So through with COOL!

[Marc Chevalier]

Film buffs: what words do the adolescents in golden age movies use when they want to be obnoxious?

"Dizzy dame."

"Fairy."

"Yer grandma sucks eggs!" "Go suck an egg!"

"That an' yer mother!"

"Take a long walk off a short pier!"

"The old broad!" "The old battle axe!"

"Yeah, sure."

.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yahhh, go sit on a tack!

 

[Talbot]

This is probably an Aussie thing....

When I was a lot younger, before cool we had 'grouse'.

'Those shoes look grouse!'

'We're having a grouse time!'

I have no idea where it came from. Its probably a pretty bogan thing to say these days, but its ok if you are drinking woodstock bourbon and cola pre mix.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

In the military, we'd say "outstanding" all the time. It effectively replaced the word "cool.".

After many years, I recently had a perfect storm of an opportunity to use outstanding in a manner I remember a high school algebra teacher once using it; I had to tell a certain annoying, otiose cockalorum (you can look those words up when you get home) that he was "about to be outstanding . . . out standing in the hall."

I've recently begun a personal crusade to eliminate the use of so as an intensifier in my own speech - according to Strunk and White, it is not an intensifier. I know it's been in such usage for generations, but it's so valley-girlish when used that way. I mean, it's totally valley-girlish.


I'm so outta here,
Lee

 

[Chas]

"Ah, kiss my royal American!"

"Go soak yer head!"

"Go jump in the lake!" Funny how a lot of "get lost"-type orders were water-related.


I'm done with the word 'cool', as well. Unless we are taking about cool jazz. But I'd rather not.

It's not enough to kill a word. It has to be replaced.

I nominate "Swell". Alternatively, "Swellegant" is nice.

 

[Talbot]

Your mother wears combat boots!

 

[MrNewportCustom]

There they go listing phat in the OED and already it needs to be marked archaic.

Please remind me to never, ever buy a modern dictionary!


Lee

 

[Benny Holiday]

When I was a lot younger, before cool we had 'grouse'.

'Those shoes look grouse!'

'We're having a grouse time!'

I have no idea where it came from. Its probably a pretty bogan thing to say these days, but its ok if you are drinking woodstock bourbon and cola pre mix.

It's an older Aussie slang word, not much heard in Sydney but I notice it used quite a bit by friends in Melbourne, even those in their early thirties.

 

[carter]

From the last episode of Life on Mars (Am)

"You're one Brady short of a Bunch!"

 

[Fletch]

"If this is _______, I'll take vanilla!" A 1920s-30s expression of disdain or rejection of an idea or thing.

"Horsefeathers!" "Applesauce!" "Eyewash!" "Banana oil!" Expressions of disbelief.

You know Horsefeathers was a movie, but there were two movies called I'll Take Vanilla, as well as a comic strip and pop song called Banana Oil.

I've had this happen many times.

The chemical compound isoamyl acetate is known as banana oil. But it isn't made from bananas - it just smells like 'em.

 

[reetpleat]

"Dizzy dame."

"Fairy."

"Yer grandma sucks eggs!" "Go suck an egg!"

"That an' yer mother!"

"Take a long walk off a short pier!"

"The old broad!" "The old battle axe!"

"Yeah, sure."

.

"Aaaaahhh, sode's your old man"

 

[reetpleat]

The word "Foxy!" is missing too.

.

foxy seems to be making a comeback, but perhaps only amongst hipsters trying to revive the seventies in an ironic tongue in cheek way.

However, it generally is not used for good in general, just a good looking person.

On the other hand, both a person, or a thing or idea can be "hot"

 

[Idledame]

The expression bitchin' was big when I was in Junior High, and the first time I used it at home my parents were ready to punish me for using it. Luckily my older brother who was in High School explained to them that it was not cussing but a common slang word. Older brothers can be cool!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In the late '70s, we said "intense!" a lot.

.

 

[pigeon toe]

It's an older Aussie slang word, not much heard in Sydney but I notice it used quite a bit by friends in Melbourne, even those in their early thirties.

An Aussie girl I knew last year used it! She's only 21 or 22. None of us Americans ever knew what the heck she was talking about when she would say 'grouse' and the accent only made it more confusing!

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

OK, I tried to read through all the posts (it was fun but I also started gettin' a headache lol ) to see if anyone already came up with this angle:

All of these words came from someone originally.

Don't like 'cool', come up with a new one. Something as utterly ridiculous as many we've shared here, and use it a lot, and see if it catches on!

"Hey man, that dude's roach."

or

"Did you hear that new song, it's really shine"

or.... your turn - I dare you.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Your new hat is totally spuckie!

 

[MrNewportCustom]

A buddy in high school introduced a new word of his own when he signed my yearbook. Lo, these many decades later, I still remember it: Zambreck.


Lee

For some reason, it didn't catch on. [huh]

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Your new hat is totally spuckie!

Why, thank you. I think? lol

 

[Forgotten Man]

Man, I've got to say, I had no idea this topic would take off like this... just like my dear Miss 1940s put it: It's bigger then Uranium! lol

I'm feelin' better now that I've stopped the usage of "Cool"... I just say swell, or neat! Depends on the context of course. The other day a supervisor asked me to do something, I replied that it would be a "push over" and she asked: What do you mean by that? I said it would be a led pipe synch! She then asked: I don't understand, then I said: Ok, it would be EASY! HAHAHAHAHA!

I've been watching lots of old 30s movies so, I'm really, really trying hard to work those old terms into my daily vocabulary so it would come natural and easy. No room for cool, dude or any other pathetic modern day terms in my mission to develop a colorful and entertaining depression era language. It really is like learning a new language!