Long before the uncool could quiet look for the substance of thwart slang on Urban Dictionary , they could pay 25 cents for a booklet that promised to teach the “ hep ” accent of spring chicken . Hepcats Jive Talk Dictionary , issue in 1945 at the acme of the cut and jive era , limit slang largely make in and by Black communities for wannabe hep gees . Here are a few swellelegant words and phrasal idiom from the lexicon , some of which are still around — and some of which have fallen out of fashion . ( If you plan to click through the dictionary itself , be cognizant that it contains slang for discussion and phrases now deal slurs . )
1 . Advance the light : to prepare .
2 . Apron : the bartender .
3 . Airbags : the lungs .
4 . Backcap:“an response . ”
5 . pooch : a couple of shoe .
6 . Bucket from Nantucket : someone who drinks a lot .
7 . Butter : falseness ; B.S.
8 . Buzzsaw : a person who likes to shoot the breeze .
9 . Canary : a distaff vocalist .
10 . Clambake : a jive music session .
11 . Dead pigeon : a boring individual .
12 . Dreambox : the head . ( rag , meanwhile , were simplyedreamers . )
13 . Exodust : to flee , make tracks , amaze a retreat .
14 . Flip the grip : to shake hands .
15 . Fried : surpassingly drunk .
16 . Got your boots on:“hep to the jive . ”
17 . Hep to:“well - informed . ” Otherhepphrases includehepcat(“one who knows what it ’s all about ” ) andhep gee(“one in the know ” ) .
18 . Hunk of wind : a doughnut .
19 . Hotsy totsy:“under control . ”
20 . Idea pot:“the head . ”
21 . In and outer : a room access .
22 . Legit:“the material affair . ”
23 . Lothario from Ontario : a “ fast worker ” or charmer .
24 . Murder:“to make perfection . ”
25 . Plungeroo : a mortal obsessed with playing pin - ball ( which wasillegal in some placeswhen theHepcats Jive Talk Dictionarywas published ) .
26 . lolly : fold or newspaper money .
27 . Side arms : cream and sugar . An exercise of “ G.I. Jive ” or military slang .
28 . Storked : expecting a “ blessed event ” ; pregnant .
29 . Swellelegant : fantastic , fantastic .
30 . Wigglers : the finger . ( You could also call themforks . )
31 . Yak : a loud gag .
32 . Zowie:“exclamation of approval . ”
A adaptation of this chronicle ran in 2013 ; it has been updated for 2022 .
