While enjoying the view from my parents' mountain porch, my mother and I poured over her high school yearbook.
"This guy drives a 'hot 67 Chevy'." I pointed to the blurb underneath a classmate's picture.
"And his favorite phrase was 'for crying out loud'," My mom said.
"Ooo! I'm writing down all the slang. What else did people say?" I asked.
"'Get serious!' 'You better believe it!' 'I amost care.''' She shrugged sarcastically at the last phrase.
"Hilarious," I said.
"What are you? Some kind of nut?" She said.
"Huh?" I asked. "Am I acting nutty?"
"No. That's what Luisa used to say." My mom pointed at the yearbook where the phrase was highlighted.
"Ohhhh." I laughed and continued note taking.
Now I have my own fabulous little slang dictionary full of 60's phrases.
So, what phrases did you use in high school? And are they still "cool"?
xoxo,
Suzanne
I wish I could remember. These days, I am more amused by my stepdaughter's slang. Like how the death metal of my day is now called Screamo, and how girls who wear too much make-up are Cake Faces or Powder Faces...and how goth is suddenly emo.
ReplyDeleteIn my school it was down by the beach so the term barney, kook, poser, got thrown out a lot.
ReplyDeleteBut I was raised by my grandfather who was a Marine Mst. Sgt. and he used names and phrases directed toward me such as doughhead, knuckle head, use your head for something else othe than a hat rack, and there's no free lunch.
"Dude." And "You wish." No. No they are definitely NOT.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason kids in my high school used to kick lockers, then scream, "maintenance!"
ReplyDeleteNow that is cool. "NOT!"
Wicked!
ReplyDeleteAggro, as in "Don't get all aggro on me!"
ReplyDeleteGnarly is another one I haven't heard my kids or their friends ever use.
"Totally" as in really
ReplyDelete"Hello?" meaning "Are you stupid?"
"Gross me out!"
"Meddlers" were the guys who listened to metal, wore tight jeans, band shirts, had mullets and hung out at the back of the school smoking.
"Bitchin'" meaning something was really good/"cool"
LOL - I would be fearful if any of these became popular again!
Totally rad! NOT!
ReplyDeleteTotally! My daughter and her friends still say that, but they giggle when I say it. I guess it's still cool for a teenager, but not for a 40 year old. :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! Love these! (and beautiful picture btw) It sounds like you and your mom are having a blast together!
ReplyDeleteIn hs we would say, "That is so gay." (which my sis and I were told not to say when our gay uncle visited)
"What a babe."
"Isn't that special?" (in snl church lady voice)
"Gag me with a spoon" somehow morphed into "Gag me with a dead Smurf." I really think that could make a comeback.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh the 60s were so full of phrases. Cool. Far out man. Dig it. What a blast. Groovy man. Hippies also called themselves freaks. Having sex (should I bring this up?) was called balling. And don't forget the famous, "turn on, tune in and drop out."
ReplyDeleteI can't remember any high school phrases, but every once in a while I drop an old-timey one on my girls and they eat it up. The latest one is The Cat's Pajamas, which we decided should have its own textspeak - Oh, that is totally TCP.
ReplyDeleteThose all sound pretty familiar to me. Man, I'm old.
ReplyDeleteIn the sixties, the most daring people cursed. But if you're a nice girl from Oklahoma or Wisconsin, no F-words or S-words allowed.
ReplyDeleteAlso . . . about sex . . . you're daring if you "go all the way." Some girls get a "bad reputation." You pet above the waist and below the waist. Most girls didn't "do it" till college or after. Boys get "blue balls" if you neck with them in the car too long. When you want to pet with someone, the boy might drive you out to the lake or lovers lane or some such and you "park." In the mid-sixties, the fifties mentality disappeared, then the gates opened. They opened further when pot was involved. --- Also, don't forget that abortions were illegal until 1973 when Roe v Wade was signed into law. So birth control was essential.
ReplyDeleteOr you gambled. And if you lost, you went to Mexico or Puerto Rico. Or maybe the gyn did it, but under the guise of cleaning the uterine wall.