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Slang that now sounds dated

Words that once sounded current and now sound like somebody’s grandfather.

About this list

Every word here is one Wiktionary marks as slang and as dated, archaic, or obsolete. Most carry no firm year, which is why they have a list of their own instead of a place in the eras.

200 words

all that
Of especially good quality; particularly excellent.
most
The greatest; the best.
two-to-one
The pawnbroker's sign of three balls.
how much
you what? huh?
do a never
To mess about; to idle instead of working.
come it
To succeed in a trick of any sort.
get off on
To fight (somebody); to win a fight against (someone); to insult or provoke (someone) to a fight.
on the game
Working as a thief.
little people
The Vietnamese, particularly in the Vietnam War.
high-go
A celebration; a party.
set with
To accept, handle or agree with (something).
side out
three outs.
call a go
To give up and desist; call it a day.
take your change out of that
Jeering remark accompanying a rejoinder or a physical blow.
light out
To go away or depart, especially in haste or without notice.
air off
To speak loudly.
little guy
A Vietnamese man, particularly in the Vietnam War.
different story
Any story featuring elements of science fiction or fantasy (as opposed to typical stories which are set in the real world).
get across
To succeed; to do well.
get someone in a line
To hoax or entrap somebody, so as to get some sport out of them.
june
To rush.
date up
To have an affair or dalliance with (someone).
blue
To spend (money) extravagantly; to blow.
step it
To run away; scram.
get round
To convince or trick (someone).
dead man
An extra loaf stolen from a bakery by a servant who smuggles it into the customer's basket (and sometimes fraudulently charges it to the customer).
break one off
To throw a curve ball.
air-girl
A female aviator.
give someone the air
To jilt or ditch a lover.
Old Bill
A soldier, especially one who resembles the cartoon character of the same name created by Bruce Bairnsfather in 1914.
never trust me
Used in oaths, suggesting that one should never be trusted again if what one says now is not true.
George
A coin bearing King George's profile.
take a fall out of
get the better of
stop lead
To be killed by a bullet from a gun.
capital
used as an expression of approval, satisfaction, or delight.
I'll be shot
A mild imprecation.
ball off
To depart, especially quickly; to hurry away; to leave at a particular speed.
do it brown
Synonym of do it up brown (“to do something well or thoroughly”).
on the cross
dishonestly
ball it off
Synonym of ball off (to leave at a particular speed).
death star
a direct-to-home satellite television satellite (used by the cable television provider industry, to describe their competitors and the effect they would have in decimating the cable industry, prior to the introduction…
join out
To join up with a gang, band, workplace, etc., often to move away from home in order to do so.
kid on
To entice or incite.
paper house
An audience composed of people who have come in on free passes.
paper the house
To give away free tickets to a theater performance etc. so as to ensure a sizeable audience.
do it up brown
To do something well or thoroughly.
gun
A magsman or street thief.
heavy
A serious theatrical role.
clean out
To hit or strike (someone); to beat up.
red lead
Tomato ketchup.
pro
A proproctor.
that's your sort
That's it; that's the spirit; expressing approval or encouragement.
blue fire
Sensational romanticism.
commission
A shirt or chemise.
do someone brown
To deceive someone thoroughly; to take in completely.
heavy man
A lawbreaker or criminal.
bad to beat
Difficult to beat; sure to succeed.
cut round
To show off; to be performative.
fully
To commit or send someone to trial.
japan
To ordain (someone).
down to every move on the board
Sharp and cunning; prepared for any kind of trickery.
mind your eye
take care; watch out
hard lines
Expressed to someone suffering misfortune.
Friday face
A gloomy or melancholy face.
big drink
The ocean; used as a nickname for various bodies of water.
get a sad on
To become sad.
right smart
A large amount, a great deal.
score off
To defeat (someone) verbally; to win a confrontation with words; to tell (someone) off.
Sunday girl
girlfriend
double X
Twenty dollars; a $20 bill.
paper trade
The sale of printed song lyrics by street peddlers.
sold again and got the money
Announced on having successfully deceived somebody.
Joe
Synonym of Joe Miller (“an old joke”).
four-and-nine
A cheap hat.
ring off
Buzz off; go away; shut up.
give it mouth
Speak loudly; speak up.
the double O
A thorough look or inspection.
file
A cunning or resourceful person.
fly
Quick-witted, alert, mentally sharp.
stick one on
To hit or strike (somebody).
Jack-in-the-water
An attendant at the watermen's stairs on the river and seaport towns.
fix up
To settle up with; reimburse.
Blog
A cocktail or punch served at science fiction conventions. Ingredients vary for different conventions.
John Thomas
A flunkey; a male servant.
jones
Heroin.
glad and sorry
A hire purchase scheme.
ill
To behave aggressively.
old horse
salt junk
sky
A disagreeable person; an enemy.
French active
Preferring to give rather than receive fellatio.
cut it fat
To exaggerate or show off.
impossible story
Any story featuring elements of science fiction or fantasy (as opposed to typical stories which are set in the real world).
ben
A benefit (performance to raise funds).
big iron
Large, expensive, powerful computers such as mainframes.
spirit-room
The stomach.
white wine
Gin.
down the banks
A severe criticism, scolding, reprimand, or punishment.
jack boy
A boy or young man who is hired to run errands and perform unskilled labor.
max
Gin.
all holiday
A saying signifying that the business or person spoken of or alluded to is finished, i.e. that it has no future.
market horse
A horse kept in the betting-lists for the sole purpose of being betted against.
street apple
Synonym of road apple (“horse manure”).
cut stick
To depart clandestinely or in a hurry.
measure out
To fight, beat, punch or hit (someone).
road apple
Horse manure, especially when deposited on a road.
split up
Of a person: having long legs.
bob
A shilling.
cold coffee
Misfortune; an unpleasant experience.
leg around
To hang around a person or place to suck up to them, to lobby them or to otherwise get special treatment.
silver hell
A small and fashionable gambling house.
letter of comment
Correspondence, usually a letter, sent to a periodical commenting on either the contents of a previous issue or an earlier letter of comment.
put the dead wood on
To gain a great advantage over (someone).
walking lady
A female actor who usually fills subordinate parts which require a ladylike appearance but few words.
hang one on
To drink alcohol excessively, to the point of being drunk.
jump up behind
To endorse an accommodation bill.
sugar report
A love letter.
blow me up
An expression of surprise.
sky blue
Milk excessively diluted with water, or from which the cream was too closely skimmed.
blow me over
An expression of surprise.
cheese it
An imperative used as a warning to stop, hide, or flee
yellow boy
A gold coin; a guinea or sovereign.
bear sign
doughnuts
box Harry
To go without dinner.
old fruit
An old friend; an old chap or fellow.
broad
A woman or girl.
that's the tip
Synonym of that's the ticket.
rising
More than; exceeding; upwards of.
sea lawyer
A shark.
stand Sam
To pay for refreshment or drink; to treat somebody to something.
on the nose
On the lookout.
Mrs. Jones
An outhouse; a toilet.
meat safe
The stomach.
red lane
The throat.
tie a can to it
To forget it; to put an end to it.
French cream
Brandy.
in good bread
In a fortunate or favorable position.
simon
Sixpence coin.
blue heaven
A capsule or tablet of amobarbital.
gap
To stare or gape.
piece of goods
A person, especially one with undesirable flaws or other notable characteristics.
sample room
A grogshop.
hip
Aware, informed, up-to-date, trendy.
old finger
One's father.
on the loose
Out on a spree, or in search of adventure.
over the left shoulder
Used as an aside to indicate insincerity, negation, or disbelief.
five fingers
The five of trumps in the game of Don Pedro.
flash
Relating to thieves and vagabonds.
put someone wise
To explain; to inform of something.
shoot the cat
To vomit.
post the coal
To lay money on a contest.
Charlie
A nightwatchman.
come the acid
To exaggerate.
Walker
Expressing scornful rejection or disbelief.
tip the double
To bolt; to run away without paying.
mum
To silence.
wet the other eye
To have another alcoholic drink.
do the Dutch
To commit suicide.
dust out
To leave or depart.
heavy wet
A drink of strong ale and porter mixed together.
long ghost
A tall, thin person.
string with
To agree with.
white tape
Gin.
drop the pilot
To obtain a divorce.
two-handed game
A game or proposal in which the chances are fairly even; a situation where one will get as good as one gives.
dry bob
A schoolboy who goes in for cricket or football etc. in preference to rowing.
twice-laid
A dish prepared from cold fish and potatoes.
cold meat box
A coffin.
give someone the rush act
To attempt to pressure someone into doing something.
put the pot on
To exaggerate.
spell
To hanker or yearn (for something).
stay-stomach
A snack.
with a hook
Appended to a statement to indicate that one does not believe it.
blue tape
Gin.
burn-the-wind
A blacksmith.
cold meat train
The last railway train of the night by which officers could reach Aldershot via the South Western Railway.
go through the mill
To go through bankruptcy.
Poll
A disreputable woman.
cotton on to
Synonym of cotton to (“like, tolerate”).
have been to an Irish wedding
To have a black eye.
history of the four kings
A pack of cards.
death-hunter
A peddler who sold lurid accounts of murderers' dying speeches and confessions.
gen
A shilling.
knock under
To die.
knock-me-down
A strong alcoholic drink.
cure
An eccentric person.
knock someone out of time
To beat someone to the point where they are stunned and unable to fight back.
little-ease
The pillory, stocks, etc., of a prison.
run one's face
To obtain things on credit by sheer impudence.
Jonathan
An American; a Yank; Brother Jonathan.
chip at
To argue with (someone); to nag, criticize, insult or tease (someone).
half bull
A coin worth half a crown (two shilling and sixpence; 2s 6d).
like old boots
Synonym of like anything (“with plenty of effort, speed, etc.”).
sub-cheese
Everything; all there is.
billy-oh
The greatest extent or degree of something; used in comparisons to indicate a superlative.
the devil a one
Not a single one, none (of a number of people or things).
bag of mystery
A sausage.
jazz around
To have fun, play around; to waste time with frivolity.

Sources and licenses

  • Meanings, labels, and dates from English Wiktionary, by way of the kaikki.org extraction, under CC BY-SA 4.0. The lists derived from it are shared under the same license: read the data notice, or copy them from src/tools/thesaurus/generated/ in the Tabularia repository.
  • Words are ordered by how often they appear in modern English, measured with wordfreq.