Slang That's The Bee's Knees

Just like fashion, slang goes through trend cycles so that everything that was old is new. If you've ever swooned over a silver screen heartthrob, razzed a friend, or gone on a blind date, then you've used some Roaring Twenties slang without knowing it! Since we're halfway through the New Twenties, here are 20 weird and wacky terms for you to use.

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1. Applesauce

Applesauce was used as an inoffensive expletive similar to the way baloney is used. Applesauce was unpopular when introduced to menus in the 1920s, which is probably why it's a stand-in for nonsense. You can say "aw, applesauce" when something doesn't go your way.

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2. Bank's Closed

If someone says that the bank's closed, they mean that they're not in the mood for kissing or heavy petting. Cheeky partners may ask about a cash or check, meaning if kissing is in the cards for later.

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3. Bimbo

This one's funny in hindsight. Today, a bimbo is a woman of seemingly-low intelligence, but in the early '20s, a bimbo was a tough guy or strong man. If you used this one in casual conversation today, you'd probably be met with blank stares.

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4. Cat's Pajamas

There's a chance you've heard this one before; if something is the cat's pajamas (or the bee's knees), it's outstanding. This term gained popularity in the US in 1922, but was believed to have been used a century earlier, when a tailor named E.B. Katz designed silk pajamas for royalty and aristocracy.

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5. Chicago Overcoat

If there's one overcoat you don't want to wear, it's a Chicago overcoat. To wear one of these means to be sealed up in a coffin, sleeping the big sleep. Chicago had a rough reputation in the Jazz Age thanks to rumrunners during prohibition and gangsters like Al Capone.

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6. Giggle Water

If you've ever met (or been) a giggly drunk, the meaning of giggle water should come as no surprise. Since the sale and brewing (but not consumption) of adult beverages was made illegal under the Eighteenth Amendment, those who imbibed had to be discreet. Typically, you could find a glass of giggle water at a speakeasy.

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7. Glad Rags

Wearing your glad rags was similar to putting on your Sunday clothes, your dressiest best. For a flapper, glad rags would probably include a drop-waist dress, pearl necklace, and cloche hat.

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8. Handcuff

Joking about marriage being a prison is, sadly, nothing new, but people in the 1920s took it a little farther. A handcuff was an engagement or wedding ring, while someone out on parole is recently divorced. Somewhat confusingly, an actual handcuff, like one you may be clapped in for drinking hooch, was called a bracelet.

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9. Jake

Who's Jake? We don't know, but he's alright with us. If everything is jake, it means everything's great. A slightly zanier alternative is copacetic.

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10. Lettuce

In the 1920s, lettuce wasn't just a leafy green, but currency. Lettuce was a roll of bills that one could blow on nightclubs and jewels. Another synonym was cabbage.

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11. Meat Wagon

Just like you don't want to wear a Chicago overcoat, you want to avoid the meat wagon at all costs. This was a term for an ambulance, which may rush you to a hospital if you've been hit by Chicago lightning.

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12. Moll

Every Clyde needs his Bonnie, and every gangster needed a gun moll. These women weren't just the girlfriends on gangsters, they were often accomplices or criminals themselves. "Gun" was British slang for thief, while "Moll" was a nickname for Mary used by women of...let's say immorality.

Undeveloped photographs, left behind by the gang at a hide out, were taken as evidence by lawmen. Recovered from Bonnie and Clyde after their deaths on May 23, 1934. Credit FBI. on Wikimedia

13. Oliver Twist

A person who tears up the dance floor is a regular Oliver Twist. The preferred dances of the 1920s were the Lindy Hop and Charleston. Funnily enough, the twist dance didn't start until the late 1950s.

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14. Omnibibulous

Someone known for drinking bathtub gin would likely describe themselves as omnibibulous. This meant that they were able to drink anything at anytime or anyplace. 

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15. Rattletrap

A rattletrap is a rather cruel term for a talkative woman. A person of any gender who was known to talk excessively would be accused of running one's gums. If you wanted to tell someone to stop talking, you could tell them to shut their trap.

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16. Sheba

As in Queen of, a sheba was a stylish and attractive woman. The term was popularized after Betty Blythe played the titular role in 1921's The Queen of Sheba, wearing some rather sexy costumes. A sheba could also be a seductive woman, called "the end of every man's desire."

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17. Sheik

In contrast to a sheba, a sheik was "a romantic he-man" who believed himself to be irresistible to the ladies. This term was popularized by Rudolph Valentino's now-problematic role in the 1921 film The Sheik. Many girls carried a torch for Valentino.

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18. The Real McCoy

If something's the real McCoy, it's the genuine article. This term actually dates back to the 1850s in Scotland, when it was used as a slogan for a whisky distiller, however, it only made the leap over the puddle in 1908, probably thanks to innovations in steamship travel.

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19. Weeping Willow

No, a weeping willow is something who has overactive tearducts, but we can see how you'd get confused. Rather, this referred to be pessimist (also called a crepehanger) or a killjoy who always ruins the fun. An extremely proper woman who spoils the moment was also called Mrs. Grundy.

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20. Zozzled

Blotto. Corked. Pickled to the gills. Ossified. What do all these words have in common? If you're clever, you should be able to pick up that all these words, like zozzled, refer to someone who's been hitting the hooch a little too hard. Savvy?

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