Words your characters would say
1960s slang from hippies and their parents
Twenty 1960s slang words from a 1969 University of Wisconsin report and 1967 newspapers, and oaths like gee whiz, each explained, with a scene for Plot.
groovy
Wonderful, in a way that means something to you.
Hippies and their parents
The words
In 1967 newspapers and teachers tried to translate the young for their elders, and in the summer of 1969 a University of Wisconsin music institute wrote down what its teenage students meant by their words.
- groovyUsed well, “groovy” attaches special meaning to a special circumstance. To me, for example, nature, music and people are groovy. (Helen Bottel, Helen Help Us!, August 18, 1967)1967
- Wonderful, in a way that means something to you.
- a gasWhat is a “good” thing for us is a “gas, groovy, cool, tough, or bitchin” for them. (Richard Barrutia, Forum of the Modern Language Association of Southern California, December 1967)1967
- A great time; something terrific.
- bitchin'… a “gas, groovy, cool, tough, or bitchin” for them. (Richard Barrutia, Forum of the Modern Language Association of Southern California, December 1967)1967
- Excellent; first-rate.
- your bagThe pejorative “bag” which we were once left holding has now become the thing one does best. (Richard Barrutia, Forum of the Modern Language Association of Southern California, December 1967)1967
- What you do best, or what you're into.
- a love-in… trips, freak outs, love ins. The rhythms are endless. (Richard Barrutia, Forum of the Modern Language Association of Southern California, December 1967)1967
- A gathering to celebrate love and peace, usually outdoors.
- plastic“Plastic,” an adjective referring to the whole world of people outside the hippie’s narrow sphere … (NEA, Youth Beat, September 30, 1967)1967
- Fake, conventional; the straight world outside the hippies'.
- coolCool – Students interviewed indicated that this term relates to nice, neat, good, O.K., or I like it. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- Fine, good, OK; I like it.
- do your own thingDo Your Own Thing – This indicates that you should do what you want to because you like it. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- To do what you want because you like it.
- the generation gapThe term is more closely related to differences or the lack of communication between adults and youth. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- The distance, and the silence, between parents and their kids.
- turned on… you become turned on when you enjoy doing your own things and becoming involved. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- Excited by something; caught up in it.
- turned off“Turned Off” refers to that which is distasteful and uninteresting to the individual. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- Put off; bored or disgusted.
- a bummerA new term that carries similar connotation is “Bummer.” (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- A bad experience; a letdown.
- uptightUp Tight – This means you are frustrated. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- Frustrated, tense.
- a freak-outFreak-out – indicates a certain happening; the ultimate happening; a bad drug experience … (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- A wild scene; also a bad drug experience.
- where's your head atWhere’s your head: Indicates where you are at. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- What you're thinking; where you are in your life.
- wastedWasted – means extreme physical exhaustion. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- Worn out, exhausted.
- a tripTrip – indicates a drug experience. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- A drug experience; later, anything strange.
- the fuzzCop, pig, fuzz – indicates one you cannot talk to (the only thing he understands is violence) … (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- The police.
- a happeningAt “happenings” using this music, strobe lights and light paintings create a mixed-media environment. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- A staged event of music, lights and spectacle.
- sock it to meSock It To Me – This term is not relevant in that it is seldom used and most students suggest that it is just a take off from the Laugh In Show. (University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute, July 7 – August 1, 1969)1969
- Go ahead, give it to me (from Laugh-In).
Swear words and oaths
How people cursed, and the softer words they said instead, from the same dated sources.
- gee whiz“Gee whiz, Mom! D’you call this any way to bring up a young boy—calling rhubarb a dessert?” (Dick Turner, Carnival, August 29, 1961)1961
- A kid’s protest or amazement, softened from “Jesus.”
- darned“I’m getting darned tired of it,” Palmer said. (Will Grimsley, Associated Press, Nichols Goes on to Win Carling Prize, August 31, 1964)1964
- A polite “damned”: thoroughly, as in fed up.
- a heck of a“It’s a heck of a long fall from there.” (Associated Press, Big Problem for Porkers, November 17, 1964)1964
- A very big, a very bad. The softened “hell of a.”
- a damn shame“I think it’s a damn shame what these kids are doing,” said a 30-year-old cleaning woman. (Bob Greene and Bill M. Dean, Associated Press, Reaction to Violence in Omaha, August 13, 1966)1966
- A real pity, said with anger rather than sorrow.
INT. HALVORSEN KITCHEN, MADISON - NIGHT (1969)
One in the morning. SUE HALVORSEN (17), headband and fringed vest, eases the back door shut. Her father WALT (48), crew cut, sits under the stove light with a cold cup of coffee.
WALT
Do you know what time it is?
SUE
Don't get uptight. There was a happening at the student union. Strobe lights, a band. It was a gas.
WALT
Your mother was ready to call the fuzz.
SUE
That's a bummer. I'm sorry, really. But the band was bitchin'.
WALT
Where's your head at, Susie? You used to like Perry Como.
SUE
Perry Como turns me off. This music turns me on. It's my bag.
WALT
Next you'll tell me I'm plastic.
SUE
You're not plastic. It's the generation gap. You do your thing, I do my own thing.
Walt considers this. He sets down the cup.
WALT
Well. Sock it to me.
SUE
Dad. Nobody says that.
WALT
Go to bed. You look wasted.
SUE
Cool. Groovy. Goodnight.
Recorded in
- Dick Turner, Carnival (August 29, 1961)
- Will Grimsley, Associated Press, Nichols Goes on to Win Carling Prize (August 31, 1964)
- Associated Press, Big Problem for Porkers (November 17, 1964)
- Bob Greene and Bill M. Dean, Associated Press, Reaction to Violence in Omaha (August 13, 1966)
- Helen Bottel, Helen Help Us! (August 18, 1967)
- NEA, Youth Beat (September 30, 1967)
- Richard Barrutia, Forum of the Modern Language Association of Southern California (December 1967)
- University of Wisconsin, Youth Music Institute (July 7 – August 1, 1969)
1960s technology and props
What had just arrived, what was still recent, and what a scene set in these years can't have yet. Each entry names the source that records its date, with a link to it. Dates are for the United States unless an entry says otherwise.
- 1939: Television
- 1945: Ballpoint pen
- 1950: Charge card
- 1954: Color TV
- 1954: Transistor radio
- 1956: Interstate highways
- 1958: Jet airliner
- 1963: Touch-tone phone
- 1963: ZIP code
- 1964: Pager
- 1966: Miranda rights
- 1967: Home microwave
- 1968: 911 calls
- 1968: Seat belts in new cars
- 1969: ATM
- 1971: Home answering machine
- 1977: VCR
- 1980: Walkman
- 1983: Cell phone
- 1983: Compact disc
- 1984: Seat-belt law
- 1987: Caller ID
- 1987: DNA evidence
Before 1960
Already there, still recent
When it was new
When it was new
- 1939
Screens and sound
Television
NBC begins regular television broadcasts in New York as the World's Fair opens.
Television in a 1930s scene is a demonstration at a fair or a rich household's toy, not something a family watches at night.
- 1945
Home and office
Ballpoint pen
The ballpoint pen goes on sale in New York, at $12.50.
Literary Hub, This Week in Literary History: The First Ballpoint Pen Is Sold in New York City
Before late 1945 an American character writes with a fountain pen or a pencil.
- 1950
Money
Charge card
Diners Club issues the first charge card accepted at many businesses rather than one store.
A 1940s character pays in cash, by check or on a store's own account. Handing over a card for dinner belongs to the 1950s and later.
- 1954
Screens and sound
Color TV
RCA's first color television set, the CT-100, goes on sale.
Color television in the 1950s is rare and expensive. A family watching at home is almost always watching black and white.
- 1954
Screens and sound
Transistor radio
The Regency TR-1, the first transistor radio, reaches stores at $49.95.
A pocket radio at the beach or under the covers is late 1950s or later. Before it, a radio is a tube set on a table or a portable the size of a lunch box.
- 1956
Getting around
Interstate highways
The Federal-Aid Highway Act starts the Interstate highway system.
U.S. National Archives, National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956)
Before the Interstates, most long drives run on two-lane highways through every town on the way, with a few four-lane toll turnpikes such as Pennsylvania's, open since 1940. The long, straight Interstate drive arrives over the decades that follow.
- 1958
Getting around
Jet airliner
Pan Am flies its first Boeing 707 passenger service, New York to Paris, with a fuel stop in Newfoundland.
An earlier transatlantic trip is a long propeller flight, often with a fuel stop, or days on an ocean liner. The jet age starts at the very end of the 1950s.
1960–69
Arriving in these years
On the page
On the page
- 1963
Phones
Touch-tone phone
Push-button Touch-Tone service begins in two Pennsylvania towns and spreads one exchange at a time.
Characters dial on a rotary phone well after 1963. The beep of button tones is a later sound.
- 1963
Home and office
ZIP code
ZIP Codes are introduced for United States mail.
An envelope addressed before mid-1963 has no ZIP Code on it.
- 1964
Phones
Pager
Motorola sells the Pageboy I, an early pocket pager that beeps but shows no message.
Before the 1980s a pager is a work tool for someone on call. It only beeps, so the character has to find a phone and call in to learn why.
- 1966
Police
Miranda rights
The Supreme Court decides Miranda v. Arizona.
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Before 1966 an arrest rarely comes with a reading of rights. "You have the right to remain silent" becomes routine after the ruling.
- 1967
Home and office
Home microwave
Amana sells the first countertop microwave oven for the home, at $495.
The Saturday Evening Post, The Evolution of the Microwave from Exotic Gadget to Ho-Hum Appliance
A 1950s or early 1960s kitchen almost always heats food on the stove or in the oven. A microwave at home is a late 1960s luxury.
- 1968
Police
911 calls
The first 911 call is made in Haleyville, Alabama.
Washington Military Department, 50 years ago this month, first 911 call made
For years after 1968 many places still have no 911. A character in trouble dials the operator or the police station's own number.
- 1968
Getting around
Seat belts in new cars
Seat belts become required equipment in new cars.
A car built before 1968 may have no seat belts at all.
- 1969
Money
ATM
The first ATM in the United States opens at a bank on Long Island, New York. It only dispenses cash.
Before it, a character who needs cash gets it from a teller during banking hours, or cashes a check somewhere that knows them.
After 1969
Not yet: keep these out of the scene
On the page
On the page
- 1971
Phones
Home answering machine
The PhoneMate 400 brings the answering machine into the home, recording messages on tape.
IEEE Spectrum, The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame: PhoneMate 400
Before the 1970s answering machines are rare, expensive and mostly in offices, so a call nobody picks up at home is usually missed, unless an answering service takes a message.
- 1977
Screens and sound
VCR
The first VHS videocassette recorders go on sale in the United States.
CED Magic, 1977: The First VHS VCR Is Introduced in the U.S.
Taping a show or renting a movie to watch at home is mostly a late 1970s and 1980s scene. Home recorders existed before that, such as Betamax from 1975, but they were rare and costly, so a show a character missed was usually gone.
- 1980
Screens and sound
Walkman
Sony's Walkman reaches the United States, a year after its launch in Japan.
A Walkman, or any cassette heard in stereo headphones on the move, is the 1980s. Before it, music on the move is a transistor radio, played out loud or through a single earphone.
- 1983
Screens and sound
Compact disc
Compact discs reach American stores.
Early 1980s music is records and cassettes. A CD collection is a mid-1980s status symbol before it becomes ordinary.
- 1983
Phones
Cell phone
The first commercial cell phone service in the United States opens in Chicago, with the Motorola DynaTAC.
A 1980s cell phone is rare, heavy and expensive, so it says money or a job that demands one. Most characters call from home, an office or a pay phone.
- 1984
Getting around
Seat-belt law
New York passes the first state law requiring people to wear seat belts.
Before laws like this one, riding without a seat belt was ordinary, and nobody in the car would remark on it.
- 1987
Phones
Caller ID
Caller ID is tested on telephone lines in New Jersey.
The Christian Science Monitor, Call identification feature sparks invasion-of-privacy charges (1987)
A ringing phone in the 1980s is a mystery until someone answers. Characters screen calls by letting the answering machine pick up.
- 1987
Police
DNA evidence
A Florida court convicts Tommie Lee Andrews after DNA tests match him, the first conviction of its kind in the United States.
A case set before the late 1980s is solved without DNA: fingerprints, blood type, witnesses and confessions carry it.
Check a whole script for anachronisms
Inkwell's Period Language skill reads your pages against the era you set. It flags words, objects and references that hadn't arrived yet and offers period alternatives as changes you can accept or skip.
Make it yours in Plot
Start with this example or bring your own draft. Develop the story, try another version, and keep the work you want.
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Field notes
Writing dialogue that sounds like its time
Date the word, not the feeling
Check every period word against a source from the time, not a list that sounds old. A dictionary entry or a published novel tells you the word was in use by that year. It does not tell you when it started, so a word recorded in 1859 can belong to a character in 1850, and probably not one in 1750.
Use less than you found
One period word every few lines is enough to place a scene. A speech packed with slang reads like a costume. Let ordinary words carry most of the dialogue and save the slang for the moments a character wants to sound like they belong.
Make the meaning clear from the scene
A reader or an audience never gets a glossary. Put the word where the action explains it: the stolen hat on the table before anyone calls it a rum nab, the sack of silver before anyone says swag. If a word needs a footnote, the scene is not doing its job yet.
Slang says who belongs
Grose and Matsell recorded cant: the private language of thieves, meant to keep outsiders out. A character who uses it is in the gang, and one who misses it is not. Use that. The 1920s words did the same for a young crowd, the 1930s ones for detectives and crooks, the 1940s ones for soldiers and the teenagers they left at home, and the 1950s and 1960s ones for teenagers keeping their parents out. The 2000s words came from rap and the internet, and spread as fast as both.
Where to find more
Dictionaries of slang and cant from the period, novels and plays written at the time, newspapers, and court records all show how people talked. Prefer sources written in the era over histories written later, and keep a note of where each word came from so you can check it again.
Hear it before you keep it
Read the scene aloud, or hold a table read. Period dialogue that looks right can sound stiff when spoken. Cut what an actor trips on, and keep the version you like as a save point before you try another.
Already have a draft?
Bring your Word document or screenplay into Plot and keep developing it with save points and alternate drafts.
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