Cultural Figures: Rudolph Valentine, Clara Bo, Paul Robeson, Charles Lindberg, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Bill Tilden, Red Grange
Vocab:
all wet- wrong, a mistaken notion
banana oil- nonsense
bees knees- a superb person or thing
belly laugh- a loud, uninhibited laugh
big cheese- an important person
bull session- informal group discussion
bump off- to murder
cake-eater- ladies' man
cat's meow- anything wonderful
cheaters- eyeglasses
copacetic- excellent
darb- an excellent person or thing
gatecrasher- a person who comes to a party uninvited
dogs- human feet
dumb dora- a girl who is perceived to be unintelligent
fall guy- a scapegoat who takes the blame for others
flapper- a typical young woman of the 20s, usually with bobbed hair,
short skirts, and rolled stockings
drugstore cowboy- a fashionably dressed idler who hangs around trying
to pick up girls
gam- a girl's leg
flat tire- dull, boring person
giggle water- an alcoholic drink
hep- wise
high-hat-to snub
hooch- bootleg liqour
horsefeathers- nonsense
hotsy-totsy- pleasing
jake- OK, "Everything's jake"
lounge lizard- ladies man
ossified- drunk
pinch- to arrest
sheba- a young woman with sex appeal
sheik- a young man with sex appeal
smeller- the nose
speak-easy- a saloon or club that serves hooch
spifficated- drunk
struggle-buggy- a car (from it use as a place where boys tried to seduce
girls)
torpedo- hired gun man
Other slang words from the twenties that are in common use today: swanky,
swell, upchuck, lousy, whopee, kisser, main drag, neck, scram, ritzy, hoofer,
jalopy, goofy, gold digger, heebie-jeebies, blind date