Slang from the 1920s
Hey, fat cats, this is your governor with a
bee's knees assignment.
WHAT TO DO!
You are a teenager in the 1920s. Write a letter to someone in the present day. Tell them
what life is like for you. What do you do for entertainment? What are your interests?
Make sure that your letter uses expressions from the list of slang terms that a teenager
would have used during the 1920s.
HOW LONG DOES IT HAVE TO BE?
It is a letter. Write as much as you need to explain your life to future generations. You
must include at least 15 terms from the list provided below and on the back, but make
sure that it sounds like a letter. Do not just throw any terms together; make sure it flows
and that it makes sense!
SLANG
MEANING
SLANG
MEANING
All my whiskers
Nonsense!
gaga
Crazy, silly
All wet
Wrong, incorrect
Get hot
Dance, go for it
And how!
Definitely!
Giggle-water
Whiskey, liquor
Audies
Sound movies
goon
A thug, ruffian
Banana oil
Nonsense
Governor
Father, one’s
superior
Barnstorm
Tour the country
doing airplane shows
grand
Good
Bathtub gin
Homemade gin
Ham-and-egger
Ordinary person
Bee’s knees
Great!
High hat
To snub someone
Berries, the
The best
hoof
To dance
Between a rock and
a hard place
In a difficult
situation
horse feathers
Nonsense
Big cheese
Important person
Hotsie-totsie
Very good
Bim
Girlfriend
hyper
Excited, thrilled
Blind dragon
Chaperone
jalopy
An old car
Blind pig
A speakeasy
Jane
A plain girl
Breeze in
Drop in
unexpectedly
keen
Attractive, good
Bug wash
Hair oil
kisser
The mouth
SLANG
MEANING
SLANG
MEANING
Bull session
Group discussion
Lickety-split
Quickly
bunk
Nonsense!
lousy
Bad, inferior
caper
A robbery
lug
A dull man
carhop
Waitress at a drive-in
restaurant
Main drag
Main street
Cat’s meow
Outstanding
malarkey
Lies, nonsense
Cat’s pyjamas
Good, super
nitwit
Idiot
cheaters
Eyeglasses
park
Make out in a car
chopper
Submachine gun
pash
Passion
crush
Being infatuated
with
Pip-squeak
A useless person
darb
Excellent
Rah-rah
Overly enthusiastic
Dig dirt
To gossip
raspberries
Nonsense
divine
Nice, enjoyable
Ricky ticky
Music of the 20’s
Do in
To eat a _______
ritzy
Elegant
Fat cat
Wealthy person
rock
A dollar
flapper
Uninhibited woman,
a style of dressing
Sad sack
An odd person
flick
Movie
sheba
Girl friend
fridge
Refrigerator
shiek
Handsome man
sloppy
messy
smooch
Kiss/hug
speakie
A movie with sound
Struggle buggy
Car
stuffy
prudish
Swell
Fine
talkie
Movie with sound
Tin lizzie
Model T Ford
White cow
Vanilla milkshake
Wise up
Become aware, learn
Wish book
catalogue
wowser
Prude, self-righteous
person