| Cruisin' the Past |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Cruisin’ the Past by Ed Dooley |
A Language of Our Own
Every age has its own special idiom and vocabulary, and the 1950s was no
exception. However, our jargon reflected the unprecedented rise of a youth
culture, especially in the United States, as teenagers became more distinct from
adults and more self-aware that at any previous time. Call it “slang,” “argot,”
“jargon,” or “vernacular, teenagers in the 1950s had a language all their own.
I would not claim that everyone at Catalina High School spoke in 50s slang, but I
suspect that just about all of us are guilty of having used it from time to time. And
whether we used it ourselves or not, we certainly understood its meaning whenever
we heard it from friends, in music, in movies, and on the radio. Like A-line skirts,
Ivy-league pants, cashmere sweaters, and button-down shirts, 50s slang identified
us as part of the cohort, up-to-date, and in-the-know.
Like everything else in our late 1950s world, however, our language was
undergoing a transition and a transformation. Most of the slang terms used during
our years in high school came from or related to the lyrics of early Rock n’ Roll
music, from the automobile, and from movies depicting Eastern inner city kids or
Western beach-dwelling kids. As the decade came to a close, the influence of the
Beat writers, technology, and social causes began to be heard in our everyday
language. Between 1958 and 1960, we moved from a culture that was “really hot”
to one that was “cool, man, cool.”
For us, “cool” described someone who was up-to-date and tuned into the culture.
It was, perhaps, our favorite and most repeated word: everything good and
desirable was “cool.” Another expression that meant more or less the same thing
was “groovy.” The term came from the grooves pressed into vinyl records, referred
to generically as “platters,” or ‘45s (for 45 rpm records), or LPs (for 33 1/3 rpm
records). Music that we liked was “groovy.” Someone who was in the know or
moving with the times was “in the groove.” Having fun was referred to as having a
“groovy time,” as in “She and I had a groovy time at the party.” Someone or
something enjoyable was “groovy.” Another description of a good time was
“having a ball.”
A popular salutation, especially in the mid-50s, was “Hey, there, daddy-o!”
Someone who was laid back or in control was a “cool head.” In many schools at
the time, top ranking and influential students were called “big wheels,” but at
Catalina we had a variation on that appellation: we had “high rollers” and “low
rollers.” Intellectuals were often called “eggheads,” a term coined in 1952.
Someone who was old fashioned was considered “square” or a “party pooper,”
and an unsociable person was considered a “nerd.”
A girl was called a “chick,” and a special girl was referred to as a “dream girl.” A
special boy, however, was a “dream man.” (We must remember that these were
the years before the women’s movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.) Boys
and girls could also be called “baby,” as in “He’s my baby…” or “She’s my baby
doll…” A high compliment originated from the title of Sam Cooke’s 1957 single,
“You send me.” Another way to praise someone was to say that he or she’s “the
most.” This could also apply to things. The “most” what? Well… just “the most.”
Teenagers who were “going together” -- “steady dates” – were described as
“flames.” And one of the things “flames” did at the end of Campbell Avenue or
Swan Road, while listening to a favorite “deejay” on an AM station and watching
the lights, or at a drive-in (sometimes referred to as “passion pits”) watching a
“flick,” was to “make out.” Call it “parking” or “making out” or “necking,” it all
amounted to the same thing: lots of hugging and kissing. A boy or girl who was
turned down for a date or who was “dumped” by his or her “steady” was said to
have been “shot down.”
To understand something or catch on was to “get it” or to “dig it,” as in “I dig it,
dad.” Another much-used expression was “Good Grief,” which we borrowed from
Charlie Brown, the main character of the comic strip “Peanuts.” To bother
someone was to “bug” him or her. To depart was to “bug out,” and the universal
parting phrase – always uttered in a high squeaky voice – was “See you later,
alligator!” To this the obligatory response, voiced in a lower tone, was “After while,
crocodile.”
Automobiles contributed many words to our special vocabulary. “Cruisin” could
mean either driving up and down Speedway looking for friends or for “chicks” or
looking for trouble, as in “criusin’ for bruisin’.” Anything that was fancier or more
powerful than expected, especially a car, was considered “souped up.” An
energetic and productive person was “running on all cylinders.” Someone
especially attractive had a “classy chassis.”
Almost without exception the slang that we used did not originate with any of us: it
came from elsewhere. Maybe our only true local source was Dick Martin. An
entire column could be devoted to Dick and his room at home, which featured
bullfight posters, doorways hung with beads, bamboo curtains, and the nearly non-
stop playing of Frank Sinatra records on the largest “stereo system” I had ever
seen. Outside, much to everyone’s delight and envy, sat a new Chevy Corvette (or
was it an Austin Healey, or both?). Dick invented two words which he used on all
occasions. One word was “dorf,” which normally served as an exclamation, but
which could mean anything he chose. The other, better known, was “Grebus!”
which Dick consistently used as a greeting. Both terms caught on with
classmates, and soon many were exclaiming “Dorf” or hailing friends with
“Grebus!” An interviewer for The Trojan Trumpeteer got it right: “Richard is a
dedicated believer in nonsense and fine taste.”
Dick was also one of the first to embrace the culture of the Beat Generation, if his
passion for progressive jazz and playing bongos is any indication (which it surely
is!). And this brings us to the end of the 1950s and the beginning of a transition in
slang and argot. The emergence of the Beat Generation in the later 1950s led to
the introduction of many new idioms. Girls were still “chicks,” but boys now were
called “cats.” The word “cool” was heard even more than before, and especially
when describing a person who was “with it” as in “He’s a cool cat.” Parties and
picnics began to be replaced by “beatnik blasts” and “far-out gatherings” at “pads”
with guests dressed to look “quite beat.” Beatnik poetry readings became popular
(more on this in another column) and the standard response to these sessions by
audience members was “Like, Wow. Cool, man, cool!” It would not be long before
we’d be speaking of “hep,” “hip,” and “hippie.” By then, the 50s were history and
we were sailing into the turbulent 60s.
But for now, it’s time to “split.” “Hang in there.”
(PS. As always, I welcome your feedback on these little articles, and especially
your own memories and recollections. Send me an email.)
Every age has its own special idiom and vocabulary, and the 1950s was no
exception. However, our jargon reflected the unprecedented rise of a youth
culture, especially in the United States, as teenagers became more distinct from
adults and more self-aware that at any previous time. Call it “slang,” “argot,”
“jargon,” or “vernacular, teenagers in the 1950s had a language all their own.
I would not claim that everyone at Catalina High School spoke in 50s slang, but I
suspect that just about all of us are guilty of having used it from time to time. And
whether we used it ourselves or not, we certainly understood its meaning whenever
we heard it from friends, in music, in movies, and on the radio. Like A-line skirts,
Ivy-league pants, cashmere sweaters, and button-down shirts, 50s slang identified
us as part of the cohort, up-to-date, and in-the-know.
Like everything else in our late 1950s world, however, our language was
undergoing a transition and a transformation. Most of the slang terms used during
our years in high school came from or related to the lyrics of early Rock n’ Roll
music, from the automobile, and from movies depicting Eastern inner city kids or
Western beach-dwelling kids. As the decade came to a close, the influence of the
Beat writers, technology, and social causes began to be heard in our everyday
language. Between 1958 and 1960, we moved from a culture that was “really hot”
to one that was “cool, man, cool.”
For us, “cool” described someone who was up-to-date and tuned into the culture.
It was, perhaps, our favorite and most repeated word: everything good and
desirable was “cool.” Another expression that meant more or less the same thing
was “groovy.” The term came from the grooves pressed into vinyl records, referred
to generically as “platters,” or ‘45s (for 45 rpm records), or LPs (for 33 1/3 rpm
records). Music that we liked was “groovy.” Someone who was in the know or
moving with the times was “in the groove.” Having fun was referred to as having a
“groovy time,” as in “She and I had a groovy time at the party.” Someone or
something enjoyable was “groovy.” Another description of a good time was
“having a ball.”
A popular salutation, especially in the mid-50s, was “Hey, there, daddy-o!”
Someone who was laid back or in control was a “cool head.” In many schools at
the time, top ranking and influential students were called “big wheels,” but at
Catalina we had a variation on that appellation: we had “high rollers” and “low
rollers.” Intellectuals were often called “eggheads,” a term coined in 1952.
Someone who was old fashioned was considered “square” or a “party pooper,”
and an unsociable person was considered a “nerd.”
A girl was called a “chick,” and a special girl was referred to as a “dream girl.” A
special boy, however, was a “dream man.” (We must remember that these were
the years before the women’s movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.) Boys
and girls could also be called “baby,” as in “He’s my baby…” or “She’s my baby
doll…” A high compliment originated from the title of Sam Cooke’s 1957 single,
“You send me.” Another way to praise someone was to say that he or she’s “the
most.” This could also apply to things. The “most” what? Well… just “the most.”
Teenagers who were “going together” -- “steady dates” – were described as
“flames.” And one of the things “flames” did at the end of Campbell Avenue or
Swan Road, while listening to a favorite “deejay” on an AM station and watching
the lights, or at a drive-in (sometimes referred to as “passion pits”) watching a
“flick,” was to “make out.” Call it “parking” or “making out” or “necking,” it all
amounted to the same thing: lots of hugging and kissing. A boy or girl who was
turned down for a date or who was “dumped” by his or her “steady” was said to
have been “shot down.”
To understand something or catch on was to “get it” or to “dig it,” as in “I dig it,
dad.” Another much-used expression was “Good Grief,” which we borrowed from
Charlie Brown, the main character of the comic strip “Peanuts.” To bother
someone was to “bug” him or her. To depart was to “bug out,” and the universal
parting phrase – always uttered in a high squeaky voice – was “See you later,
alligator!” To this the obligatory response, voiced in a lower tone, was “After while,
crocodile.”
Automobiles contributed many words to our special vocabulary. “Cruisin” could
mean either driving up and down Speedway looking for friends or for “chicks” or
looking for trouble, as in “criusin’ for bruisin’.” Anything that was fancier or more
powerful than expected, especially a car, was considered “souped up.” An
energetic and productive person was “running on all cylinders.” Someone
especially attractive had a “classy chassis.”
Almost without exception the slang that we used did not originate with any of us: it
came from elsewhere. Maybe our only true local source was Dick Martin. An
entire column could be devoted to Dick and his room at home, which featured
bullfight posters, doorways hung with beads, bamboo curtains, and the nearly non-
stop playing of Frank Sinatra records on the largest “stereo system” I had ever
seen. Outside, much to everyone’s delight and envy, sat a new Chevy Corvette (or
was it an Austin Healey, or both?). Dick invented two words which he used on all
occasions. One word was “dorf,” which normally served as an exclamation, but
which could mean anything he chose. The other, better known, was “Grebus!”
which Dick consistently used as a greeting. Both terms caught on with
classmates, and soon many were exclaiming “Dorf” or hailing friends with
“Grebus!” An interviewer for The Trojan Trumpeteer got it right: “Richard is a
dedicated believer in nonsense and fine taste.”
Dick was also one of the first to embrace the culture of the Beat Generation, if his
passion for progressive jazz and playing bongos is any indication (which it surely
is!). And this brings us to the end of the 1950s and the beginning of a transition in
slang and argot. The emergence of the Beat Generation in the later 1950s led to
the introduction of many new idioms. Girls were still “chicks,” but boys now were
called “cats.” The word “cool” was heard even more than before, and especially
when describing a person who was “with it” as in “He’s a cool cat.” Parties and
picnics began to be replaced by “beatnik blasts” and “far-out gatherings” at “pads”
with guests dressed to look “quite beat.” Beatnik poetry readings became popular
(more on this in another column) and the standard response to these sessions by
audience members was “Like, Wow. Cool, man, cool!” It would not be long before
we’d be speaking of “hep,” “hip,” and “hippie.” By then, the 50s were history and
we were sailing into the turbulent 60s.
But for now, it’s time to “split.” “Hang in there.”
(PS. As always, I welcome your feedback on these little articles, and especially
your own memories and recollections. Send me an email.)
| Play You Send Me --> |