Glossary of early twentieth century slang in the United States

This glossary of early twentieth century slang in the United States is an alphabetical collection of colloquial expressions and their idiomatic meaning from the 1900s to the 1930s. This compilation highlights American slang from the 1920s and does not include foreign phrases. The glossary includes dated entries connected to bootlegging, criminal activities, drug usage, filmmaking, firearms, ethnic slurs, prison slang, sexuality, women's physical features, and sports metaphors. Some expressions are deemed inappropriate and offensive in today's context.

While slang is usually inappropriate for formal settings, this assortment includes well-known expressions from that time, with some still in use today, e.g., , , , and .

These items were gathered from published sources documenting 1920s slang, including books, PDFs, and websites. Verified references are provided for every entry in the listing.

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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

See also

• Art Deco
• Glossary of Mafia-related words
• Jazz Age
• List of 1920s jazz standards
• List of police-related slang terms
• List of ethnic slurs
• Prohibition in the United States
• Roaring Twenties
• Slang dictionary

Notes

References

Works cited

Books

Web Slang Dictionaries and PDFs

• Historical Dictionary of American Slang ()
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Wiktionary – a free standard dictionary

Websites

Further reading

External links

• The Jazz Age In America
• Roaring Twenties from U S History.com
• The Roaring Twenties – History.com
• Roaring Twenties study guide and teacher resources – timeline, quotes, analysis, multimedia