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In September 2023, I wrote two articles regarding antiquated words from 1900 to 1920 which you can read HERE.
Similarly in researching various subjects in the 1930s and 1940s, I have come across a few unique words and phrases that appeared in local newspapers, personal written and oral histories, and other documents.
When encountering them, I jotted them down and researched the meaning(s) at that time. Some have stood the test of time and are still in use today. Others have largely faded from our lexicon.
Here is a list of some of those words and phrases. I will provide you with the definitions of the first two and then let you see how many of the remaining 21 words and phrases you can accurately define.
I will post the definitions of the remaining words and phrases in a follow-on article in a couple of days.
Author’s note: Please be mindful that the meanings of words can change or expand over time, and in this instance, we are looking back at the words and their meanings 80 to 90 years ago.
Fuddy-Duddy
Simply defined: A person who clings to old fashioned attitudes and ways. Wikipedia defines the term more broadly as a person who is fussy while old-fashioned, traditionalist, conformist or conservative, sometimes almost tot he point of eccentricity or geekiness:
Cockamamie: Ridiculous or incredible
The word “cockamamie” is believed to be derived from the French word décalcomanie, which referred to the process of transferring images using decals. Over time, the pronunciation evolved to “cockamamie” in American English, particularly in New York, where it was used to describe the cheap, temporary tattoos popular with children in the mid-to-late 1800s.
By the 1930s and ’40s, in America, the term broadens to mean anything ridiculous or implausible.
The remaining 21 words and phrases are:
1. Gadzooks
2. “bump on a log”
3. flapjacks
4. “rip snorter”
5. “khaki-wacky”
6. boondoggle
7. “Chicago overcoat”
8. “Giggle juice”
9. “above my pay grade”
10. clams (not as a bivalve)
11. rhubarb (not as an edible)
12. “whistling Dixie”
13. “armored heifer”
14. “made in the shade”
15. “meat-wagon”
16. “over-a-barrel”
17. schnook
18. smidge
19. “in cahoots”
20. moxie
21. “get someone on the horn”
Thanks go to the New York Historical Society and Wikipedia for their assistance in researching this article.
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