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

Slang from the twenties

Much of the slang of the 1920s remained part of the American lexicon long after the days of silent films and speakeasies faded away. Some retain their original meaning while others remain in use though meaning something entirely different. Bimbo is no longer usually applied to a macho man. The phrase for crying out loud remains in fairly common use, and is used as an expression of exasperation, as it was in the 1920s. Beating the gums is used sometimes, and still means idle chatter. A flat tire now refers to an automotive inconvenience rather than a disappointing date or event. Some people still call reading glasses cheaters, but the term can’t be said to be in widespread use.

The colorful slang of the Roaring Twenties gave way to the slang of the Great Depression, which in turn faded into that of the fifties. The flivver became the hot rod, the crib became the pad (and then the crib once again), lettuce became cabbage, ish kabibble eventually was replaced with whatever. The term gin mill is still heard from time to time, and the speakeasy eventually returned in a nostalgic imitation, though its products were legal. Each succeeding generation changed the slang of its youth, and what was considered normal communication in the 1920s is today little more than a sourceski of amusement.