Antsville, burn rubber and other 1950s slang.

Slang has been used throughout history by many different groups of people and occupations, with various words falling in and out of popularity.  In the 1920s the word “ace” was slang for a one dollar bill and in the 1930s if you said you were about to “blow your wig,” that meant you were very excited.  1950s slang was different because it was heavily influenced by the youth of the decade.  Young people created a much larger vocabulary of slang and a lot of it remains in use today.  The hot rod culture and Beat generation also had a major impact on the development of 1950s slang.

Here is a list of popular 1950s slang terms and their definitions.  How many of these terms are still being used today?  If you’re coming to Gunther Toody’s for breakfast in Denver you may want to use some of this slang and really get into the spirit of the classic 1950s diner.

Actor – A show-off

Ankle biter – Child

Antsville – A place full of lots of people

Are you writing a book? – Meant to imply the person was asking too many questions.

Blast – A good time

Big tickle – Really funny

Burn rubber – Accelerate hard and fast

Butter-and-egg – An out-of-town sucker

Chill your chat – Shut-up

Circled – Married

Cube – Someone who is more boring than a “square”

Dead Soldiers – Empty beer bottles

Flick – Movie

Free to run for President – Unemployed

Go for pinks – A drag race where the car’s pink slip is at stake

Grody – Sloppy, messy, dirty

Have one on the city – A drink of water

Hitting the hop – Doing drugs

Kill – To really impress

Nest – Bad hair

Nuggets – Loose change

Pile up some Z’s – Go to sleep

Radioactive – Very popular

Sides – Vinyl records

Spaz – A klutz

Taken off the payroll – Killed

Washington – A dollar

Gunther Toody's menu items and restaurant interiors

 

http://pleasantview1956.proboards.com/thread/233