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| RETRO WORD & TERM GLOSSARY
411/ THE 411
A term used for ‘information’ as 4-1-1 is the telephone number for local directory
assistance in the USA and Canada. E.g. “Do you have the 411 on this new retro
store?”
ACE
Very good, excellent, wonderful. E.g. “I think it is ace.”
AIRHEAD
A stupid or simple-minded person who is said to have ‘air’ in the place of where their brains should be. E.g. “She is such an airhead.”
AMPED
Can either mean excited/ enthused or can mean cool, excellent or awesome. E.g. 1.” I am so amped about going out tonight.” E.g. 2. “This new website is amped!”
AS IF!
To exclaim how you believe something is not going to happen or not possible/ Very unlikely. E.g. In response to a guy coming on to you, you might respond “Yeah, as if!” to mean that he doesn’t stand a chance.
AWESOME
Amazing, wonderful, very good.
BAD
Actually meaning very good, excellent or cool.
BANGIN’
Extremely good, great, wonderful.
BARF
To be sick. E.g.” I think I am going to barf”.
BIG TIME
Used to sum up something’s extremity. E.g. “This is going to hurt, big time”.
BITCHEN/ BITCHIN’
Really good, great, fantastic, very cool.
BITE ME
A more polite way of saying “F*%k off” and similar to saying something like “get lost”.
BLAST
To be extremely fun. E.g. “We had a blast”
BLING/ BLING BLING
Jamaican slang meaning jewellery – diamonds in particular.
BODACIOUS
Made from a combination of the words ‘bold’ and ‘audacious’ to mean remarkable, impressive, remarkable, awesome.
BOGUE
Used to describe something, unrealistic, offensive or disgusting. E.g. “I can’t believe this, it’s so bogue”.
BOGUS
Can mean either counterfeit, not genuine, a sham or can mean displeasing.
BOMB/ THE BOMB
A 90’s term meaning that something is fantastic/ out of this world. E.g. “This is the bomb”.
BOOGIE
A word from the 60’s meaning to dance.
BOO-YA!/ BOOYAH!
A phrase to indicate accomplishment or satisfaction.
BOSS
Cool, awesome, great.
BOUNCE/ LET’S BOUNCE
To leave or exit.
BRILL
Meaning ‘brilliant’.
BROTHER
Friend, companion.
BUMMER
To express your sadness or dismay with something. E.g. “I’ve just missed the train! What a bummer”.
BUSTED
When you are caught in the act of doing something wrong and therefore are in trouble. E.g. He got busted whilst trying to take his parents car.
BUZZ KILL
When something or someone ruins a special moment for someone else. The act of killing a buzz. E.g. “He just came in a stopped the party. Why does he have to be such a buzz kill”.
BUZZ OFF
Go away, get lost, leave, depart. E.g. “Buzz off and leave me alone!”.
CATCH MY DRIFT?
What someone would ask to say “Do you get my meaning/ understand what I mean?”.
CHICK
A young woman, particularly an attractive one.
CHILL/ CHILL OUT
To relax. E.g. “Dude, let’s just chill for a while” or to calm down. E.g. “You need to chill out”.
CHOICE/ IT’S CHOICE
The best, excellent. E.g. “This new TV is choice”.
COOL
Excellent, great, very good, fashionable, nonchalant.
CRIB
Home, dwelling, domicile, place of residence, where you live.
DAG
An Australian term meaning fool or idiot. E.g. “He is such a dag”.
DIG
To like or enjoy. E.g. “I am really diggin’ this party”.
DIG IT
To understand. E.g. “Can you dig it?”.
DINGBAT
Used to describe someone who is silly, stupid or foolish.
DON’T GO THERE!
Said when someone has just approached a touchy subject and is warning another person to stay away from their business.
DOOBIE
Marijuana cigarette, joint, spliff.
DUDE
A word used particularly among surfers and skaters to address each other. E.g. “Dude, this is so awesome!”.
DUH!
Used as a sarcastic response to something is plainly obvious.
DYNOMITE
Meaning that something is terrific, awesome or great.
EAT MY SHORTS!
A term coined by cartoon character Bart Simpson in the 90’s, similar to saying something like “Go to hell” or “Get lost”.
FAB
Short for fabulous. Also from the show ‘Thunderbirds’ meaning ‘Final Audio Broadcast’, similar to ‘loud and clear’.
FAR OUT
A term from the 60’s meaning excellent, cool, very good. E.g. “That film was far out!”
FLY
Very good, excellent, cool. E.g. “That is so Fly”.
FOXY
A young and beautiful woman. E.g. “She’s a foxy babe”.
FREAK OUT
To go ‘crazy’ about something and act in a manic state
FUZZ
Word for the Police. This arose way back in the late 20’s, early 30’s but the true origin is unclear, though one theory suggests that the word was derived from ‘fuss’ as police officers are known to be hard to please.
FYI
This is an acronym meaning ‘For Your Information’. E.g. “Eeerm, FYI, not my fault!”.
GAS/ A GAS
A lot of fun. E.g. “It was awesome, we had a gas”.
GET A ROOM!
You would say this to two people who are being inappropriately/ overly intimate in public, to exclaim that they should take it elsewhere, to a more private place.
GET BENT!
Another way of saying “Go to hell”, “Get lost” or “F&%$k off”. It’s a little more subtle than the last one, but just as effective.
GETTIN’ JIGGY
Can either mean to come on to someone or to get dancing/ get into the groove. Made popular by the Will Smith song “Getting Jiggy with it”.
GNARLEY
Can either mean cool, awesome or excellent or can be used to describe something that looks dangerous or painful.
GOON
A simple minded fool who will blindly follow orders.
GROOVY
Cool, hip, wicked. E.g. “I think it’s very groovy baby”.
HEAVY
Something or some sort of news that is very serious and often quite depressing. E.g. “Wow that is heavy man”.
HIP
Fashionably current and in the know, similar to the word ‘cool’.
HOT DOG!
An exclamation used to express joy or delight.
HOW’S IT HANGIN’?
A male greeting that basically means ‘how are you?’
HUNK
A sexually attractive man who has a good physique
I KID YOU NOT
Another way of saying “I am not kidding” that is attributed to the entertainer Jack Paar.
IN YOUR FACE!
A retro term from the 70’s that someone would say to let another know how they have succeeded in upstaging or embarrassing him/ her.
KICK ASS
To be impressive, especially in an forceful or aggressive way.
KICKS
Doing something for fun. E.g. “Let’s go to the new club, just for kicks.”
KILLER
Impressive, cool, great, excellent, very good. E.g. “This is killer man!”
KOWABUNGA
This was a popular phrase used by ‘The teenage mutant ninja turtles’ and is used by surfers and skateboarders in a yell of excitement.
LATER
Retro slang from the 60’s meaning “See you later”. E.g. “Later dude”.
LOWDOWN
The inside information. E.g. “Hey, what’s the lowdown on this guy?”.
MEGA
Great, very good, excellent. E.g. “This new game is mega”.
MINT
Very good, cool, awesome, excellent. E.g. “These new shoes are mint”.
MOFO
This is an abbreviation of the term ‘Mother F&%$er’.
MOST TRIUMPHANT
An exclamation meaning above average or excellent. E.g. “That performance was most triumphant”.
MY BAD
What you would say to admit to and apologize for making a mistake without actually saying “sorry”.
NEATO
A 60’s retro word used for when something is unusually cool.
NO CAN DO
An term from the 1980’s to mean “I can’t do it” or “It can’t be done”.
NO FAKE
When something is true and realistic in meaning, without any doubt. E.g. “This is the best one, no fake man”.
NO PROBLEMO
Another way of saying “No problem”, adapted from the Spanish “No problema”.
NOT!
A retro slang word from the 90’s that can be thrown onto the end of a sentence to denote sarcasm. E.g. “I think that you’re totally excellent at that, not!”.
OLD SCHOOL
A term that means ‘old fashioned’ or of the old style, in a respectful way to whatever thing of the past that you’re referring to.
OMG
An acronym for ‘Oh My God’ that is often used in chat rooms.
PAD
Another word for house or room. E.g. “Let’s go back to your pad tonight”.
PEACE/ PEACE OUT
A word used when parting, to end an email, telephone conversation etc.
PRIMO
To be of exceptional quality or amazing. E.g. “This Retro website is primo man”.
PSYCHE
A retro word used when you have tricked someone, only to let them know straight away. E.g. “Did you know that my dad won the lottery last night....Psyche!”.
PSYCHEDELIC
A retro term that was originally used to describe something that appears to be inspired by the effects of a mind-altering drug.
RAD/ RADICAL
Used as a general expression of awe, similar in meaning to ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’ but with a little more oomph to it.
RIDE
Another word for a car or other vehicle. E.g. “This is my ride, do you like it?”.
RIGHT ON
Used to express agreement or approval for something, often in an excited manner. E.g. “You passed all of your exams, right on!”
RIGHTEOUS
Exciting, cool, awesome, amazing, extremely fine, beautiful.
ROCKIN’
Very good, great, awesome, brilliant.
SCORE
This can either mean to succeed in seducing someone sexually or can be simply exclaimed when you have obtained something that you were pursuing.
SHAG
A British slang word meaning to have sex. This was used heavily in the hit movie ‘Austin Powers’. E.g. “Shall we shag now, or shall we shag later?”.
SHAGADELIC
Someone who is very sexy and whom others would want to ‘shag’/ have sex with. “She is very shagadelic!”.
SICK
Awesome, entertaining, insane, cool, crazy. E.g. “That stunt you just did was sick man!”.
SIT ON IT
A term made popular by the Fonz from hit TV series ‘Happy Days’ meaning ‘get lost!’ or ‘p&%$ off!’.
SLAMMIN’
Very good, wondrous, great, the best, in style, cool, hip. “Those jeans are slammin’ man!”.
SOLID
Can either be used to mean that something is very difficult, e.g. “This game is solid”, or to describe a favour done for someone, e.g. “I need you to do me a solid and go to the shops for me”.
SPLIT/ LET’S SPLIT
A retro term that means “Let’s go” or “Let’s get out of here”. You would also say “split!” to someone who you want to leave.
SQUARE
A word used to describe someone who is or who is being boring, dull or conventional. E.g. “Don’t be such a square”.
STELLAR
Most excellent, the best, truly awesome. “That concert was stellar dude”.
STOKED
To be excited, highly enthusiastic, exhilarated or really happy about something. “I am so stoked that he is coming to stay with us over the holidays”.
SUCKA!
A word used a lot by Mr. T of ‘The A Team’, meant as an insult to call them weak or a punk.
SUCKS
Used when something is no good, lame or poor. E.g. “This sucks!”.
SWEET
Very good, great, cool, excellent, awesome.
THIRD BASE
A retro term used when you have experienced oral sex with a partner. This is usually shortly followed by intercourse.
THREADS
Clothes.
TIGHT
Used either to describe when two or more people are close emotionally or to mean that something is stylish or cool.
TOTALLY
This is a retro word used for emphasis that can mean ‘definitely’ or ‘for sure’. E.g. “I am totally going to that party later”.
TRIPPIN’
When someone is getting overly upset about nothing or overreacting in some way. E.g. “It’s no big deal, why are you trippin’?”
VEG OUT
To spend time relaxing and doing nothing at all. E.g. “I’m so tired, I think I’m just gonna veg out all day”.
WASSUP?
What’s up? How’s it going? How are you doing?
WAY/ NO WAY
Firstly ‘No way’ is another way of saying “You must be joking”. To reply to this with “Way” would be like saying “No I’m not joking, it’s for real”.
WHATEVER
Used during a confrontation with someone, in a dismissive tone to indicate that the discussion will be a waste of your time and energy, and that you’re pretty much finished with it.
WIG OUT
To act in a strange way, throw a fit or go crazy over something.
YELLO
Another, less formal way of saying “hello” when answering the telephone.
YIKES
A word used to express excitement or extreme shock.
ZAPPY
A retro word for ‘Energetic’. E.g. “This music is too zappy for my liking”.
ZOINKS
This word was made popular by the character Shaggy from ‘Scooby Doo’ and is used to express fright, panic or surprise. |
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