One thing that defines a generation is their way of speaking, especially the slang developed in their teens and twenties. These words often reflect the political changes and social preoccupations of the time. A good example of this is the slang of the 1940s, a time of huge turmoil because of the bloody Second World War, when many young people were literally being blown to bits. A large percentage of forties’ slang has to do with body parts, perhaps because giving silly names one’s legs, arms, eyes, and so on, shielded you from the realities of what was really happening to those parts. Somehow “He lost both his drumsticks” sounds less horrifying than “he lost both his legs.” To get an idea of how prevalent this slang was, here is an alphabetical list of slang terms coined in the 1940s, some of which are still in use today.

biscuit – your head
blinkers – your eyes
bone box – your mouth
bread basket – your stomach
brush – your mustache
chewers – your teeth
choppers – your teeth
chops – your jaws
clocker – your heart
dome – your head
drumsticks – your legs
dukes – your fists
face lace – your whiskers
feelers – your fingers
flippers – your ears
floppers – your arms
frame – a girl’s overall figure
gams – your legs
grabbers – your hands
hinges – your elbows
idea pot – your head
lamps – your eyes
lugs – your ears, especially if they were large
meat hooks – your hands
moss – your whiskers
noggin – your head
paws – your hands
phiz – your face
pickers – your fingers
prayer dukes – your knees
pump – your heart
puss – your face
sails – your ears
schnozz- your nose
shutters – your eyelids
sneezer – your nose
stems – your legs
stretcher – your neck
think box – your head
ticker – your heart
wigglers – your fingers

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