1950s slang was seriously cool. In fact, we still use a lot of it today. While some of it sounds familiar, some of that era’s lingo can sound like a foreign language today. Let’s take a quick look back at a few of the most interesting words and phrases of the day.
If you’re headed to the passion pit, you might want to bring your peepers. This sentence sounds a lot cooler than “don’t forget to take your eyeglasses to the drive-in theatre.” Although, if you’re just hoping to go parking, you could leave your eyewear back at your pad.
If you were a teenage boy in the 1950s, you might have said to a girl “Come on snake, let’s rattle.” It’s a colorful way to say “let’s dance.” Be careful though, if you say the same thing to a guy, it’s a challenge to a fight. He might just give you a knuckle sandwich. This, of course, could leave you with quite a shiner.
If you were a ’50s girl, were you a Queen (popular girl) or maybe a Paper Shaker (Cheerleader.) Either way, you might have had your eye on some Dreamboat (cute guy.) If you wound up circled with a few ankle-biters or curtain-climbers running around, you were married with children. Just whatever you do, don’t be a square and you’ll have it made in the shade.
What did you think about this little bit of linguistic time travel? Did you enjoy our intro to ’50s slang? Let us know in the comments. If you think we’re really cooking with gas, be sure to follow The Greatest Generation for more. We’re on Facebook and Twitter!
