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30 Times People Realized Some Parts Of Their Vocabulary Went Out Of Fashion And Shared It Online
To make the perfect historical movie or TV series, it's not enough to build a flawless set or hire an interior expert to stand behind your CGI artist. It's not enough to give the actors makeup in the spirit of the era and dress them in authentic costumes, sewn using the technology appropriate to the time.
There will always be something that is the most difficult to fake. Language, or rather slang. Perhaps the most accurate mirror in the world, reflecting the specifics of any time. Language lives with us and changes no less often than, for example, fashion, with words coming in and out of vogue. And this viral thread in the AskReddit community is dedicated to examples of such slang words considered 'outdated'.
More info: Reddit
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
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#1
I was unaware sweet was out of date.
I said sweet to a customer and the tweens thought it was hilarious. Dad said dude. I said sweet. Dad said dude... back and forth until we laughed. Made my day but the tweens looked so confused.
#youhadtobethere
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#2
I was at a grocery store a while back and the person working the register was a young 20’s woman. She said something and I responded with “Right on” and she responds with “Oh, I love old timey sayings!”
So I guess that’s my old timey saying that I still use.
#3
Dude. I say it all the time...so much so that when my son was 3, he called me either "mommy" or "dude".
I ctfu once at the grocery store when we were checking out once and my son said, "Dude, can I have candy?"
Cashier looked at me and said, "Did he call you Dude?"
Yup.
Yes, it is slang that most accurately reflects the dynamics of the development of any language - because the academic norms of linguistics clearly don't keep up with the rapid fashion for words. Especially with the development of the internet. It is not surprising that it was in 1990, a year before the emergence of the worldwide web, that the American Dialect Society began to determine 'The Word of the Year' in the United States.
#5
I finish every sentence with Man, and I call everyone Dude. 🤷
#6
I've been known to use the word "copacetic" on occasion.
Comfortably Numb 10 months ago
And you learn to accept it, but no, we're copacetic
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Michael Largey 10 months ago
I used that word in class, and one of my students raised his hand and said "Sir, I don't think all of us are copacetic with that term."
Richard Graham 10 months ago
The origins of "copacetic" are a bit murky. However, the word was popularized by Cab Calloway and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the late 1930s. So you are in excellent company!
Bill Swallow 10 months ago
That's the spirit! Maintain a copious vocabulary, and switch it up at random intervals! (Keeps 'em on their toes, as Daffy Duck would say.) Also, check out https://phrontistery.info for lots more weird verbiage!
Mario Strada 10 months ago (edited)
For some reason "copacetic" always makes me think of Doc Holliday (of OK Corral and consumption fame). I think the actor playing him in one of the many films used it and it was the first time I encountered it. For the record, it likely wasn't used in that period as it was likely popularized in the 1920s. The actor must have found it old fashioned enough to insert it in the dialogue.
By the way, the history of words and expressions that became 'The Word of the Year' over the time perfectly illustrates the evolution of our lives. For example, in 1994 it was the word cyber, in 2003 - metrosexual, in 2009 - tweet, in 2020 - Covid, and in 2023 - ens**ttification (the pattern of decreasing quality of online platforms that function as two-sided markets). At the same time, some 'words of the year' are so irrevocably a thing of the past that it's difficult to remember their meaning without the appropriate context.
#8
Negating a sentence by end the sentence with “not”. For example: I trust Social Security retirement to be there for the young workers today, not!
“Any language is truly a living, constantly changing structure, especially when it comes to slang,” says Oleksiy Arkhireyev, a Ukrainian copywriter and novelist, who was asked by Bored Panda for a comment here. “And everything really depends on our perception. For example, in the '60s the word 'boomer' was perceived as the personification of everything young, progressive, full of energy, but now it has quite logically changed its meaning.”
“On the other hand, we stop accepting new words in the language where we feel comfortable, and if someone considers, for example, the words 'cool' and 'okey-dokey' to be outdated, then this is not at all a problem for people who actively use them in their speech. In any case, each generation, each year brings us more and more new words - only for them to, after some time, also 'go out of fashion.' This is an objective process - and that’s what makes linguistics so wonderful,” Oleksiy ponders.
#10
I’m the only person I know who responds to something with “Nice!”
#11
heavens to murgatroyd!
Der Kommissar 10 months ago (edited)
That was Snagglepuss's most famous quote, the other being " Exit, stage left ". Last time I mentioned Snagglepuss was the first gay cartoon character and got some downvotes.
#12
Dope
Edit: especially feels weird now that I’m almost 40 and use it to describe mundane things like salad dressing.
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
Millennials - always over hyping the mundane 😂 I love how we do that
It’s interesting that in this collection I personally found about a dozen words and expressions that I regularly use - and which other people perceive as outdated. Interesting experience, by the way - so please feel free to scroll this list to the very end, read all these stories about 'archaic slang' and maybe add your own examples in the comments below.
#13
I still use "cool" and refer to my close friends as "dude"
#14
Now we’re cooking with gas
Good grief
I refer to people as cool cats and good eggs
#15
Wicked.
Michael Fernandez 10 months ago
I still say wicked, and with the same inflection I used in junior high in 1973.
#16
I tell people 'peace out' and acknowledge things with 'word'. I'm 43
#17
Nifty
Legit had someone ask where I was from one time.
#18
Awesome sauce. I’m 49. I nearly fell over when my 17yo employee said it. She got it from her parents.
#20
I still use jank/janky/janked a lot, which I feel is a bit outdated. And the occasional 'bite me'.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 10 months ago
As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I use both of these terms XD I also manage to still slip "your MOM!" into the occasional convo with friends.
#21
Grody instead of gross
Michael Largey 10 months ago
This word was popularized by George Harrison using it as short for "grotesque" in A Hard Day's Night.
#22
Bee’s knees.
#23
10-4
#24
Mondo, tubular, groovy, totally colabrafo, radical. I'm basically a Ninja Turtle.
#25
Are the kids still saying yeet these days?
R.A. Haley 10 months ago
I love yeet. It's the exact sound things make when you chuck them over the fence. Wait a minute... "chuck." There's another one.
#26
"take it easy" is my go-to goodbye. I've been told that's outdated.
#28
I’m big on gnarly and solid. I was not around during the timeframe they would’ve been popular. I have no idea why I say them
#29
sick. boss. rad. dude. bro. bruh. half of these i started saying ironically because i hated them, but it turns out i was the douche all along and now they won't leave my vocabulary lmao what a twist for the many people talking about how un-outdated some of my list is: can you not already see i am a dumba**?
allow me to live, brü. i am a 34yo woman/alien and idk what the hell is ever going on lmao EDIT: PLEASE LEARN TO READ LOL i have already said some of these are apparently not outdated!! i wish your reading comprehension was the same BRÜ
#30
What’s crackin
What do you think ?
wowbagger 10 months ago
"Geez Louise" and "okey-dokey" are the ones that creep into my language. Good lord, I also said "scuttlebutt" the other day, and I was like, where the heck did that come from? I use "cool" a lot, too, but I don't see it on the list. If it's not outdated, it must be one of the most long-lasting slang words ever.
Auntriarch 10 months ago
Cool may not be cool but it's definitely mainstream now
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Zaphod 10 months ago
I did not see, "tubular". Not outdated, but I like to say, "No worries." It sounds very AUS/NZ to me.
Der Kommissar 10 months ago (edited)
Great Gosh-A-Mighty. Lawdy mama. Lawd have mercy. Dad nabbit. Golshdarnit. " Swell " ""as in if you could come to the party, that would be swell. ""
Libstak 10 months ago
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Also, bless you when I really wanna say good riddance.
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Bill Swallow 10 months ago
Hey, everybody in this thread! Check out the movie 'Ball of Fire' (1941), with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. A group of professors working on a new encyclopedia (Gary Cooper is researching the topic of 'Slang', a major plot element) while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover. Howard Hawks directed this very entertaining modernization of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'.
ZombieGirl 9 months ago
The kids these days have SO many, too many, slang words. They sound stupid to be honest, lol. Slang words in my day were simple like cool, awesome, dude, etc. I was talking to my niece yesterday and she was going on and on about someone at her school being a bop. I was like....what the heck is a bop? She said it meant hoe. I was like....why don't yall just say hoe? Makes no sense to me lol
Knitting Panda 9 months ago
I mostly use old timey talk with my boi Li'l Tex, the corgi. He's getting up there in years. He's 11, and I like to surround him with comforting words and phrases.
Squirrelly Panda 9 months ago
Gadzooks, this was a sweet read. Stick a fork in it, it's done. Bummer.
Tomato Smudge 10 months ago
I've been told I'm outdated because apparently no one says "gnarly", "hella", or "kick@ss" anymore.
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
I still use - Groovy and - Moxie casually and enthusiastically
Apatheist Account2 10 months ago
Well 'ard! It means "good" and dates from UK TV show Eastenders in the 1980s, but does make an appearance in the subtitles of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Two Tribes video (attributed to Yasir Arafat, if I remember correctly).
Roan The Demon Kitty 10 months ago
idk if it's different in London or Cockney slang, but if you refer to someone as "well 'ard" up in Yorkshire, it means they're strong and can beat someone in a fight... except it's usually used in a mocking way when someone beefs themselves up "ooh you're well 'ard you aren't ya" xD
Load More Replies...
wowbagger 10 months ago
"Geez Louise" and "okey-dokey" are the ones that creep into my language. Good lord, I also said "scuttlebutt" the other day, and I was like, where the heck did that come from? I use "cool" a lot, too, but I don't see it on the list. If it's not outdated, it must be one of the most long-lasting slang words ever.
Auntriarch 10 months ago
Cool may not be cool but it's definitely mainstream now
Load More Replies... Zaphod 10 months ago
I did not see, "tubular". Not outdated, but I like to say, "No worries." It sounds very AUS/NZ to me.
Der Kommissar 10 months ago (edited)
Great Gosh-A-Mighty. Lawdy mama. Lawd have mercy. Dad nabbit. Golshdarnit. " Swell " ""as in if you could come to the party, that would be swell. ""
Libstak 10 months ago
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Also, bless you when I really wanna say good riddance.
Load More Replies... Bill Swallow 10 months ago
Hey, everybody in this thread! Check out the movie 'Ball of Fire' (1941), with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. A group of professors working on a new encyclopedia (Gary Cooper is researching the topic of 'Slang', a major plot element) while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover. Howard Hawks directed this very entertaining modernization of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'.
ZombieGirl 9 months ago
The kids these days have SO many, too many, slang words. They sound stupid to be honest, lol. Slang words in my day were simple like cool, awesome, dude, etc. I was talking to my niece yesterday and she was going on and on about someone at her school being a bop. I was like....what the heck is a bop? She said it meant hoe. I was like....why don't yall just say hoe? Makes no sense to me lol
Knitting Panda 9 months ago
I mostly use old timey talk with my boi Li'l Tex, the corgi. He's getting up there in years. He's 11, and I like to surround him with comforting words and phrases.
Squirrelly Panda 9 months ago
Gadzooks, this was a sweet read. Stick a fork in it, it's done. Bummer.
Tomato Smudge 10 months ago
I've been told I'm outdated because apparently no one says "gnarly", "hella", or "kick@ss" anymore.
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
I still use - Groovy and - Moxie casually and enthusiastically
Apatheist Account2 10 months ago
Well 'ard! It means "good" and dates from UK TV show Eastenders in the 1980s, but does make an appearance in the subtitles of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Two Tribes video (attributed to Yasir Arafat, if I remember correctly).
Roan The Demon Kitty 10 months ago
idk if it's different in London or Cockney slang, but if you refer to someone as "well 'ard" up in Yorkshire, it means they're strong and can beat someone in a fight... except it's usually used in a mocking way when someone beefs themselves up "ooh you're well 'ard you aren't ya" xD
Load More Replies... 
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