Slang of the 1920s

[Music] there's one thing about the 1920s that I've been neglecting slang slang is absolutely a part of the pop culture of a time period and can sometimes give hints as to what life was like then in this video I just want to talk about individual slang words and phrases and how to use them correctly oftentimes when trying to reenact or portray a time period certain slang words are overused or over-represented and I want to do my part to introduce real slang that were in mainstream use in the 1920s some of the most oprah represented slang

from the 1920s are those used by gangsters and criminals but of course they made up only a small percentage of the total population however with that said slang in general was mostly only used by certain groups of people generally young people who are up-to-date with the trends and one more thing most people already know this but I still want to mention that most of the time mainstream slang from the 1920s carried over into the following decades and was often still used into the 1940s so with all those formalities out of the way let's get into

the words first don't not dough for baking of course but money this usage of dough can be heard in many many popular songs from the 1920s this slang had been in use for many decades prior but really became commonplace in the 1920s in America because traditionally it was common to earn one's living by making bread it isn't all that surprising that dough became a word to refer to money similarly bread also became a slang for money as well [Music] next we have vamp this meant a woman who is very good at seducing men and casting

them under her spell to do what she wants not one of the most socially progressive slang words of the 1920s but it was nonetheless very common entertainment in media this word was taken from the type of stock character often used in film in the 1910s and 1920s who were also referred to as bands they lured the main male character and seduced him in order to gain control the most famous vamp actress was theta Berra who was a movie sensation in the 1910s most famously in Cleopatra in 1917 next is chic a sheik was a man

who was very charming handsome and masculine really it just refers to the ideal image of a man at that time as a bonus the female equivalent was Sheba though I personally have not encountered this very often in 1920s media and it seems that chic was far more common but I thought I would just throw that one in to this usage if she can be traced back to a specific film the Sheik starring Rudolph Valentino as the title character was released in 1921 to massive popularity women swooned over Valentino who was considered by many to be

physically irresistible chic originally meant more specifically a handsome man on a lustful prowl as Valentino did in the film and Toshiba was the woman he lusted after but chic soon began to take on the much more general meaning of an attractive man the film and the subsequent use of chic as a slang word were both heavily influenced by the popular fascination with exotic things in the 1920s as well next is the exclamation and how essentially this just means that you agree with whatever someone else just said think of it as a more casual way to

say indeed and how was always used as a response usually an enthusiastic one here's an example using the previous word we just learned one woman says my he is simply a sheep and the other woman would reply and how this is a shortened version of the longer response and how he is a sheep the next phrase is more commonly associated with the 1930s I think though it was certainly used in the 1920s as well putting on the Ritz meant to dress very fancy or fashionably the Ritz refers to the prestigious and swanky red hotels located

in Paris in London which was where the most illustrious members of high society gathered this phrase was immortalized in the classic Irving Berlin song putting on the Ritz which was first published in 1929 then used in a famous musical film of the same name starring Fred Astaire in 1930 similarly ritzy became commonly used to refer to something fancy lavish or elegance next is the very old-fashioned sounding ragamuffin this simply meant a person who looks a bedraggled messy or dirty for example you might refer to Charlie Chaplin's famous character as a ragamuffin hobos and delinquents were

not uncommon sites in the cities in the 1920s so calling someone a ragamuffin might imply that they look like a homeless person the exact origin of this word is not very clear but it is known that it likely originated in England centuries before the 1920s linguistically the rag part clearly refers to something being ragged or resembling a rag but the muffin part is a mystery next is another not so appropriate word for women tomato was used to describe a woman who was ready for the picking take that as you will but really it just referred

to a very attractive woman and was used very generally even in the context of the 1920s this word seems pretty lowbrow and in later media it was used by many working-class men for example in the old-time radio show Duffy's tavern in the 1940s the main character a bartender used tomato very often and he certainly was no intellectual finally we've come to a word that might not sound so dated the phrase wet blanket referred to someone who was a killjoy a buzzkill someone who would ruin a lively party I know I've heard this used in movies

made after the 1950s this one lasted quite a long time in case you don't understand what the phrase implies it was common to use a wet blanket to put out a fire and fire and hot in 1920 slang meant something fun or energetic so the wet blanket would dampen or put out the good times that everyone else was having here's another very dated sounding word would be this was most commonly used as making whoopee this could mean having a really good time or having a really good time if you know what I mean of course

that's one of the most euphemized subjects in most languages and this was probably the most common way to say in the 1920s if you wanted to keep it on the lowdown this phrase was probably most famously used in the song makin whoopee which was recorded by many musicians and singers in the 1920s including eddie cantor eddie walters paul whiteman with Bing Crosby George Olson and Rudy Vallee [Music] another thing you would really want to keep quiet about in public in the 1920s was alcohol there were many many slang words about drinking at that time so

if you wanted to refer to people or yourself being drunk you would probably have used fried other ways to say drunk might have included smoked bent saws old and ossified though I think fried was definitely one of the most commonly used the reason why there were so many different words for liquor and being drunk was because you wouldn't want to use the same words for too long unless the police should catch on even though I said I wouldn't over represent gangster or criminal slang too much I have to include one if you thought someone was

trying to bump you off you must have been in a load of trouble because that meant someone wanted you day to bump off became very common in pulp literature of the time as well as among real-life gangsters who were caught in a violent feud with the rival mob boss this also became quite a popular phrase after the advent of talking pictures in the very popular genre of gangster films in the 1930s and 40s maybe you remember your grandparents or your parents saying I need my cheaters or maybe you've even used this before most of you

probably already know that this refers to glasses there's really not much to explain about this one your eyes aren't good enough by themselves so you need to cheat a little bit to see better another word used throughout the period of the 1920s through the 1940s was hot but this should not be confused with the other usage of hot meaning lively as in hot jazz the other meaning was stolen for example let's say you go to a pawn shop and you want to sell a watch but the shopkeeper is suspicious of you he might say I

don't buy hot watches petty crime was widespread throughout the 1920s especially pickpockets who would strip you of your wallet or jewelry before you even realized he was gone the 1920s was full of middle and upper-class people who wanted to flaunt their wealth through expensive accessories a perfect jackpot for petty thieves continuing with the example from the last word let's go back to that pawn shop again the shopkeeper says he doesn't accept hot watches maybe you would say this watch isn't hot I just want to hock it to hock something meant simply that you wanted to

pawn it for some quick cash of course pawn shop for the first place a petty thief would go once he had claimed his prize so pawn shop owners had every right to be suspicious though they usually wouldn't care too much since it was impossible to know if the thing being hocked was hot or not okay let's move away from crime and pawn shops and get back to the fun times imagine it's the late 1920s you're a young adult male if your friend invites you to a petting party you would probably be a little bit shocked

if you said no petting parties were get-togethers of men and women ranging from small to large groups at these parties there would be a lot of petting which could mean anything from kissing and caressing to well whoopee but maybe it wouldn't have been so crazy if you turned down and offered to a petting party since your reputation among your family could have been damaged that they found out you were doing such seedy activities the conservative older generation still would have condemned even the Tama spending party is that consisted of excessive kissing and playful flirting for

this next one I think most people watching this video now probably know what a bob hairstyle was if you don't know what I'm talking about this photo may clear things up the bob haircut or the more specific dutch bob hairstyle was an iconic style of the 1920s it symbolized a modern woman who is ready to take on the world and enjoy the pleasures of life which could vary from person to person but generally meant parties dancing and flirting bobbed hair became so associated with flappers that it still conjures up that image even to this day

but like petting parties the symbol act of bobbing your hair could have social consequences especially when it came to the older generation for some insight into this possible conflict I recommend the 1920 short story by F scott Fitzgerald titled Bernice Bob's her hair next is a nonsensical word that probably originated in black communities but spread later on having the heebie-jeebies meant that you were shaking or trembling from some kind of negative emotion or feeling like fear or an unknown sickness maybe you just watched Nosferatu for the first time and you felt the hairs on your

neck stand on end yep you've got a case of the heebie-jeebies a side note this phrase was the title of a famous record from 1926 by the legendary jazz cornetist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong [Music] and last we have the simplest one of all it may be you've got it or maybe you don't but many people certainly thought Clara bow had it it meant sex appeal it had nothing to do with your social standing or your money or your talent if you were attractive and had a playful likeable personality and naturally exude sensuality effortlessly then you

had it this usage of it was popularized in the 1927 film simply called it starring Clara Bow who became the poster child for the concept of it you either have it or you don't and that's that I hope you enjoyed this video and learned some practical slang words and phrases from the 1920s just in case you really want to act a part at your next 1920s themed event without being over-the-top or maybe because you just like using vintage slang whatever your reason maybe someday you'll be in a situation where you can use some of these

words and impress your friends or family if they think it's interesting then you're hanging out with the right kind of people well that's all for now are you sikhs and gals out there but stay tuned for more tales from the Jazz Age [Music]