Quickie: 19 Vintage Slang Phrases To Add To Your Vocabulary (Patreon)

I love a good old word or phrase. An old word I have a particularly soft heart for is fisticuffs, the 17th way of throwing hands (aka a fist fight). While that word often gets used with hilarious results on black twitter what about some lesser known slang words that you can use to annoy (or bring joy to) the timeline or friends? 

1) Tiddly (1905) 

[Adj.] It's not what it sounds like. It was a british slang term for slightly drunk.

Example: "I'd love to take another shot of tequila but I'm already tiddly and the last thing I need is to throw up when I head to bae's after the club."

2) Nerts (1929)

[Noun] A stand in for "nonsense", or, the naughtier term "nuts". 

Example: "Oh nerts, no way people still support Donald Trump." 

3) Jerk One's Jelly/ Jerk One's Juice (1896)  

[Verb] It's exactly what it sounds like- male masturbation. The term "jerk" for "procuring ejactulation in a man by manual friction (not necessarily self-applied)" has been around since the infamous publication of 1748's Fanny Hill, the first popular erotic novel. But it was in an `1896 book called Slang and Its Analogues by J.S. Farmer and W.E. Henley in which the terms "jerking one's jelly" and "jerking one's juice" made their debuts.

Example: "I can't believe Bill Clinton fired his Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders for telling people to teach kids about jerking their jelly."

4) Honeyfuggle (1829)

[Verb] 

1) To swindle, cheat, trick, or dupe someone          

2) To flatter someone or entice them (Making you a honeyfuggler)           

3) To snuggle up with someone 

Saying this word makes me happy. It had various uses since it's introduction in 1829, but it fell out of use by 1960. Let's try to bring this one back, alright?

Example: "He talked a good game about getting this bread but he stole my visa card and honeyfuggled me... I should have known he was a scammer!"

5) You Shred It, Wheat (1930s)

Another way to say "You Said It!" Is it just me or does it seem like this is something that be uttered on an episode of Full House? Shredded Wheat has been out since 1893. So why did the term "You Shred It Wheat" gain so much traction during the 1930s? I've got a theory. The patent on Shredded Wheat ended in 1912. John Harvey Kellogg created Kelloggs Shredded Wheat and was promptly sued. There was a series of publicized litigation until 1938, when the Supreme Court ruled that "shredded wheat" is generic and can't be trademarked. 

Example: Boyfriend: "Can you get on top?" Me: "You shred it, wheat!" 

6)  Sticky Wicket (1950)

[Noun] A complicated or delicate situation

Example: "I forgot to bring conditioner with me on vacation and this hotel bathroom only has white girl products so you know I'm in a sticky wicket smh."

7) Backseat Bingo (1950s)

[Noun or Verb] Necking, or messing around in the backseat of the car. Two things influenced the creation of this slang term. For one, bingo was brought nationwide in the 1940s (though a few crude and unregulated games existed before) and proved to be very popular. The second thing was the advent of 1950s car consumer culture, in which more than ever, teenagers had access to vehicles. They were also the frequent visitors to secluded lovers lanes, where one could neck in private.

Example: "He wanted to backseat bingo with me but I knew from the moment that he picked me up for our date and let his hot milk breath waft in my face, it wasn't happening."

8) Bank's Closed (1920s)

A catchy way to say that you're not down for any kissing or necking. 

Example: "When he tried to lean in and kiss me anyways, I told him the bank's closed. He was salty." 

9) White Hope (1911)

[Noun] A title reserved for someone who represents white superiority and victory. The first known use was for a contender who wished to win the championship title from noted "I don't give any shits" boxer Jack Johnson. I propose taking this term and flipping it into a mocking negative for pundits of the conservative right. 

Example: Candace Owen is a traitorous opportunist, but no matter how many facts she denies and how much she presses her hair, she'll never be Trump America's White Hope.  That's Tami's Lahren's position. 

10) Have A Man For Breakfast (1863)

It's not what you think. It means, to find a dead body in the morning. In the dangerous war-torn Civil-War era, it's no wonder this term got used enough to be remembered today. I'm not sure how you'll be able to finesse this into your regular vocabulary, or even your irregular vocabulary. But at least if the moment ever comes, you have a phrase for it. 

Example: "I came to Waffle House for cheese grits and eggs, not to have a man for breakfast and be traumatized! This shit better be free!"

11) Acknowledge The Corn (1839)

[Verb] Confess to being drunk, lying, or making mistake. in 1839 the Times-Picayune  in New Orleans wrote,  "We “acknowledge the corn.” . . The people there [in Mississippi] do not drink one-tenth part of what they do in this state." In 1842 a man in court was recorded telling the judge, "Your honor, I confess the corn. I was royally drunk." 

Example: I've gotta grow up, acknowledge the corn, and tell my co-worker that im the one who has been taking bites out of her sandwiches and putting them back in the fridge."

12) Lobsterback (18th Century)

[Noun] A derogatory term for British soldiers that may or may not have emerged prior to the American colonies. It was popular slur during revolutionary America,  and women who had sex with Lobsterbacks were known as 'lobster kettles'. 

Example: Can you believe those fucking lobsterbacks wanted us to pay taxes on tea and stamps without representation? LMAO they got us, but especially me, fucked up! 

13) Dick's Hatband (1796)

Something tight or strange

A person or thing that one doesn't know and cant identify. 

Nobody knows who the original Dick was (if there even was one), but the earliest use of this term was the 1796 edition of Francis Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. All three uses of the terms reached their peak in popularity in the 40s and 50s.

Example: "Her dress was tighter than Dick's Hatband, but all her evening workouts had really been paying off. "

Example: "He said we went to high school together but I was too polite to tell him I didn't know him from Dick's Hatband." 

14) Tenderfoot (1849)

[Noun]: A beginner, or novice. In the mid 1800s more people were moving to Western America than ever before especially after 1850's massive land grants and during the building of the transcontinental railroad. If migrants arrived to their new locations and weren't cut out for the life, they were regarded as a "tenderfoot". But being a soft-heeled newbie wasn't the only thing you'd get made fun of for. Funny accents or customs could net you the moniker. As a writer recalled in an 1866 edition of The Atlantic, "Awkwardness in comprehending this dialect easily reveals that the hearer bears the disgrace of being a “pilgrim,” or a “tender-foot,” as they [miners] style the new emigrant." 

Example: I brought him to the Bronx because I thought he was about that action, but wholetime that man was a tenderfoot!"

15) Hobs of Hell (1932)

A dramatic and vintage way to say "the hottest parts of hell."

Example: "If anyone will be burning in the hobs of hell for all an eternity, it's Donald Trump!"

16) Knocked Hat (1833)

To knock or shock someone into silence. 

Example: "I'm gonna throw your ass into a knocked hat if you don't let go of my eggos, dammit!"  

17) Faunch (1911)

[Verb] To rant, rave, or be angry OR to show impatience

Faunch was primarily in use in the early 20th century in the west and midlands. This word reminds me of "squanch" from Rick and Morty, like it can be used freely and contextually. 

Example: "He must want me to fucking faunch on his ass, he's over five hours late!"

18) Pungle (1851)

[Verb] To give out, pay up, or put money down. Pungle evolved from the Spanish word pongale, meaning "put it down," which comes from poner, meaning "to put" or more specifically "to contribute money". So when the term spread to Western Americans, it became the term for paying up money.

Example: "If you borrow money from a loanshark with no intentions of pungling, you've got a death wish." 

19) Minx (1576), Hussy (1505), Chippie (1886), Tootsie (1905)

All colorful words for sex workers. Break these out for your favorite pro-sex or pro-hoe lady in a loving way. She's gotta be tired of hearing the words "thot" and "hoe", right? Minx was originally used to describe sexy young women. Hussy, as I explained in this How To Investigate History post, evolved from the term Housewife. Chippie and Tootsie, meanwhile, has always meant sex worker. 

Example: "She's quite the little mynx, but she only sells nudes. If you really want a chippie to give you the good advice on monetizing sexual labor, you've gotta go with this girl I know on instagram."

By the way, in case you're one of those people who believes the term "hooker" came from union army General Joseph Hooker during the Civil War (because he let ladies of the night hang out and ply their trade in his division), the word has actually been used much longer than that. An 1835 copy of the New York Transcript includes the word hooker, in which a witness explains a woman is called so because she hung around a place called Corlears Hook. But some scholars say the term goes back further, with "hooker" coming from the habit of tootsies who hooked arms with their prospects when walking.

Sources

The Slang of Sin (Tom Dalzell)

The Puzzle of Dick's Hatband (Johnson)

Dictionary of American Regional English (Click Here For 100 Free Sample Entries)

Time Traveler By Merriam-Webster (Word database organized by year)