1969: Year of Telnet and Tip Of the Iceberg!

October 20, 2020 8:15 PM

Merriam-Webster has a couple of timesinks for ya: The Time Traveler, in which you get to travel to a year and see which words entered the (English) lexicon; and the Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?, in which you have to guess which word of a pair entered the lexicon first. More word games? Sure.
posted by not_on_display (10 comments total)

I did a selective list of words from my birth year: butt naked, coronavirus, cryptozoology, earthrise, gross-out, homosocial, love beads, noogie, peace sign, prodrug, word processor, yo.
posted by jessamyn at 8:33 PM on October 20, 2020 [2 favorites]

Himbo and swole came out the year I was born ('88). A+ year for the English lexicon IMO!
posted by Kitchen Witch at 9:10 PM on October 20, 2020 [1 favorite]

I was surprised to find that autocorrect is as old as I am. Scuzzbag, sleazebag, and sleazeball also came out when I was born, which I am trying hard not to take personally.
posted by ckape at 9:18 PM on October 20, 2020 [1 favorite]

my birth year, 1955, had a lot of notable new terminology, including aerospace, agribusiness, artificial intelligence, big bang theory, booster seat, box cutter, catalytic converter, choke chain, cornerback, cosmonaut, counterintuative, daisy-chain, deinstitutionalization, DIY and -whew- so many more... including home computer (which I did not possess one of until I was almost 25...), ICBM, idiot box (which I always had access to... have I mentioned that Captain Kangaroo and Mickey Mouse Club debuted the Monday after I was born?), Peking duck, phys ed, Rasta, soft serve and weirdo (perfect timing for my future schoolyard bullies).
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:44 PM on October 20, 2020 [1 favorite]

My birth year, 1974, included Afropop, string cheese, coronal mass ejection, kneecapping, and transgender.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 1:57 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

From 1971, I could be a: knackered gonzo underperforming nonsexist kickboxing sex worker.
posted by antiwiggle at 3:13 AM on October 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

From 1975, and certainly relevant to our interests here: CAT-SCAN. I have no idea how these people crammed this word into our lexicon, or why.
posted by wabbittwax at 3:44 AM on October 21, 2020 [4 favorites]

Also new for 1975: alternative rock, ATM, baked (as in stoned), cognitive behavioral therapy, date rape, electronic mail, fractal, greenhouse gas, leisure suit, narcissistic personality disorder, and smashmouth.
posted by wabbittwax at 3:54 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'd thought "d'oh" originated with The Simpsons but it's listed with my birth year.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:10 AM on October 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Coming to you from the year 1967, aside from me: audiocassette, automated teller machine, blue flu, doobie, DOS, flower child, ibuprofen, monoclonal antibody, owie, samizdat, and videoconferencing.
posted by hanov3r at 7:30 AM on October 21, 2020 [3 favorites]