Gotta adore the ’90s: dial-up, Crystal Pepsi, Jordan Catalano, TOPANGA, and gorgeous, silly language were all part of the era. Sincerely, “Not!, “No doi!, and “Whatever [with a finger “W, obviously] were basically my favorite slang expressions as a teenager in the 1990s. These expressions proved my seeming maturity (Not! Heh.), but behind them was a vibrant tapestry of ’90s slang, including insults like “Talk to the hand, ’cause the face don’t comprehend” and “Buggin.”
Despite the fact that these sayings are cool, I’m sure you’re all wondering, “But where did they come from? Slang frequently has strange roots because of its informal, variable nature, and occasionally those origins are never entirely understood. I’ve explained the origins and meanings of some of the sexiest idioms from the 1990s below. You are probably familiar with the most of them; if you were hipper than I was, they may have been common terms in your vocabulary during the 1990s. There is no better way to mark an exit than with the statement “I’m Audi 5000,” thus it is obvious that we need to bring some of these expressions back. I disagree.
In This Article...
Get jiggy with it.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the term “jiggy” has been used to denote nervous or fidgety behavior from the late 19th century. The phrase wasn’t used to signify “Excitedly energetic or uninhibited, frequently in a sexual manner,” until Will Smith’s smash single “Get Jiggy With It” in 1997. William Safire also explores the word “jiggy’s” etymology in a 1998 piece for the New York Times:
In From Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang, Clarence Major defines jig as “a dance” and jigaboo, from the Bantu word for “slave,” as a racial epithet used to denigrate African-Americans with dark skin. Jiggy can be connected to the verb “to jiggle.”
All that and a bag of chips.
The OED claims that “all that” first came to imply “outstanding” in 1989. People began using the phrase “all that and a bag of chips” to denote “excellent, plus extra! According to the Online Slang Dictionary, the expression can also be used to assert your superiority over someone who has previously accomplished “all that.” You are all of that, but I am all of that AND a bag of chips, as in. If this term refers to “fast-food excess,” as Safire claims, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say “All that plus a side of fries?” (I am aware that “a bag of chips” in the UK would actually refer to “a bag of fries,” but the OED notes that this expression is distinctively American in origin.)
Phat.
“Although the word “phat” gained popularity in the 1990s, the OED dates its use to indicate “cool” or “great” to 1963. There is disagreement over the spelling’s significance: Some claim that “Phat,” another word for attractive woman, refers to a woman who is “pretty hot and tempting” or has “pretty hips and thighs,” but Safire contends that the word’s true origins are simply a common misspelling of “fat,” which has been used to denote attractiveness for centuries “rich in the sense of “fat and happy.”
Dead presidents.
Since the middle of the 1940s, people have used the term “dead presidents as slang for money” (since the faces of the presidents appear on paper money), but it really took off in the 1990s. The phrase even appears in the title of a 1995 movie with the same name, Dead Presidents.
Bitchin.’
For well over six hundred years, the term “bitch” has been used to refer to what the OED defines as “a vulgar or sensual lady. However, there was a brief, peculiar era in the 1980s and 1990s when “bitchin'” was used to signify “great.” When Steve Martin notably used the term in 1995’s Father of the Bride II, the word’s coolness appeal most likely faded.
The strange thing is that, according to the OED, the phrase was first used in Frederick Kohner’s 1957 novel Gidget, which would later inspire the incredibly wholesome Gidget film series. The sentence “It was a bitchen day too.” appears in the text. Even though it was almost the end of November, the sun was out and everything.
Scrub.
A 1999 hit by TLC “No Scrubs gave us all the ideal phrase to characterize a freeloader who feels deserving of consideration:
A buster, often described as a person who thinks he’s fly, is a scrub. Constantly talking about what he wants while sitting on his bum
Despite the fact that the term “scrub” became extremely popular following that song, TLC was actually employing a very old term; the Online Etymology Dictionary notes that “scrub was used to refer to “Starting in the 1580s, he was a nasty, unimportant fellow.
Audi 5000.
In the 1990s, saying “I’m Audi 5000” signified “I’m departing fervently! The phrase likely originated as a play on the phrase “outie” (as in “I’m outie/out of here), according to The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. People followed the vehicle concept and added “5000 for emphasis when they realized that “outie and “Audi were comparable.
Psych!
In the 1990s, the word “psych” was used in three different ways, all of which played off the word “psychological: There’s to “psych out,” which refers to feeling scared or intimidated (for example, “That chem test totally psyched me out!,” as well as to “be psyched or excited about something,” for example, “Dude, I am SO PSYCHED about the Third Eye Blind concert!”). Both of these applications date back to the early 1960s. Psych! or “Sike!, which means to fool someone, is a third (and more annoying) usage that has only been in use since 1990.
Cowabunga!
Cowabunga! is an exclamation of delight or surprise that is similar to saying, “Wow! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bart Simpson made it popular in the 1990s, although “Much earlier inventions include cowabunga. Originally, the word was spelled “Edward Kean developed kowabonga in 1949 for the children’s television program Howdy Doody. It served as a catchphrase for the cartoonish Native American caricature Chief Thunderthud, who was racially insensitive (like, AT ALL).” Initially popularized by surfers in the 1960s, Cowabunga was later immortalized by Bart and the Ninja Turtles, who both tended to add a “And then, dude.
The release date of the Audi 5000 is.
The Volkswagen Group’s Audi division primarily produces and markets mid-size/executive automobiles, such as the Audi 100 and Audi 200 (also known as the Audi 5000 in North America). The vehicle was produced from 1968 to 1997 over the course of four generations (C1C4), with the first two generations (C1-C2) offering a two-door model and the final three generations offering a five-door type (C2C4).
With flat greenhouse sides and novel sliding window mountings, the third generation Audi 100 achieved a remarkable low (for its time) drag coefficient of 0.30 in 1982.
From 1978 through 1988, the C2 and C3 versions of the Audi 100 were sold in North America as the Audi 5000, and in South Africa as the Audi 500.
Up until they were replaced by a new generation of A6, internally known as C5, in 1997, the models underwent only minor styling changes and were called the Audi A6 series in accordance with a general new Audi naming strategy.
What exactly does being a total Betty mean?
So you’re probably thinking, “Okay,
Is this a listicle based on “Clueless” or what? But in all seriousness, it’s a big deal that Amy Heckerling’s “Emma-inspired teen comedy” is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In addition to giving us a manual on how to dress, flirt, and mingle, those 97 minutes of cinematic excellence also taught us a hip new vocabulary that we still use today. Just consider how often you’ve said “As if!” in response to an early-morning email or blankly stared at someone while internally gesturing with your fingers in a W shape.
It was accurate for Roger Ebert to state in his review that “[Heckerling’s] discourse may be anthologized. Here are ten extremely well-known phrases and terms that, if they had been coined by Jane Austen herself, would have no cultural significance whatsoever.
Monet
Meaning: an object that seems good from a distance but is messy up close. Think about Claude Monet. Cher: “She’s a full-on Monet (referring to Amber) (referring to Amber).
Cher: “See how it resembles a painting? From a distance, it looks alright, but up close, it’s a huge mess.