7 gnarly ’80s slang we wish would make a comeback

Slang can reveal the cultural undercurrents of a time period. It’s mostly used by young people — women and Black people especially — and the 1980s were the heyday of Gen Xers.

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Gag me with a spoon!

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Gnarly

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Eat my shorts!

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Meaning: someone who grew up in the same town as you. The word homeboy goes back to the ’80s, but technically the 1880s.

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7 gnarly ’80s slang we wish would make a comeback

Slang can reveal the cultural undercurrents of a time period. It’s mostly used by young people — women and Black people especially — and the 1980s were the heyday of Gen Xers.

Gag me with a spoon!

Meaning: That’s disgusting! One of the defining linguistic phenomena of the 1980s was Val-speak, a dialect of English spoken by Valley Girls.

Gnarly

Meaning: amazing, awesome; or, disgusting. Val-speak wasn’t the only linguistic phenomenon coming from California. Surf slang was also making waves.

Eat my shorts!

Meaning: a crude remark to tell someone to go away, stop bothering you, etc. The insults of yesteryear can often sound ridiculous to modern ears, and “Eat my shorts!” is no exception.

Meaning: someone who grew up in the same town as you. The word homeboy goes back to the ’80s, but technically the 1880s.

Homeboy, homegirl, homebuddy, etc.

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