The Moving Picture World. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company. November 18, 1916. p. 999. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 488.
- ^ a b c Chapman 1987, p. 134.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 491.
- ^ Gormandy White, Mary (September 14, 2017). "20s Gangster Slang". yourdictionary.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 499.
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 21.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 506.
- ^ a b c d e f g Chapman 1987, p. 507.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 409.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 142.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 144.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 515.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 147.
- ^ a b c d Geneviene 2018, p. 30.
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 22.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 156.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 31.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 157.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 158.
- ^ gandy dancer as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b c d Geneviene 2018, p. 32.
- ^ a b gay as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b Tradii 2018, p. 24.
- ^ gigolo as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 168.
- ^ a b c d e f g Geneviene 2018, p. 33.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 571.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 177.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 178.
- ^ Lighter 1994, p. 930.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 179.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 490.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 25.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 183.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 600.
- ^ Lighter 1994, p. 968.
- ^ "grindhouse". dictionary.com. 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
Dictionary.com is the world's leading digital dictionary
- ^ a b "NON-STOP FLIGHT". Variety. July 7, 1926. p. 17. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Dalzell 2012, p. 14.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 610.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 513.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 615.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 36.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 260.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 35.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 195.
- ^ Harlem sunset as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 632.
- ^ heartwrenching as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Brockway, Laura Hale (April 14, 2021). "30 words and phrases from the 1920s that are still the 'cat's pajamas'". ragan.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ "Slang of the 1920's" (PDF). center.uoregon.edu. University of Oregon. 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
Slang of the 1920's The twenties were the first decade to emphasize youth culture over the older generations, and the flapper sub-culture had a tremendous influence on mainstream America; many new words and phrases were coined by these liberated women. Many of these are still used today!
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 251.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 638.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 208.
- ^ heat as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Green 2008, p. 640.
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 254.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 211.
- ^ high pillow as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Green 2008, p. 652.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 214.
- ^ a b hipster as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Green 2008, p. 656.
- ^ histrionics as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Lighter 1997, p. 108.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 37.
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 262.
- ^ a b hoaky as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Green 2008, p. 662.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 218.
- ^ a b "NAZIMOVA AND MILTON SILLS in Madonna of the Streets". Wid's. Hollywood : Wid's Weekly. December 25, 1924. p. 191. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
Ordinary Production Given to Very Convenient Melodrama
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 489.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 668.
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 267.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 222.
- ^ a b Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 269.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 569.
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 270.
- ^ Kipfer & Chapman 2007, p. 271.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 225.
- ^ house dick as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 231.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Dalzell 2012, p. 15.
- ^ idler as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b "Gladys Leslie in Vitagraph's "THE MIDNIGHT BRIDE"". Wid's Daily. New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc. February 1, 1920. p. 148. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 698.
- ^ irish goodbye as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 237.
- ^ Lighter 1997, p. 226.
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 702.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 39.
- ^ "iron (one's) shoelaces". idioms.thefreedictionary.com. Farlex. 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 703.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 713.
- ^ "Fred Hamm and his band have an unusual record". Kirksville Daily Express and Kirksville Daily News. Kirksville, Missouri. February 14, 1926. p. 3. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 718.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 729.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 31.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 725.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 730.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 732.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 32.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 735.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 42.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 738.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 43.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 247.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 743.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 248.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 747.
- ^ a b c "1920s Slang - The Language of The Jazz Age". 1920s-fashion-and-music.com. April 15, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 761.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 764.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 770.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 772.
- ^ a b c d e Green 2008, p. 773.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 35.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 47.
- ^ know one's onions as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Green 2008, p. 785.
- ^ a b c d Green 2008, p. 787.
- ^ a b c Green 2008, p. 788.
- ^ left holding The Bag as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b c Geneviene 2018, p. 48.
- ^ a b Green 2008, p. 795.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 802.
- ^ limey as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ line as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ a b Chapman 1987, p. 268.
- ^ Tradii 2018, p. 36.
- ^ lollygagger as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 270.
- ^ lookout as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 272.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 276.
- ^ "Wandering Husbands". Photoplay. MacFadden Publishing Inc. August 1, 1924. p. 88. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
- ^ Thorpe, Dunham (December 1, 1928). "Muttling "The Racket" - the underworld has sat to silence this film fusillade trained on it". Motion Picture Classic. New York: New York, Motion Picture Publications, Inc. p. 63. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 320.
- ^ "The Other Woman - Two-Reel Gold Seal Offering Presents Entertaining Little Study of Artistic Temperament". The Moving Picture World. Chicago, Exhibitors Herald. May 6, 1918. p. 109. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
Reviewed by Robert C. McElravy.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Dalzell 2012, p. 16.
- ^ Dalzell 2012.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 66.
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 377.
- ^ Green 2008, p. 1145.
- ^ "Bluebird Photoplays, Inc - A Stranger from Somewhere". The Moving Picture World. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company. November 25, 1916. p. 1226. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ^ Soda Jerk as defined in Wikidictionary
- ^ Chapman 1987, p. 1244.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dalzell 2012, p. 17.
- ^ Partridge 1984, p. 1187.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Dalzell 2012, p. 18.
- ^ Geneviene 2018, p. 79.
- ^ a b Geneviene 2018, p. 81.
- ^ "What is Anglo-Saxon hypocrisy - By Mark Larkin". Photoplay. MacFadden Publishing Inc. June 1929. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ Dalzell 2012, pp. 19
Works cited
[edit]Books
- Chapman, Robert L (1987). American Slang. New York, New York: Harper & Row. p. 499. ISBN 0-06-096160-0.
Abridged edition of the New Dictionary of American Slang
- Dalzell, T. (2012). Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang. Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-12162-8. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- Geneviene, T.R. (2018). Speak Flapper: Slang of the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-6561-6855-9. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- Green, Jonathon (2008). Chambers Slang Dictionary (1st ed.). London: Chambers. p. 1477. ISBN 978-0550-10563-9.
- Kipfer, Ann; Robert, Chapman (2007). The Dictionary of American Slang (4th ed.). New York: HarperCollins puiblisher. p. 592. ISBN 978-0-06-117646-3.
- Lighter, J.E. (1994). Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang: A-G (1st ed.). New York, New York: Random House. p. 1006. ISBN 0-394-54427-7.
- Lighter, J.E. (1997). Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang: H-O (1st ed.). New York, New York: Random House. p. 736. ISBN 0-679-43464-X.
- McClure's Magazine (1917). McClure's Magazine. S.S. McClure, Limited. p. 62. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- Mitchell, C.R. (2019). 1920s Slang Dictionary (in Tagalog). Independently Published. ISBN 978-1-0728-6161-4. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- Partridge, Eric (1984). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms and Catch-phrases, Solecisms and Catachreses, Nicknames, Vulgarisms (8th ed.). New York, New York: Macmilan Publishing Company. p. 1400. ISBN 0-02-594980-2.
- Tradii, Joe (2018). From Ameche to Zozzled: A Glossary of Hard-Boiled Slang of the 1920s Through The 1940s. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp. ISBN 978-1-9833-4745-0. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
Glossary of Hard-Boiled slang of the 1920s through the 1940s
Web Dictionaries and PDFs
- "Slang of the 1920". local.aaca.org. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- Beard, Robert. "A Historical Dictionary of American Slang". alphadictionary.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- Historical Dictionary of American Slang (this version)
- Online Etymology Dictionary
- "Dictionaries". An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- "Time Traveler". An Encyclopædia Britannica Company. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- "Dictionaries and Works Cited: Dictionary of Newfoundland English". Heritage.nf.ca. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- Serrani, Alyssa (December 13, 2021). "Comeback-Worthy 1920s Slang That Only Rag-a-Muffins Won't Appreciate". YourDictionary. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- "Thesaurus and word tools for your creative needs". WordHippo. February 19, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- "1920's Slang". huffenglish.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- Wiktionary - a free standard dictionary
- "Slang of the 1920's" (PDF). center.uoregon.edu. University of Oregon. 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
Slang of the 1920's The twenties were the first decade to emphasize youth culture over the older generations, and the flapper sub-culture had a tremendous influence on mainstream America; many new words and phrases were coined by these liberated women. Many of these are still used today!
- "slang_of_the_1920s.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved August 3, 2024.
Websites
- Brockway, Laura Hale (March 25, 2021). "phrases from the 1920s". PR Daily. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- "1920s Slang". Smoky Hill Museum. 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- "1920s and 1930s Slang Dictionary". Orlando Dinner Show. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- "1920s Slang". Lighthouse Translations. February 5, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- "Learn 1920s Speakeasy Prohibition Slang!". Shot In The Dark Mysteries Murder. February 6, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- "The LSC After Dark Guide to 1920s Slang". Liberty Science Center. November 15, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- Ross, Scott (2013). "Early 20th Century American Slang". Reader's Digest. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- Smith, Sam Benson (September 10, 2019). "30 Slang Words from the 1920s That Are Worth Bringing Back". Reader's Digest. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Dalzell, T. (2018). The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-76520-6. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Farmer, J.S.; Henley, W.E. (1890). Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present: A to Byz. Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present: A Dictionary, Historical and Comparative of the Heterodox Speech of All Classes of Society for More Than Three Hundred Years. subscribers only. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Green, J. (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. ISBN 978-0-304-36636-1. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Wentworth, Harold; Flexner, Stuart Berg (1975). Dictionary of American slang - Harold Wentworth, Stuart Berg Flexner - Google Books. Crowell. ISBN 9780690006704. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Hotten, J.C. (1894). The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal. Chatto & Windus. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Kipfer, B.A.; Chapman, R.L. (2010). Dictionary of American Slang. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-204324-5. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Lighter, J.E. (2007). Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang: T - Z. Random House. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Maitland, J. (1891). The American Slang Dictionary. R.J. Kittredge & Company. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- Maitland, J. (2017). The American Slang Dictionary (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited. ISBN 978-0-266-32805-6. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- McCutcheon, M. (1995). The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from Prohibition Through World War II. The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life Series. Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 978-0-89879-697-1. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]- Slang of the 1920s on YouTube
- Video (48:15) − America in color: The 1920s on YouTube
- The Jazz Age In America
- Roaring Twenties from U S History.com
- The Roaring Twenties – History.com
- Roaring Twenties study guide and teacher resources – timeline, quotes, analysis, multimedia