Cahoot

Cahoot

I love this word because it sounds like something you'd hear in an old gangster movie: "So you think I'm in cahoots with the boys blue, ay? Ya think I'm  trying to pull a fast one? Ya think I'm gonna run off with your moll, ay? I ain't no stooly. And I ain't in cahoots with nobody, see?"

I love 1920s slang, too, mainly because instead of referring to a guy as a "stud" or other such tired cliche, I like the idea of calling him a "sheik." And I love the idea of giving someone "the air."  As in "That dame? You need to give her the air."

I'd love to pepper my everyday language and this blog with '20s slang, but, not unlike the Word of the Day, unless I hear consistently day after day I can never remember them.

Palooka - another great word! In the early talkies, it's so great when some tomato that's of average size for the time (you know, 5'2", 85 pounds) is telling off some boxer that's three times her size: "Listen hear, ya big palooka!" Priceless.

For more on 1920s slang, see this. For more gangster slang, see this. And if you find yourself really getting into it, join this group on FB!