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Throughout history, language has changed and remained fluid. That is true no matter whether you’re speaking English, Russian, French, Spanish, or one of the other 7,096 languages in the world. Words have changed over time, falling both in and out of favor.
This list details some of the funniest, most unique historical slang you’ve ever heard. Some of these terms you might recognize, while others will have you scratching your head as to how they ever became popular.
Era of Popularity: 1930s
Meaning: An idle, useless, mischievous person
If you wanted someone in the 1930s to know that you did not approve of their behavior, you’d call them a “Nogoodnik.” This term referred to an idle, useless person who ran around causing mischief and doing little that was productive.
According to linguists, the word “Nogoodnik” is Yiddish in origin—or at least, that is what it is influenced by. If someone calls you a Nogoodnik, you won’t have to run to Google to decipher the term’s meaning—the look on the speaker’s face will make it clear it’s no compliment.
Era of Popularity: 1800s
Meaning: A sanctimonious individual
This term originated back in the 1800s, but it evolved from meaning “pastor” or “minister” to referring to someone who was pious and sanctimonious. Think of a megachurch pastor who comes down hard on “sinners” in his audience, all while getting up to his own bad deeds behind closed doors.
Actor Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, The Father, etc.) gave an interview recently that brought “Holy Joe” back into focus, saying, “I’m not a Holy Joe; I’m just a…sinner like everyone else.”
Era of Popularity: Early 1900s
Meaning: Someone who smiles all the time
There’s no slang quite like Victorian-era slang. The Victorian Era came about under the reign of Queen Victoria during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and the Era developed a popularity all its own, thanks to Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and other famous characters.
If you called someone a “Gigglemug” while walking down the streets of merry old London, you’d be derogatorily referring to someone who always has an airheaded smile on their face, like a walking Crest Whitestrips ad.
Era of Popularity: 1900s
Meaning: A smart aleck
Wisenheimer isn’t a nice term, referring to someone who acts like a know-it-all, behaving in an irritatingly smug way when demonstrating their knowledge. This term was popular in the early 1900s.
Now, you might hear “wise guy” or “smart aleck” instead, though Wisenheimer hasn’t fallen totally out of the Zeitgeist. For example, Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory on PARA had a habit of being a Wisenheimer.
Era of Popularity: 1930s
Meaning: A coffin
Chicago Overcoat wasn’t just a movie starring Frank Vincent; it’s actually a piece of old-timey, 1930s Chicago slang. During the ‘30s, Chicago was a major hub for the Mafia, gangsters, and speakeasies that weaseled their way out of following Prohibition laws.
The mob brought guns, drugs, alcohol, and violence with it, and that violence landed people in a “Chicago Overcoat,” slang for a coffin. You can blame Al Capone for a lot of it, as it wasn’t until 1931 that he was captured and sentenced for tax evasion (of all things).
Era of Popularity: Late 1800s/Early 1900s
Meaning: A policeman
Looking for slang to call a cop that probably won’t get you in handcuffs? Try this piece of Victorian language on for size. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, people called officers “Mutton Shunters.”
The term was in use from 1880 until 1915, roughly. Fans of Sherlock Holmes will know this phrase, as it was used in Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra, according to the channel PBS.
Era of Popularity: 1920s
Meaning: Nicer word for “nuts”
Nerts is a card game, but that’s not the Nerts we’re talking about here. Back in the 1920s, people would have been scandalized by someone saying “Oh, nuts!” when they were upset. So, it was changed to “Nerts!”
Nerts was a stand-in for Nuts, one that people considered far more appropriate. Nowadays, people are more likely to know the word as a fast-paced, multiple-player card game involving several decks of cards.
Era of Popularity: 1940s
Meaning: Good dancer
Do you consider yourself to be a “Ducky Shincracker?” This piece of 1940s slang probably has you confused, but it’s actually quite simple. Ducky Shincracker refers to someone who is a good dancer.
This is a piece of youth slang from the WWII era, probably used to describe someone who was getting down on the dance floor during a school dance. Teen lingo has always been its own world, including in the ‘40s.
Era of Popularity: 1920s
Meaning: Nonsense, balderdash
If someone told you something that you considered to be silly, you would reply, “Aw, applesauce!” in the 1920s. That was the cool way of saying, “Oh, that’s nonsense.” To be fair, that does sound more polite.
“Everything you said today was applesauce,” is another example. The roaring ‘20s didn’t mean applesauce as a tasty side at the dinner table (or as a healthy dessert), they used the word as a way to say, “BS.”
Era of Popularity: 1930s
Meaning: To show off your looks/possessions
This is an interesting one. “Floss,” as a slang term meaning to show off your looks or your possessions, became a thing in the 1930s (and it still is sometimes used today, particularly in music lyrics).
It wasn’t until a few years later that the word “floss” became synonymous with the string you pull through your teeth. Floss, for the record, was invented in the 1800s, and it was a game-changer for dental hygiene.
Era of Popularity: 1940s
Meaning: A guy who gets all the girls
Teen lingo in the 1940s was its own phenomenon, and it no doubt had adults shaking their heads and wondering what their kids were talking about. The WWII era was a big time for teen slang (and, of course, world events).
For example, you could be a ducky shincracker (a good dancer), and, if you were, that would probably make you a wolf on a scooter too (a guy who gets all the dates). Wolf on a scooter was the ‘40s way of saying “playboy.”
Era of Popularity: 1950s
Meaning: Hands/fists
“Get your meathooks off me!” was a phrase you’d hear in the 1950s right before a fistfight. The word was slang for hands in the context of a scuffle, and it was usually said as fighting words sure to get you thrown in the can.
If you got arrested for assault, you’d be thrown into the old “crowbar hotel” by the “hot-rodders” (slang for police). Those slang terms make the otherwise serious nature of such a crime sound cool and sitcom-esque.
Era of Popularity: 1860s
Meaning: Physician or surgeon
You might have heard this term before, possibly on a historical fiction show on Netflix or Hulu. If you were in a bad state, you’d want to go to your local sawbones—1860s slang for a surgeon or doctor.
The word “sawbones” never really fell out of style, and you might still hear it used today, albeit in a jesting manner. Sawbones got their name from the high number of amputations they performed during the Civil War (one in four surgical procedures during the War were amputations—that’s over 50,000 procedures).
Era of Popularity: 1950s
Meaning: Comfortable, stable
If you and your beau had an argument but made up in the 1950s, you could say that everything was “hotsy-totsy.” The slang term was another way of saying comfortable, secure, or stable, especially in the context of a relationship.
“Things were up and down, but they’re hotsy-totsy now,” is an example of how it was used. That said, back in the 1920s, hotsy-totsy actually meant something attractive or pleasing (it was used as a stand-in for hoity-toity).
