Language changes and evolves every moment of every day. The words we use as teenagers inevitably go out of fashion, as will the vocabulary of every generation before or since.
As bittersweet as it can be to see times change, this also gives the slang of our youth a rather beautiful power. It’s hard not to get nostalgic and misty-eyed hearing the words and phrases that will forever be uniquely “ours”.
Do these conjure up any powerful memories or emotions?
Ankle-biter – In hindsight, quite a vicious way to describe a toddler — but we said it with love and affection.
Let’s split – “I’m bored, let’s split!” was used when you were planning to leave.
Widgie — A teenage female delinquent; never far from their male counterparts, the bodgies.
Ant’s pants — A delightful Aussie version of the ‘bee’s knees’ or ‘cat’s whiskers’.
Get bent! – This term was used not to talk about marijuana, but simply a way to say “go away”, as one would be asked to “get stuffed” today.
Nosebleed – This term was a name you called someone you thought was a bit of a jerk. “Hey nosebleed, watch where you’re going next time, huh?”
No sweat – “I did it, no sweat”, you’d say when someone asked you if you’d run three miles.
Kooky – It’s increasingly rare to hear somebody behaving oddly to be referred to as a “kook”.
She’ll be apples — Because “she’ll be right” just wasn’t kooky enough as Australian slang.
Spit the dummy — We think this one has quite a few years of mileage left. It’s remains a perfect way to describe the tantrum of a child… or a professional sports player.
Threads – As used in the statement, “those are some swanky threads you’ve got on” to describe someone who was well dressed.
Pad – This was the name for a house or home “Nice pad”. It’s still used today in the “cool set”.
Righto – “Righto Dad, whatever you say” was a way of being agreeable.
Like a stunned mullet — Few phrases can describe a bewildered person better than this.
Greaser – Originally used to describe a guy with tons of hair product in his hair, but within a few years it was used to describe the recognisable era of youths from the 1950s.
Happy as Larry — This one will often get a blank stare from the grandkids. Who’s Larry?
Heat – The word for the police, often used by people trying to avoid them, i.e. “I think that’s the heat, man, let’s split!”
Mad as a cut snake — Many foreigners still believe we use this daily!
Peepers – If you wore glasses in the 50s, they may have been referred to as “peepers”. “Look at his giant nerdy peepers” was not uncommon.
Burn rubber – This term for cars accelerating hard and fast remains in use to this day.
Made in the shade – A curious way to describe somebody sure destined for success.