Speak like a Flapper! Words from the 1920’s

In researching the next episode of our podcast, we wanted the locals to have the right flavor to their language. The roaring twenties were a period of truly colorful language, and so the people Sage and Savant mean needed to have the appropriate character to set the scene. Prohibition brought in a host of slang words into the English language as people sought ways to talk about their plans without raising interest from the local law enforcement. We pulled some of our favorites from “Flapperspeak: Dictionary of Words from the 1920’s and 1930’s.”

Baby – sweetheart
Bank’s Closed – no kissing
Bearcat – a hot-blooded girl
Cake-eater – a ladies’ man
Cash – a kiss (which explains why kissing is not an option when the Bank’s Closed)
Cast a kitten – have a fit
Darb – an excellent person or thing
Ethel – an effeminate man
Flapper – a free-spirited young woman
Giggle water – an intoxicating beverage
Hooey – nonsense
Jack – money
Juice Joint – a speakeasy
Lay off – stop it (knock it off)
Neck – kissing with passion
Ossified – a drunk person
Pet – a step up from neck
Piker – a cheapskate or coward
Quiff – cheap prostitute
Sheba – a woman with sex appeal
Shiv – a knife
Stuck on – in love with, infatuated
Tomato – a female
Wet – stupid or unsophisticated