10 slang words from the '50s that we should bring back

Gabbi ShawJun 22, 2020, 21:36 IST

Getting a wig chop.Paul Almasy/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

Slang isn't always cyclical — things are cool to say, until one day they aren't.
That doesn't mean it should stay that way. Here are 10 slang terms from the '50s that we think deserve a comeback.
Imagine saying that you're going to get a wig chop instead of a haircut, or saying everything is copacetic, instead of OK.

Americans tend to be obsessed with the '50s — just look at things like "Grease" and "Happy Days." So, it only makes sense that there are plenty of slang words and expressions that we think should make a comeback in 2020.

From copacetic to cruisin' for a bruisin' to backseat bingo, here are 10 slang terms that we think Gen-Z should bring back this year.

Calling someone the "ginchiest" might not sound like a compliment, but it actually means you think they're cool.

This dress could be considered the ginchiest. Joseph Leombruno/Condé Nast/Getty Images

To "beat feet" is to make a run for it, but it's more fun to say.

He's ready to beat feet. Bettman/Getty Images

Getting a haircut is a boring turn of phrase. We should all start saying "wig chop" again.

Getting a wig chop. Paul Almasy/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

"Copacetic" is way more fun way to say, "It's all good."

A-OK. Debrocke/ClassicStock/Getty Images

"Bee's knees" should be said more often, and not ironically.

"Grease." Polydor Records

"Backseat bingo" is an appropriately '50s way of saying that two people are making out in their car.

Playing some backseat bingo. L. R. Legwin/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On a related note, a "passion pit" isn't just a band — it's the drive-in theater, where couples would typically go to play backseat bingo.

A drive-in. J. R. Eyerman/Life Magazine/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

"Cruisin' for a bruisin'" basically means someone is asking for a fight, but like with bee's knees, everything is more fun in rhyme.

Boxers. George Silk/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Imagine saying someone got "chrome-plated" instead of dressed up.

Students dancing at the Mariemont High School prom. Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

You can call someone "the living end" when they're being particularly ridiculous.

Shooting someone with an arrow would make you the living end. Yale Joel/Life Magazine/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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