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Talk like it's 1927

1920s Slang Cheat Sheet

Saying something is great

  • the bee's knees: excellent, the best
  • the cat's pajamas: excellent (also "the cat's meow")
  • the berries: wonderful
  • copacetic: fine, all in order
  • swell: great, very good
  • keen: attractive, appealing
  • ritzy: fancy, expensive
  • hotsy-totsy: just right, pleasing
  • the real McCoy: the genuine article
  • hitting on all sixes: running perfectly
  • knows her onions: knows what she is talking about
  • and how!: strong agreement

Calling nonsense

  • applesauce: nonsense
  • horsefeathers: nonsense
  • banana oil: nonsense, flattery
  • baloney: nonsense
  • bunk: nonsense, lies
  • says you!: I don't believe it
  • the heebie-jeebies: the jitters
  • wet blanket: someone who spoils the fun
  • flat tire: a dull date

People

  • flapper: a fashionable young woman who breaks the rules
  • sheik: an attractive young man
  • sheba: an attractive young woman
  • dame: a woman
  • doll: an attractive woman
  • moll: a gangster's girlfriend
  • gold digger: someone who dates for money
  • lounge lizard: a man who hangs around clubs to meet women
  • hoofer: a dancer
  • big cheese: the boss
  • good egg: a decent person
  • sap: a fool
  • palooka: a clumsy oaf, a second-rate boxer
  • rube: a country bumpkin
  • bluenose: a prude

Drinking and Prohibition

  • speakeasy: an illegal bar
  • juice joint: a speakeasy
  • gin mill: a cheap bar
  • blind pig: a low-end illegal bar
  • hooch: liquor, usually illegal
  • giggle water: alcohol
  • bathtub gin: homemade gin
  • bootlegger: someone who makes or sells illegal liquor
  • rum-runner: someone who smuggles liquor
  • dry / wet: for Prohibition / against it
  • ossified: very drunk
  • spifflicated: very drunk
  • zozzled: drunk
  • blotto: drunk

Crime and the law

  • bump off: kill
  • take for a ride: kill (by driving someone somewhere quiet)
  • rub out: kill
  • gat: a gun
  • torpedo: a hired gunman
  • pinch: an arrest; to arrest
  • the big house: prison
  • on the lam: on the run
  • sing: confess, inform
  • stool pigeon: an informer
  • fall guy: the one who takes the blame
  • frame: set someone up
  • racket: a criminal business
  • flatfoot / copper: a police officer
  • gumshoe / shamus: a private detective
  • mouthpiece: a lawyer

Money and everyday things

  • dough / clams: money
  • fin: a five-dollar bill
  • sawbuck: a ten-dollar bill
  • C-note: a hundred-dollar bill
  • glad rags: your best clothes
  • cheaters: glasses
  • gams: legs
  • dogs: feet
  • kisser: mouth, face
  • lid: a hat
  • flivver: a cheap old car
  • scram / beat it: go away
  • blow: leave

sleuthnight.com · Death at the Speakeasy, a 1920s murder mystery party for 6 to 16