Slang time machine
Every English slang term has a moment it first showed up in print or on someone's lips. We've tagged 4,786 terms with a first attested decade — from 18th-century thieves’ cant through to 2020s internet vocabulary. Pick a decade below.
370048004900123950391000410503110011150412008125011290361300101350337140015145074150051520315302154031155061560215701158031590391600816105162021630216404716504166031670316801169010817007171041720817306174053175011176010177012178020179079180018181024182044183035184023518503818602918705518805918902871900631910781920911930119194029219501331960136197020019803201990279200061220104882020
1930s — 91 terms
Showing top 91 by views30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
George
1931bluesky
🔊gaff
1930🔊
dunny
1933🔊
absobloodylutely
1935🔊
woke
1930tiktok
🔊Mabo
1936🔊
tenderoni
1930🔊
Belisha beacon
1934🔊
jailbait
1934🔊
Adam and Eve on a raft
1930🔊
sellotape
1937🔊
schmear
1930🔊
pantech
1930🔊
pendent jurisdiction
1933🔊
crumpet
1936bluesky
🔊daks
1930🔊
Ivy League
1933bluesky
🔊kerfuffle
1930bluesky
🔊payola
1938🔊
Glyndebourne
1934🔊
jockey briefs
1934🔊
swinging
1930bluesky
🔊Eirean
1937🔊
AA
1935🔊
racist
1932bluesky
🔊A-list
1930bluesky
🔊big mama
1930bluesky
🔊barrow boy
1939🔊
rambler
1935🔊
bicycle monarchy
1938🔊
bupkis
1931🔊
German
1934bluesky
🔊deep-fry
1930🔊
chantoosie
1932🔊
not in Kansas anymore
1939bluesky
🔊frammis
1930🔊
Ameche
1939🔊
aggressive
1938bluesky
🔊Dorothy dollar
1939🔊
ute
1930🔊
woodshed
1930🔊
boondoggle
1935bluesky
🔊revise
1930bluesky
🔊pull one's head in
1930🔊
crusty
1930bluesky
🔊piffy on a rock bun
1930🔊
fuck the dog
1935🔊
freeloader
1930bluesky
🔊C-man
1930🔊
have it off
1930🔊
diddly-squat
1934🔊
quint
1935bluesky
🔊pavlova
1930🔊
amateur hour
1935bluesky
🔊don't touch that dial
1939🔊
local
1938bluesky
🔊dil-ya-ble
1930🔊
A-2
1931🔊
spelunker
1930🔊
Gordon Bennett
1937🔊
Antifa
1932bluesky
🔊Johnny-one-note
1937🔊
Sadie Hawkins dance
1937🔊
buster
1930bluesky
🔊Cobb salad
1937🔊
biffy
1935🔊
friend of Dorothy
1939🔊
honey joys
1930🔊
chow mein bun
1930🔊
cuddly-wuddly
1938🔊
Palko test
1937🔊
Taswegian
1930🔊
bazillion
1939bluesky
🔊bullpup
1930🔊
knickerbocker glory
1930🔊
Blockburger test
1932🔊
submarine sandwich
1930🔊
cup of joe
1931🔊
moxie
1930bluesky
🔊hero sandwich
1937🔊
chopped liver
1930🔊
Daily Heil
1930🔊
Adrian Quist
1930🔊
lateral
1934bluesky
🔊Green River Ordinance
1931🔊
Blimpery
1934🔊
indict a ham sandwich
1930🔊
pablum
1931bluesky
🔊dreamboat
1930bluesky
🔊pocketbook
1939bluesky
🔊fitness
1935bluesky
🔊More on how slang travels through time
The lifecycle of a slang word
Mint, scale, ironize, retire — how every viral term moves through the same five stages.
Where slang is born now
The platforms and subcultures that mint vocabulary in 2026 — and why TikTok shifted everything.
AAVE and internet slang
The single biggest source of new mainstream English vocabulary, and why most of the words you used today started here.
Attestation dates come from etymologies originally sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0) and editorial expansion authored on Slangora. They reflect the earliest documented use we found for each term, not necessarily the moment it was coined.