20 Odd Slang Terms and Activities from the Roaring Twenties That Prove Young People Have Always Been Confusing

20 Odd Slang Terms and Activities from the Roaring Twenties That Prove Young People Have Always Been Confusing

Larry Holzwarth - August 9, 2018

20 Odd Slang Terms and Activities from the Roaring Twenties That Prove Young People Have Always Been Confusing
Sheiks favored raccoon coats when attending sporting events and meeting with friends. Wikimedia

Describing a date

A sheik looking for a new sheba may describe a date the previous evening something like this; “We ankled to the drum, and I slipped the baby grand a sawbuck to get in. They said they had the real McCoy but it was horse lineament and when I beefed they gave me the bum’s rush. I tried to get her to the petting pantry, but she gave me the icy mitt. Didn’t know she was Mrs. Grundy. When I got her back to her crib dapper was waiting on the porch, and I didn’t get cash. Flat tire. Might have another stab though. Choice bit of calico. Great gams.”

To which his companion may well reply: “I took the nickel down to drop some busthead for a little lettuce, maybe pick up a couple of fins. Some drugstore cowboy bimbo took it off me. Some chunk of lead saw me and told a dick, and now I’m on the lam from the mulligans. Can’t use the jalopy because it’s a breezer and the bulls will see me. There’s a flat tire.” The entire conversation would make perfect sense to both parties, though neither tale of woe is indicative of the previous evening being the cat’s pajamas.

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