History has given us some crazy slang words over the years! As language continues to rapidly change, it can be hard to keep up with all of the latest trends in our world. We've watched slang be influenced by music, technology, and current events. Ultimately, slang is a cultural reaction to what is going on around us that can reveal some fascinating realities. Let's take a look back at memory lane as we chat about the hottest trending words from every year!

Combining words will often give us the craziest of what English and human language can offer. "Crunk" is a combination word of "crazy" and "drunk." It often is used in regard to partying, clubbing, or drinking. However, some argue that the word's origins are not a simple combination, but rather it's the past tense of "crank." The argument is that cranking something too far makes it crunk and when the word refers to yourself or someone else, it would imply that you are too far gone.

Were the '90s that stressful or did we all just really want to relax? In 1999, we combined "chill" with "relax" to give us the iconic chillax line. The word was often used in pop culture and daily life. It was just the cool, trendy way of telling your friends that they needed to reel it in and not take life so seriously. There was an art to chillaxing with your friends and all of the cool kids knew just how to do it.

If you say it out loud, this word seems to be some sort of insult. However, the slight spelling difference between "phat" and "fat" makes a world of a difference. In '98 we loved throwing the word "phat" around in an affectionate and endearing way. It was a word similar to "cool" or "hot", but the word has sort of died out in cultural significance. With it being so easy to mishear the word and misconstrue the meaning, maybe it's for the best we let this one go.

Have you ever had a friend who just looked down on everything that you did? They're the worst! However, we really do all have that friend who has something to say about someone or something. In 1997 the word "judgy" rose to popularity. It's short for the word "judgmental" and describes someone who is unable to mind their own business and looks down at everything around them. Was the culture of the time just way more judgy? It's hard to say, but there was certainly that preppy mean-girl stereotype, so maybe it makes some sense.

Before memes and emojis, we had to express ourselves with actual words. In this case, though, we were using words about a gesture. Saying "face-palm" was in reference to the motion of putting your face into your palm, typically to shield a facial reaction. It's sort of a reaction of disappointment, disbelief, and embarrassment. Rather than do the motion, it became common to just reference the concept of a face-palm. This slang reemerged in the 2010s as a popular meme spread around.

When the movie Clueless was trending, it kickstarted so many totally '90s trends. Not only were we all obsessed with the chic fashion choices made in the film, but talking like the girls in the film was everything. The phrase that truly stick around was "as if" which basically means "yeah, right!" Typically, people would use this when they were moderately annoyed and with a dismissive tone. Saying "as if" was an addition to practically any gossip-y conversation, especially when you were hearing someone totally dish.

There are many ways to refer to the police. Some people refer to them as "12," but calling them just "cops" is way more common. In 1994, though, the phrase "po po" was thrown around quite a lot. What was super silly about this is that it wasn't even a shorter version of the word since it was still two syllables. However, it caught on because of how casual it made a conversation sound. Joking about the "po po" being after you was way more nonchalant than explicitly saying the police.

If someone called you "da bomb," you knew you were doing something right. In 1993, you could refer to anyone or anything as da bomb if you deemed it to be cool enough! For example, that sparkly cherry lipstick you wear every day is totally da bomb. Later versions of the word would transform into "da bomb dot com" in reference to an Internet address. After all, with the kickoff and surge of the Internet era, making rhymes was just bound to happen.

When your parents weren't letting you go out, they were really killing your vibe. You never wanted to be called a "buzzkill" in 1992. It was a total insult! Ruining someone's fun or excitement about something was probably the worst thing you could do. Sometimes, that meant your parents were the buzzkills for shutting down your plans, but other times that meant your friend was being a total drag and not matching your energy. That's when the word buzzkill absolutely came in handy.

Best Friends Forever. Best Friends For Life. Besties for the resties. No matter what variation you used, the '90s were obsessed with the idea of a lifelong friendship and ranking your relationships. Buying matching friendship bracelets also meant the world. So, the word "bestie" quickly became one of the most widespread slang words of the year! We still use this word today with it even making a resurgence in the early 2020s. In fact, it can be endearing or sarcastic, so it's good to keep in your back pocket just because of how flexible it is.

We cared about nothing more than being the coolest person in the '90s and that was so obvious based on how we talked to each other. Plus, we can look back at the teenage dramas of the era and know just how important the high school hierarchy and cliques were to us. However, being called "cool" simply wasn't enough. If you were texting your friends, you'd have to say "kewl" to take it to the next level. This was the era that we were altering words ever so slightly in the new digital setting.

Ending the '80s was sort of an aggressive thing for some reason. The world was talking consistently about fighting each other apparently. In fact, if someone was crossing you or causing problems, you may have threatened to give them a "beatdown"! This meant that you'd be either physically or verbally messing them up. It was totally aggressive, too. This was probably the highest level of fighting that you could possibly reach. You may want to take your beatdowns outside, after school hours, though.

The exact meaning of the word "emo" is widely debated. Since being popularized in the late '80s, it has become an incredibly expansive subculture in fashion, music, and cliques. Obviously, the word is just a shortened version of the word "emotional," but it is definitely a bit bigger than that. Being emo typically came with similar features of being goth, but was way less distinctive. In the '80s, this word certainly wasn't a compliment, either! Getting bullied for being emo was constant.

The hip hop genre really was on to something when they started giving us the diss track! They leaned into the word "diss" which just meant to put down and insult someone and magnified it to a catchy beat! It wasn't necessarily a good thing to be dissed or even to be dissing someone else. It was a bit insensitive to put someone down. That didn't stop the kids of the era from doing so anyway, especially when they were attacked or dissed first.

While it seems sort of cringy now, "studmuffin" was a really popular and endearing word in 1986. If you were calling someone a studmuffin, you meant they were attractive and over-the-top hot! Typically, the word was used to refer to a man, especially one who was muscular and reserved rather than preppy and soft. Sometimes the word was even applied sarcastically, only adding to its popularity. If you could make a woman swoon, you would become a studmuffin in their eyes.

"Cool beans" was a silly and quirkier way of just saying "great" or "nice"! Of course, the word "cool" already acknowledged that you liked something, but adding the "beans" just made it that much more casual in tone. Plus, you were definitely adding just a little more exclamation with that addition. If your friend was telling you about a recent accomplishment or a great thing that happened to them that day, you may have just replied "cool beans" to show them some love, support, and let them know you think what they're up to is nice.

You can lose your mind for so many different reasons. When you are excited, you're bound to start tweaking and bursting with passion. In this case, you're geeked about it. However, geeking wasn't always exciting. It just meant you were becoming over the top about something. You can geek over something bad and feel totally out of it. In the end, being geeked is more of an emotional state of being where you may have difficulty controlling your own racing thoughts in some way.

Such a simple word that found its way into everyone's vocabulary. Sometimes slang words go from casual slang and morph their way into daily life forever. "Yup" is another way to say yes. It ranks up there with "yeah." However, "yup" is often considered even more slang-y than "yeah" is. In fact, "yup" has also been modified into "yuppers" on occasion, which definitely isn't a real word! Nonetheless, "yup" has really engrained itself into our casual conversations, likely for years to come. Thank you, 1983!

Before e-girls, we had b-boys! The term originated in the early '70s, but really rose to its peak popularity in 1982. The word is actually short for "break boy" and refers to those who danced to the instrumental parts of songs in an energized way that often inspired others to participate and dance, too. Yes, there are even "break girls" as well. It is similar to "break dancers," but b-boys do not like to be confused with this term. From a b-boy perspective, break dancers have no style and are dancing for all of the wrong reasons.

"Take a chill pill, man!": A common phrase from 1981 that still makes its way into popular culture today. While medicine can pretty much cure everything, it is definitely not medically proven that there's a pill that will help you find your cool. "Chill pill" is entirely figurative rather than literal. A friend may ask you to take one if you're getting far too wound up in either a good or bad way. In this case, "chill" means relax rather than to be cool.

Before "chill pill," everyone was asking each other to simply "chill out." There was a certain vibe in the late '70s and early '80s that everyone needed to be just as mellow as possible to fully understand and appreciate. If you were disturbing that peace, you could bet that you would get called out for it. So, you'd need to be careful to not get too over-energetic or annoyingly upset or else you'd be hit with the "chill out."

As a shortened version of definitely, "def" had so many practical uses that it is no surprise that it picked up so easily. The word was used by everyone but was also highly associated with that preppy valley girl accent that everyone knows. It has the same energy as saying "totes" instead of "totally." It's not much easier than saying the original word, but using it made you look like you were carefree and up on the latest trends.

You've heard the bitter tone of a friend calling someone they dislike "snotty and uptight." What if there was a word that went a little bit further than "snotty"? Well, it turns out there is... or was! In 1978, to call someone "snitty" was like taking it to the next level. It wasn't just about being stuck up, but if you were snitty, you were very disagreeable as a person. Typically snitty people were rude and annoying.

This word is still used by fraternity brothers everywhere. When you're at a party and ready for another drink, you may ask your friend to grab you a "brewski," which would just refer to another beer. Some may argue that a brewski, in particular, would be in reference to cheap beer, which would be why it is commonly used by college kids. In the '70s it was often thrown around in America, but it was also relatively more popular in Canada.

Do you know someone who is over the top and sassy? Those people who give you a total attitude can be the absolute worst. In 1976, you would call them out on their "tude". It's short for attitude and every young person had one. "Tude" was never used to refer to someone's pleasant attitude, either. It was always some sort of bitter and condescending way of being that would get remarked on. You'd never want to be known as someone with a tude.

So much slang has to do with the way we defined something as cool or interesting. In 1975, you would commonly hear someone refer to someone or something as "slammin.'" However, it was definitely reserved for the best of the best. It was totally bold to declare something to be slammin.' You'd be setting very high expectations for it. Anything declared slammin' would need to be absolutely wonderful in every way. You could also refer to a person as slammin,' not just things!

"Gotcha" can be used in so many different ways. Firstly, you can use it as affirmation, especially affirmation that you understand or comprehend something. If your friend is explaining something, you'd simply respond with "gotcha." However, there was a more insidious use of the term as well. If you pulled a prank or joke on someone, you could've used "gotcha" as a way to indicate you were joking or brag about pulling the prank off! Either way, the term was a simplified version of saying "I got you."

Sometimes it can feel like talking to a brick wall when your friend is spacing out. If they do it too often, they'd be considered a total "space cadet." These are people that never fully feel like they're present in conversations that you have with them. Plus, they forget whatever it is you're telling them which can be so frustrating if you're trying to make plans! A space cadet definitely isn't the worst thing to be, but if you can avoid it...do.

Fad diets were huge in the '70s. Everyone was obsessed with how they looked and the pursuit of being the skinniest version of themselves. Public enemy number one was the old-fashioned carbohydrate. To simplify that complicated word, we dubbed it simply "carbs" and talked about how to cut them. Cutting carbs meant eliminating some delicious foods from your diet, but it was also the only way to get rid of them. Carbs aren't the enemy anymore, but the term itself has stuck around.

All good things come in threes! In 1971, people loved to refer to their favorite threes as a trifecta. The best part is that there were so many instances where this applied and made total sense. For example, a music group with three members could be considered the perfect trifecta. If you are an individual talented in music, acting, and modeling then you have hit the trifecta, too. There's so many ways this was relevant and in the '70s, the slang was used to the point where you can be assured that they found every way to use it.

What would one day be morphed into "noob" online by gamers started as the word "newbie" that plagued the vocabulary of everyone in 1970. Being new to a skill isn't necessarily a bad thing, but any amateur would first start out as a newbie until they learned the ropes. This would apply to skills, sports, concepts, and more. It was certainly an insulting way to talk to someone, especially if they actually weren't new to it and instead were just really bad.

Gross! As the '60s were winding down, apparently we had a lot to be disgusted about. Expressing feelings of something being appalling could be done in so many ways, but simply saying "ew" was just way easier. It didn't have to refer to anything that was even that gross, either. Expressing your distaste for someone's fashion choices was as simple as a passive "ew." Grody room? Ew. Terrible food? Ew. This word wasn't necessarily new, but it was something that was popularized and stuck around for a long time after.

Are you ready to dance? If so, you might make your way to a sock hop in town and get yourself a date. While there you may "get down" to some tunes. This meant to dance the night away and "boogie." Typically, you'd be getting down on the weekend after school with your friends. Ultimately, it wasn't just dancing this could refer to. You may also just get down while hanging out and doing something that you and your friends really enjoyed. It was a catch-all for a lot of different acts and a popular one at that.

Being a total jerk? You may have been considered a "grinch" or someone who was always grumpy. Having a grinch in your group really brought the entire mood down, especially when you were trying to have a nice and fun night. You'd have to call that person out, too, so they didn't just get away with ruining the vibes. So, you'd tell your friend to stop being a total grinch and cheer up! After all, what is there really to be so bitter about?

If it isn't cool, then it's bringing you down. This slang word was really used for something that was holding you back or making you upset. If something was a "drag," it typically meant bad news. Moreover, if a person was being a drag, they probably shut down your idea or are having a totally bad attitude. The word "drag" really rose to popularity in 1966, but it has hung around in people's vocabulary for a few generations now, as well.

A word that has mostly fallen out of popularity, "grody," means disgusting. It still pops up from time to time now, but in 1965 anything that could be considered mildly repulsive would be considered grody. It mostly referred to items that were grimy, slimy, or otherwise gross. However, it could also refer to a person and their behavior, especially when that behavior was backstabbing in nature or in general was a bit misleading. Overall, if it was icky then it was also grody.

Music has always played an immense role in pop culture. So, some of the words inspired by genres and changes in the music scene tend to find their way into our vocabulary. Folk music, including folk-rock, was becoming very prominent in 1964. Generally speaking, the word "folkie" referred to the sound of that music, but also would be used to refer to an enjoyer of the music genre of the person performing it themselves. Folk musicians were the ultimate folkies.

Have you ever been stuck between a rock and a hard place? If so, then you've been in a catch-22. There are certainly different varieties of a catch-22 situation. It may just be that you have a certain outcome in mind, but it's impossible to logically achieve. More likely, it's that no matter what you choose you will be let down or causing a problem in some way. You can't always get what you want, we suppose!

The obsession with sunshine and surfing in the 1960s was real. Everyone idolized the growing Hollywood scene and thus, the nearby Los Angeles surf scene grew in popularity. Surfers often wore loose and oversized swim trunks, which the general public began to call "baggie." It wasn't just swimming shorts that got referred to in this way, either. Any loose and oversized shorts would get dubbed "baggies." It was a part of the style of the time, but not something that everyone adopted.

"Dishy" was really popular in the United Kingdom, particularly. For the most part, it is a compliment which means that someone is attractive. However, some say that it meant a person was overall attractive, but just ever so slightly off. Their features were just slightly ajar or they themselves were out of place in a social setting or scene. It was a word that really depended on the context around it to make full sense. Either way, people in the '60s loved this term.

If you're acting weird, stupid, or otherwise annoying, you'd be considered a "doofus." This insult was reserved for people who were incredibly odd or dorky. You were considered an all-around idiot if you were called this. It was pretty common to hear this term when someone was being bullied, which was incredibly mean. However, if you had a sibling, you probably called them a doofus as well in that family love-hate way. Stay on your A-game and don't seem dumb and you may have a chance to avoid the word.

We all know what the delicious beefy hot dog is! It has become a cheap staple in many people's diets and it's the estranged cousin of the sausage. However, that is not what people in 1959 meant when they said "hot dog!" It has a totally different meaning instead. You could exclaim this phrase out of delight when you were incredibly excited. Sometimes, this would pop up in its entirety: "hot diggity dog"! Another variation of the word was "hot diggity."

Who doesn't love a good romantic comedy? Most of the greatest movies in history from this era were romantic comedies. In fact, they really became all the rage, but the genre name was simply too long. To consolidate space in conversation, it was shortened down to just "rom-com" and to this day it's still how we refer to this category. Usually the films back then focused on the rivalry and differences between men and women, but the genre has now grown to embrace many different narratives and plot lines.

Fantastic and fabulous just became far too boring of words to describe the wonder and whimsy that was the '50s. So, a new word had to be invented to truly express feelings of endearment. What emerged was the playful "fantabulous" used by valley girls everywhere for years. Anything could be considered fantabulous if you loved it enough. This word could refer to objects, especially clothes! Plus, a person or particular situation could be oh so fantabulous.

As we approached the '60s, the concept of "psychedelic" was really becoming all the rage. In fact, it would become an aesthetic and subculture of its own. The "psychedelic" aesthetic would pop up in a variety of ways from art to clothes to music. It has a hypnotic effect and is known for color and vibrancy. Describing anything as psychedelic would really bring up the idea of hallucinations, but it wasn't always that simple. It was more of a feeling...a vibe.

Are you over-the-moon excited about something? That means you're probably really jazzed about it. In 1955, you'd express your feelings of excitement by saying you're jazzed. You could also say someone else was jazzed about an occurrence that you, yourself weren't particularly keen on. The word "jazzed" is one of many slang words over the years that has still crept into the modern vocabulary. Though not as popular, most people still know what you mean when you say this.