{"id":52683,"date":"2026-11-08T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=52683"},"modified":"2026-11-03T10:27:57","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T15:27:57","slug":"slang-of-the-50s-60s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/slang-of-the-50s-60s\/","title":{"rendered":"SLANG OF THE 50s & 60s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Penny For Your Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By: Nancy Whitaker <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yep! I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Now that I am old, I think those were the best times in my lifetime. We dressed cool, the boys had well oiled hair and some were even growing side burns. Girls were wearing poodle skirts, had beehives and white buck shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Football games were held usually on Friday nights where a group of friends would cheer in the bleachers for our Van Wert Cougars. Following the game we would go to a record hop where we danced till our curfew rolled around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We danced the jitterbug, the twist, the stroll and slow danced to the best love songs ever. We loved shopping on Saturdays at the Five and Dime Store, shoe stores, and going to restaurants with soda fountains and drinking a nickel Coke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of us had part-time jobs. Sometimes we babysat, car-hopped, mowed yards or delivered newspapers. There was a movie theater downtown that had a balcony. If you were lucky enough to have a girl- or boyfriend, you might get to sit in the balcony. Of course at the movies, there was a commercial saying, \u201cLet\u2019s all go to the lobby.\u201d The lobby was full of various kinds of candy, popcorn, and soda pops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first movies I saw was \u201cPsycho\u201d. I was so scared during that movie that my mom, my brother and I were scared to walk home and we were also scared to take a shower. That movie I will never forget where the gal got stabbed in the shower. Tony Curtis starred in that movie with Janet Leigh as the girl in the shower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in those days we also had certain sayings we said. Not bad words but cool sayings such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Cool Cat: A stylish, calm, or admired person (I think cool cat was a saying for guys). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Square: An old-fashioned, boring, or uncool person ( I tried not to be square, but I probably was).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Daddy-O: A casual term of address for a friend or cool guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Dig It: To understand, like, or appreciate something (\u201cI dig it\u201d). I about forgot that one. Let me use it now, \u201cOh yes, I dig the West Bend News\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Greaser: A rebellious youth with slicked-back, greased hair and a leather jacket (I dated a few of those).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Fuzz: The police. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Bread: Money (back then a quarter was a lot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Pad: Someone\u2019s home or apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Cruising for a Bruisin\u2019: Looking for trouble or a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 See You Later, Alligator: A popular way to say goodbye (with the response, \u201cAfter a while, crocodile\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Far Out: Something incredible, strange, or amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Outta Sight: Awesome, impressive, or extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Right On: An expression of agreement or approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Groovy: Trendy, cool, or fantastic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Bummer: A disappointing or unpleasant experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Psyched: Excited or full of enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Sock It to Me: A catchphrase popularized by Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In meaning \u201cgive it to me\u201d or \u201chit me with it\u201d. (Remember Laugh In?) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Burn Rubber: To accelerate fast in a car, leaving a mark on the pavement (not me, I was a late driver).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure not a cool cat, not groovy, or far out. I guess I am a square with little bread and if you remember any of these sayings,  then you can \u201c Sock it to me.\u201d No, I will just give you a Penny for your thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker  Yep! I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Now that I am<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","video_url":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"nfd_image_url":"","nfd_onboarding_generated":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,12771],"tags":[12838,26170],"class_list":["post-52683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-pennies-for-your-thoughts","tag-nancy-whitaker","tag-penny-for-your-thoguhts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t