Summary of What words / slang are peculiar to the 80s in the US?
- What was popular slang in the 80s?
- What are some 80s catchphrases?
- What is so cool 80s slang?
- What are the top 10 slang words?
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AI Overview
AI Overview
’80s slang was all about “rad,” “tubular,” and “bodacious” ways to say something was cool, with terms like “gnarly,” “gag me with a spoon,” “as if,” and “take a chill pill” expressing disgust or dismissal, while “dweeb,” “bogus,” and “heinous” were common insults, often used with a Valley Girl or hip-hop influence. Key phrases included “What’s your damage?” (What’s your problem?), “Grody to the max” (gross), and “Eat my shorts” (get lost).
Awesome/Cool
Rad/Radical/Totally Tubular: Excellent, cool, amazing.
Bodacious: Attractive, impressive, or excellent.
Bitchin’: Really good, impressive.
Choice/Mint: High-quality, perfect, awesome.
Dope/Fresh: Cool, great (still used).
Cowabunga: An exclamation of excitement (popularized by TMNT).
Disgust/Annoyance/Dismissal
Gag me with a spoon: Expressing disgust or annoyance.
As if!: “Yeah, right!” or “Not a chance!”.
Take a chill pill: Relax, calm down.
Bogus/Grody: Lame, unfair, gross, or fake.
Barf me out/Grody to the max: “I’m freaking out” or “disgusting”.
Eat my shorts: A comeback for an insult.
Insults/Nerdiness
Dweeb/Dillweed/Wastoid/Butt-face/Dip: A nerd, fool, or general insult.
Airhead/Ditz: Someone not very smart.
Mall-maggot: A derogatory term for a mall-frequenting youth.
General & Others
Buggin’ out: Freaking out or overreacting.
No duh/Like, no duh: Obviously.
Heinous/Harsh: Unpleasant, severe.
Major: To stress something immensely (e.g., “major dipstick”).
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What words / slang are peculiar to the 80s in the US?
Inspired by the fact that my thread about whether Stranger Things look authentic got sooo many comments and knowing what kind of things like clothes, hairdos, etc. are a sign of the 80s, I’d like to ask you guys what words / slang / metaphors are peculiar to the 80s.
Of course, I don’t mean words that described the stuff from the 80s, I mean, for example, the word ‘groovy’. I’m not sure whether this is an 80s’ word, but it certainly is outdated, right?
So what words / slang did you use those days that, if used now, sound funny / weird / dad vocabulary?