1970's slang

[Haven Walkur]

Greetings, all.

I'm playing a timelost character in a Champions version of the Legion of Superheroes setting. Gamma Girl grew up in America in the 70s, playing Robin to her guardian Lady Gray's Batman. In 1979, at age 17, she got transported across time and parallels to the DC Universe Earth, 30th Century. Now she's a Legionnaire, but she still occasionally uses 70's slang--and I'm too old and too English to know much besides 'groovy', 'far out', 'wild' and 'crazy'.

Can anybody help me with a more complete list of things teenagers actually said in the 1970s? Did American teens still use dated 1960s phrases in the 70s? What was 'hot' and what was not in terms of speech in the America of the 1970s?

Any help would by greatly appreciated. I'm really pleased with the character, but just how often can I have her say "Far out," in one session? I mean, really!

[OddHat]

From an EFL Lesson Plan:

Boss!: cool; awesome.

Bread: money.

Check ya later: see you later.

Dy-no-mite!: great. Made popular by the TV series Good Times.

Far out, man!: ThatÃ*s really cool!

Foxy: good looking.

Gravy: sweet,cool,excellent.

Groovy: cool.

I Hear That: I accept your decision.

Jinkies!: sign of surprise, "Oh my gosh!" "Oh dear!"

Jive Turkey: a detestable person.

Later: see you later.

Let's book: let's leave this place.

Mellow out: chill out or calm down.

Outta Sight: far-out. Very cool or good.

Psychedelic: awesome.

See ya on the flipside: see ya later.

Slide: to give.

[Enforcer84]

Christmas!
( a mild oath given to Marvel's Blaxploitation hero, Luke Cage, Powerman)

[Cheiro]

Honky: a racial slur used for white folks.
It peaked in the seventies.
You don't hear it much anymore.
I miss it.

[Cheiro]

Just remembered another-
Heavy: a term used to denote the seriousness of a situation or event.

[OddHat]

Shazbot! - TV replacement for profanity from the Mork and Mindy show

[Publius]

A LSH campaign sounds very neat, I'm jealous.

Were they still using "Peace" in the 70s? Heck I was a kid in the 70s, but I seem to remember it was still in some use (in fact, one of my firends still uses it). That reminds me: "Dude", "Cool", etc. are still pretty commonplace now, but they were used then too as I recall. Not everything has to be "vintage 70s" in the sense that it was unique to that time.

There are also some things other than langauge: She might talk about the energy crisis and the sense of mistrust for the government that had come out befoire (and most certainly after) Watergate. There were some pretty widspread Litter campaigns then as well as I recall. Some products might be handy too, "I just wish they had some V-8 in this century"

Cheiro is right too, nobody has called me a honky in some time but it was rather well used in that time period.

[BobGreenwade]

Jive: self-aggrandizing lies

[Killer Shrike]

Copasetic
Hang loose
Are you for real?
Far out
Bad vibes, man
Keep on truckin
{various CB radio lingo}
Neat-o
Old Man/Lady
Mellow
Mellow Out
Keep it mellow
{etc}
The "Fuzz" or the "Heat"
Establishment
Trippin
Trip out
On a trip
{etc}
F******-A

Some general things, in the 70's it wasnt just what you said, it was how you said it.

Stretch words to add pacing and slow speech down.
Dont pronounce g's at the end of words.
Add Man to the end of every sentence where possible.
Never act concerned or stressed about anything; the 70's were all about chillin out and not lettin the establishment get you down, man.

[Blue Jogger]

Here's a few, that I think are 70s, at least they sound 70s

"Oh, that is completely wacked." (another word for bogus or wrong)

"Mellow out." (Relax)

"Are you hip?" (Are you understanding)

[Savinien]

Way cool, Cat.

Gnarly.

Totally tubular and the Valley Girl era. (Or was that the early 80s?)

[Magmarock]

Believe it or not, we also said, "Cool". Some words never go out of style.

I remember that for a while there, my stepbrother was stuck on the word, "Excellent" and this was in the mid-to late 70's.



Mags

[Cheiro]

snip

I remember that for a while there, my stepbrother was stuck on the word, "Excellent" and this was in the mid-to late 70's.



Mags

See, I always think of Bill & Ted when I hear "Excellent!". That was like the late 80's or early 90's.

[Chimpira]

One of my personal faves is "you damn skippy!" I think it was used in the 70's. It is like saying "of course, I am correct" if you were wondering.

[BobGreenwade]

This is also about when the term "narc" for any squealer or snitch started (I'm not sure whether it's still in use or not).