Cool
1960s Slang That Will Remind You of Simpler Times
These days, throwbacks are one of the most popular trends of the internet. Pinterest is oozing with mid-century modern furniture. Recent styles have given nods to fashion from the ’60s. Even vintage camping gear is making a comeback. If you’re anything like us here at FamilyWise, you probably enjoy a good, old-fashioned throwback post yourself every now and then. It’s well-known that nostalgia brings us together as families, communities, and species. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of the best 1960s words and phrases ever.
If you’re looking for some quirky adjectives or unique terms of phrase, you’ve come to the right place. These sayings will have you jumping back into your bellbottoms and gogo boots, flipping on The Brady Bunch, and settling in for a long night of peace signs, the Rolling Stones, and beehive hairstyles.
1960s Terms to Bring Out Your Inner Screaming Beatles Fan
“Foxy”
If you were considered a foxy individual back in the 60s, you were most likely one of the most attractive people in the room.
“What’s your bag?”
No, back in the day, this did not refer to someone’s luggage. Rather, it was another way to ask what issues someone was dealing with.
“Can you dig it?”
There was no other way to ask the question as to whether or not you were understood by the person you were speaking to. “Do you understand?” was simply not cool enough.
“Gimme some skin!”
No, this doesn’t mean what you think it means. It’s simply another way of asking for a handshake.
“Far Out!”
This essentially means that you approve of something or someone. You think something’s cool, you would describe it as “far out.”
“Old Lady”
This is a not-so-flattering term of endearment for your girlfriend or wife, although we don’t recommend calling them that to their faces.
“Hang Loose”
This one is probably one of the only sayings on our list that is still pretty well-known. It means “to chill out,” or to “hang out.”
“Freak Flag”
If you consider yourself to be a bit of a weirdo, then back in the 60s, you would have officially been in possession of a “freak flag.”
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“Fuzz”
Who knows why this was another name for the cops? It could have had something to do with their buzzed hairstyles or doughnut mustaches.
“It’s a gas”
If something was described this way, it would have been a hilarious event. In other words, you would describe a comedy show as “a gas.”
“Bogart”
To bogart is to hog all the good stuff. If you’ve eaten the majority of the pizza, you’ve officially bogarted all the pizza.
“Bread”
This one is still in use today, mostly in the phrase, “Let’s get this bread.” Back in the 60s, it was synonymous with the word money.
“Beat feet”
This was a term that you would say if you had to get out of a situation quickly. Like, “let’s bounce!” or “let’s get outta here!”
“Bummer”
We all know the meaning of this one. If something is a bummer, then it probably didn’t happen the way it was supposed to happen.
“Outta Sight”
If something was described as “outta sight,” it was probably pretty unbelievable. This is what you’d use to describe a great view or a beautiful painting.
“Play Chicken”
Actually, this was a highly dangerous game teenagers played–revving their cars at each other because it was just the cool thing to do after school, I guess.
“Jazzed”
So there’s nothing expressly Gatsby about this word, but back in the day, it was simply another way of saying one was excited about something.
“Just for Kicks”
This is a phrase we still use today, but you might not know it was used frequently throughout the sixties in lieu of the phrase “just for fun.”
“Stoked”
If you were excited or looking forward to something, you might say you were pretty stoked about it.
“Chrome Dome”
This was basically just a crude nickname for a bald man. The kind of thing a group of punk kids would call you after egging your house and TPing your yard on Halloween… not so nice.
“Deuce”
All the hippies out there will know this one. If you’re one of those people that threw up a not-so-casual peace sign in every single photo from high school, anyone from the 60s would say you’re throwing up a deuce.
“Don’t flip your wig”
You would make this suggestion to a woman in panic mode. That is unless she’s reached the panic point of no return. In which case, you do not attempt to tell her to calm down–it will only make her more frustrated and she might physically assault you.
“Gnarly”
This term, which most of us today know to be used synonymously with words like “cool” or “awesome,” was used back in the 1960s as a word to describe something huge or difficult.
“In the groove”
If you were described as being “in the groove,” you were officially the epitome of cool.
“Mirror Warmer”
This was a way to insult someone who looks in the mirror too much.
“Mop-Top”
This is what you would call the hairstyle made trendy by the Beatles. It makes sense, seeing as how their hair did literally resemble a mop.
“Skuzz Bucket”
This would be what you would call a disgusting person or thing. For example, one would say, “Stop pickin’ your nose, ya skuzz bucket!”
“Five-finger discount”
If someone takes out a five-finger discount, it means they stole something. We don’t recommend trying to cash this particular coupon.
“Peggers”
This is another word for tight jeans with cuffed hems. If you were stylish back in the 60s, you definitely had a pair of peggers to strut around in–on the days you weren’t rocking your gogo boots, of course.
“All Show and No Go”
This essentially means someone is more beauty than brains, pretty with no substance.
“Around the Bend”
No, this isn’t a line from your favorite Disney movie songs, though it’s pretty close. If you were borderline crazy or strange back in the 60s, you would have been described as being “around the bend.”
“Baggies”
Why call them swim trunks when you could just call them baggies? There’s really nothing to be said for this one, other than the fact that the people of the 1960s were kind of eccentric when it came to, like, talking. After all, who needs normalcy when you can start replacing old-fashioned, traditional phrases with random, wonky, made-up ones just for the fun of it?