The slang that once made you sound effortlessly cool in the 1970s can now make you sound like you just stepped out of a time capsule.
Can you imagine someone saying “groovy” now, with a straight face? Those days are long gone. Modern-day language moves faster than a disco ball spins, and few examples of this are better than the everyday slang we use. According to a recent survey by Preply, 80% of Americans regularly use old, outdated slang words, but over 55% of that 80% say that they use it in a jokey, ironic way.
Gen Z and Millennials have migrated entirely to digital-age idioms, leaving the colorful language of the disco era in the dust.
Groovy
This term was like the hot stamp of approval at the time. Imagine someone hearing a cool new song or liking a sharp jacket and saying, “That’s groovy.” That thing, whatever it was, was just the thing. The phrase was coined by jazz musicians who spoke of getting “in the groove.” Still, it exploded into popular culture during the hippie era.
The 2024 Christian Science Monitor guide to Millennial and Gen Z slang classifies “groovy” as outdated slang. And, the guide states explicitly that the word is “won’t ever come back in style,” cementing it as a retro or old-timey term. That’s a different story entirely. Today, most young people would laugh if someone seriously referred to their new sneakers as “groovy.”
Far out
This was what the equivalent of today’s “that’s insane” or “no way!” was in the ’70s. “Far out” was what people said when something absolutely blew you away, like learning that men had walked on the moon, or watching an incredible mind-bending magic trick.
It originated in the notion that if something was cool, if it was actually transcendent, it was out there somewhere, off in the unacknowledged land of the elves, outside of the day-to-day of popular culture.
Boogie
The Online Etymology Dictionary traces the word “boogie” back to 1917, as American slang for a “rent party.” Dancing was no joke in the ’70s, and “boogie” was that word.
These parties were often musical and dance events where people would contribute money to help someone pay the rent. Instead, the party crowd of today likes to say they’re “getting down,” “vibing,” or “dancing it out” when the music is absolutely perfect.
Funky
This word had major musical street cred in the ’70s. Something “funky” meant a rhythm only that special, a hipness that no one could want to get down to. The word was lifted from funk music, but it grew to mean pretty much anything distinctive, with a touch of swagger.
Oddly enough, the word still appears from time to time in music-world contexts. Still, it has simply lost its larger cultural significance.
Jive turkey
This was an insult that really, really hurt back in the day. According to Dictionary.com, “jive turkey” is a 1970s-era AAVE slang term referring to an unreliable person who makes empty promises or is dishonest.
For modern equivalents: calling someone fake, cringe, or telling them they’re “doing too much” when they’re being obnoxious.
Book it
In the 1970s, if you needed to move quickly out of a place, you would “book it.” Consider this: you’ve just spotted your ex across the room at a party, or you’re about to miss curfew, it’s time to book it!
The phrase was to hurry so fast you were a book flying off a shelf. Today, young people have a whole new set of ways to express the same sense of urgency. They’ll use the phrase, “let’s dip,” “I’m about to bounce,” or “we need to jet” when making an impromptu escape.
Pad or crib
In the 1970s, your living space had its own language! Guys chatted about returning to their “pad” or inviting friends over to see their new “crib.” They were the language that invested the most modest apartment with cool sophistication.
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “pad means “to walk, to travel on foot, tramp slowly or wearily along. “Crib” holds a little better, but only in certain towns. Most people today simply say “place,” “apartment,” or “house” without the colorful qualifiers.
Right on
This was basically the double-certifying high-five of olden times. A good piece of news would be shared or a fine point would be made, and the response was a hearty “right on!”
The term had the right kind of positive energy behind it, indicating that you were really into whatever was happening. The modern version would be “facts,” or “bet,” or “for real,” or just plain “yes!” any time people want to signal that they’re in complete agreement.
Can you dig it?
“Can you dig it?” is dated American slang meaning “Do you understand?” or “Do you approve?” according to The Free Dictionary.
It often came up during passionate conversations when someone wanted to make sure their point was getting across. The word “dig” in this context meant to understand or appreciate something on a deeper level.
Trippin’
When someone was being overly dramatic, extra, or just straight up weird, they were “trippin’.” And what the word conveyed was that someone was so out of touch with reality that they might as well have been on a psychedelic trip.
You’d use it when your friend was faux-dramatizing or having a cow over nothing. It is very rarely used today in ordinary speech. Instead, they say that someone is being “extra,” “doing the most,” or simply “wilding out” when they act extremely.
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Do me a solid
Asking for favors had its own special language back then. According to Grammarhow, the expression “do me a solid” means to do something for someone else as an act of kindness, or to do someone a favor.
The word “solid” subtly implied that the favor was serious, something important, something weighty, the way “help me out” means asking for help today.
Hang loose
And that’s the carefree, relaxing message that was suggested by all of this. It epitomized the relaxed mindset many people strove for during the decade.
There was often a hand gesture to accompany the phrase: hand shaped like a phone, with thumb and pinky extended and the other three fingers folded down.
Bogart
Here’s an expression that originated in Hollywood and has endured for decades.
According to Etymonline, the slang verb “bogart” does indeed originate from the idea of maintaining a joint to oneself and not sharing it, much like Humphrey Bogart was perceived to do with his cigarettes in old movies.
Fox and foxy mama
Beautiful women received some nearly absurd compliments in the 1970s. To be called a “fox” or a “foxy mama” was a high compliment, indicating that a person was beautiful and had that something extra.
The animal analogy was designed to emphasize shrewdness and charm together. Today’s equivalent might be calling someone a “baddie,” or saying that someone is “gorgeous” or “looks amazing.”
Out to lunch
This wasn’t really about meal breaks; it was a diplomatic way of saying that someone was confused or distracted or had missed entirely the point. Dictionary.com defines “out to lunch” as “not in touch with the real world, crazy” and also as “inattentive.”
If your friend kept forgetting essential details or seemed totally disconnected from reality, they were “out to lunch.” Today’s speakers often prefer to say someone is “lost,” “spaced out,” or “not paying attention” when describing the same mental absence.
Key takeaway
Language evolves quickly than we imagine, and slang terms have shorter life expectancies than ever. These acronyms from the 1970s demonstrate just how much communication styles can change in a few decades. For older generations, hearing these terms might evoke nostalgia, but younger speakers have invented a whole new vocabulary to say the same things.
The addition of social or digital media has only sped up this linguistic evolution, causing each new generation’s slang to be further removed from that of the former.
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- 15 once-popular Boomer hobbies that are less common today
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