DC-area teen slang (1957)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Various antedatings in this article, e.g. "with it" (OED2 1962), "like
wow" (HDAS 1958, OED2 1959), "fungus among us" (HDAS 1960), "fantabulous"
(HDAS 1958, OED2 1959), and "mystery meat" (HDAS/OED3 1968).

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http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=309&VName=HNP&did=121235300
Washington Post, Sep 29, 1957, p. F1, col. 1-2
Parents, you'd better get with it or you're going to find yourself O.T.L.
when your teen-age sons and daughters start slinging the slang. Last
year's teen lingo is definitely out of it and you'd better learn the new
mystery words or you'll never be a frozen feline (the superlative of
cool-cat).
We made this startling discovery while doing a little teen-searching at
Maryland, Virginia and District High schools.
"Hep" which only a few weeks ago was a mighty fine word to use when
someone was in-the-know or a smart-cookie, is out. Now "you're with it"
has left "hep" nothing but a three letter word.
Of course, "lunching" is the opposite of O.T.L. (out to lunch) which
plainly tells you that someone is out-of-it, not-in-the-groove, or
not-with-it. Or if you don't want to say a friend is O.T.L. just call the
"square" a "fly".
"Cool" (great or wonderful) is still raising its little head in the
District and Maryland schools but across the Potomac it's rapidly being
replaced by "frozen" which makes "cool" just that much cooler.
[...]
Sometimes a new slang expression climbs up from below. Brown-eyed Genia
Morehead -- a 17-year-old member of the pom-pom team at Bethesda-Chevy
Chase -- admits that she picked up "Like Wow!" (meaning wonderful or good,
or used as an expression of agreement) from her little sister, Mary, a
ninth grader at Western. "Kids are growing up so fast," Genia added.
National polls to the contrary, to the contrary, going "steady" is
(according to area high school teens) on its way out. And they have a new
word to prove it. Going "steadily" is now all the rage. ... "Security with
variety" is the way two sophomores -- pretty 14-year-old Nicki Berbakos
and her "steadily," Sam McWilliams -- define going "steadily."
[...]
Three Barbaras -- Armistead, Jones and Marks -- cut us in on the current
slang at George Washington High in Alexandria. "There's fungus among us"
is taking the place of "creepy character" and the southern influence is
showing in the old standby "Yea, Man!". "Neat," "cool" and "square" are
still getting a good play.
[...]
Also added to the teen dictionary is "fruit boats" (the new colored suede
shoes) and "black khaki" -- the black cotton slack which are almost a
uniform at B.C.C. Then we still have "gung ho" (all for it), "real crazy,"
"riot" which to teen agers means lots of fun, "fantabulous," "real
nervous," "mystery meat" (meat loaf, stew or almost any meat concoction),
"nervous breakdown" (rushing around too much), and "schnook" for someone
you don't like.
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--Ben Zimmer