Friday 17 February 2012

Outdated Slang II

When did people stop saying?

...tastic (from Smashy and Nicey)
And why not? Barry Norman catchphrase from 1980.
Any joy?
arsy
(for precious, up yourself, on your high horse, difficult)
at all (is there a doctor here at all? Can I help you at all?)
aware (for sensitive, perceptive, insightful etc.)
big girl’s blouse
biggie

boo-boo (60s)
bor-innnnng! (thank goodness they have. 70s)
bubbling under
bucket shop
for place that sells cheap air tickets
bumping along the bottom
calling planet [Janet] (2004)
carry out (for do)
chick (for girl)
clapped out
comparing apples and oranges

controversial
(very late 60s. Probably meant "airing liberal views on TV".)
crucial (not since early 80s)
deconstruct
designer
(stubble etc. Very 80s.)
dishy (now fit)
domino effect (now knock-on effect)
don’t strain yourself (when someone expresses slightly forced excitement, or faint praise; or offers help too late and without enthusiasm – 60s?)
doobry
doom and gloom
(in the 70s meant strikes and oil crisis)
doss (v)
down to for up to
driven by (now fuelled by)
dull as ditchwater
echt
effectively
(every few words)
escalate
feelgood factor (recently)
for some unknown reason
fringe medicine
gone off on one (recently)
grit your teeth (probably around 1890)
Having fun? (sardonically, when someone else has burnt a saucepan etc)
Holy mackerel!

humungous

hustings
(now stump?)
I don’t go a bundle on that. I kid you not
I must have been out of my tiny mind.
I’ll drink to that

I’m clever like that

I’m not a feminist, but…
I’m only here for the beer.
ideologically sound/unsound

in cahoots
in this day and age
insecure
it’s all gone horribly wrong
It’s not big, and it’s not clever.
(Though it still isn’t.)
It’s the way to go.
jamboree

jammy bastard

joe cool
(the 80s?)
knock for knock
less of it!
logjam
Lord Muck/Lady Muck/Lord High Muckamuck
main claim to fame
mainly
malaise (something the country suffered from, a bit like doom and gloom)
male chauvinist pig
manky

mega
mind games
mind-bending
Ne’er mind, eh. (with a downward inflection on the eh.) (It was an 80s thing.)
new technology (for computers in publishing)
No shit, Sherlock
Not to worry!

Now you tell me.

Oh, what?
(80s)
Ooooh, Tony!
oppo
(Falklands army slang)
pillock
pole/poll position
(and arguing about which it was, and the derivation of either)
prannet/pranny for prat (80s?)
precious to mean vain
rant and rave
rave from the grave

right on

setback
slimeball

snazzy
(was it ever cool?)
strictly for the birds (what DID it mean?)
strictly from hunger (and what did it mean?)
stroll on!
suss
suss out
tad
take a stand (now stance)
Temper, temper! (Ooops – expressing emotion in public.)
the appropriately named...
the balance
for the rest (they were the same people who said “Any joy?” and they also said “the bulk of” for “most”)
the likes of... There you go.
throw a wobbly/wobbler
understatement of the year

unreconstructed

value judgement

Very droll!

vital
What’s not to like?

What’s the damage?

Where do you get off
saying that/turning up uninvited/criticizing my hairstyle etc etc. (“I told him where to get off/where he got off” ie off bus) More recently, one fan claims, "I was approached by a photographer from an English tabloid who said he'd give me £150 to kick in a German. I told him where to get off." Guardian November 19 2005

women’s libber
woofter
for poofter
woolly for cardigan/jersey
yomping (Falklands army slang – very short-lived)
yonks
You go, girl!

You’ve said a mouthful.

zilch

More here.

5 comments:

  1. Are you quite sure people have stopped saying those things? If so, you and I must inhabit very different spheres. In my experience, most of those expressions are still in very frequent use.

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  2. Are you sure people have stopped using those expressions? If they have, you and I must inhabit very different universes, because I hear most of those with such regularity that I barely notice them.

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  3. Yes, now you mention it, I haven't heard most of these for a while. However I still say "dull as ditchwater".

    You missed out one 80s word - 'wally'. I'm very glad that it didn't last beyound 1984.

    I'd like to know what happened to 'hullo'. The last book I've found with 'hullo' rather than hallo, then hello, was published in the early 50s.

    ReplyDelete