1961 article on teen slang

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Sep 13, 2007, at 11:30 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:

> The following article by Gay Pauley, UPI women's editor, appeared in
> various newspapers in December 1961. (Newspaperarchive has it in: San
> Antonio Light, Dec. 12, 1961, p. 21; Long Beach Press-Telegram, Dec.
> 14, 1961, p. 8; etc.)...
>
> ... Unger is publisher and and editor of "Datebook" magazine and
> author of
> a new book, "The Cool Book" (Prentice Hall), called a "teenager's
> guide to survival in a square society."
> Unger talks to teens, in teen terms, on such matters as dating, good
> looks and grooming, popularity and education. But it's the section on
> teenager "cooloquialisms" and "daffynitions" which I suggest for dazed
> parents...

i was in college when unger's book was written, but i recognize
almost none of the cooloquialisms, and the few that i do recognize
had somewhat different meanings than the ones in this article.  i
can't believe that many of these expressions were in general use
among american teenagers around 1960.

as always, i wonder how such lists are assembled.

arnold

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