Being drunk: Slang and idioms of drunkenness.

Alcohol has been around for ages, and many terms have popped up to help explain the state of being drunk. I took a look at some of the most common slang terms for being drunk and see where they sit in the history of the american language.

*Most of the queries were specialized to get the best results for each results. 

Word	GB	COCA	First occurrence (COHA) (with previous literal meaning)
[be] blitzed	1354	20	1978: The man was blitzed completely. He sat. "Get him a glass," Danny told Tiffany.
He [be] wasted	994	17	1999: "told you about what?" Leo said. He was wasted."
[be] tipsy	8073	21	1890: Frank now judged, from the harsh laugh and the excited manner of the intruder, that his visitor was tipsy.
Three sheets to the wind	1232	16	1928: An Irishman about  three sheets to the wind was on his way home.
[be] tanked up	88	4	1921: He wouldn't think o' goin' out 'less he was tanked up, on time er not on time
*he [be] smashed	786	4	2004: ..being under the table at banquets because he was smashed
*he [be] sloshed	58	2	1965: And she hadn't giggled, as he explained to me later, when she stated he was sloshed.
he [be] plastered	64	6	1981: He was plastered again, and determined not to let the party end
He [be] buzzed	77	5	1985: he was astonished to discover he was buzzed.
Hosed	0	0	Wasn't available in any of the corpora, so may be too new.

After studying all these terms, I've noticed that a lot of them are in relation to destruction. Wasted and smashed had multiple uses to mean destruction before it switched to being drunk. Blitzed started in the 1940s, with the German blitzing on London, and transitioned quickly to being drunk. This is interesting to note because while being drunk is increasingly becoming a common past time, we still consider it a destructive act. 

A Girl Should be Two Things: Classy and Fabulous.

Coco Chanel said it best. Women's clothing has changed through the years. New words have been added, some taken away as the styles have changed. I'm going to use the corpus to take a look at these changes.

Every Day Clothes

Skirt

As one of the most critical articles in a women's closet, I took a look at the word 'skirt'. As you look at the chart of the word from 1810-2000 (COHA), you notice a definite increase of the word. It can be assumed that while there were skirts dresses were most popular for a while, which can be seen in the chart for dress (lower down on the page). This same pattern is seen in other corpora (Google Books), with an increase of the word and a peak in the 1940s.

A look at collocates shows the type of skirts that have been worn (collocates). There are many ways to describe skirts today, but in the past words like "woolen" "coarse" "fringed" and "silken" were used.

An interesting note, the mini skirt was a popular change in the type of dress worn by women, has a steady use from the 1960s-1990s, and a sudden increase in the 2000s (COHA).

Dress

A dress is another stable in the women's closet has seen almost the opposite change as skirts have (COHA). While constantly staying in the high usage of the language it has seen a slight decrease in the past couple of decades. Google books agrees with this, and confirms that while skirt has raised a bit the past little bit, dress and decreased in use (Google Books)

The collocates show many of the same words used to describe dress as they did skirts, with "white" being the most common instead of "black" (collocates). 

Blouse 

We commonly think of a blouse as being an article of women's clothing. A look at some examples in the corpus shows that that wasn't always so, but that the popularity of this article of clothing didn't rise until women started to wear it (COHA). Google Books appears to have similar results (Google Books)

Descriptive collocates don't really start to appear until between 1910-1930 (collocates). 

Jeans

Jeans are another common article of clothing that were established by men before being worn by women. While looking at the corpus for the word "jeans" with "her" as a collocate, you can see that it begins in the 1940s with a increase up until today (COHA). Google Books won't show a chart, but the list give similar results, but having jeans with the "her" collocate start in the 1930s (Google Books)

Outerwear

Blazer

Again, another article worn by men but eventually used by a women. If you do just a search for blazer in coha, you will see that the increase doesn't happen until the article is worn by both men and women (COHA, with a complimenting search for blazer with her as a collocate here). Google Books shows a steady increase of the word as a whole (Google Books)

Peacoat

While not extremely common, I thought this was an interesting article of clothing to look at, as it is yet another example of men's style creeping into women's style. Coha gives a minimal use of this word until the 2000s, where it jumps up, and not so coincidentally has most use of the word for a women's article of clothing (COHA). Google Books again shows the exact same pattern, with the huge increase in the 2000s (Google Book)

Scarves

Scarves are less used today for warmth then for style. A look at the collocates for this word show this, with the common words today being colors and designs, and words like woolen until rank 10 and heave not until 14 (collocates).

Footwear

Tights/Stockings

These words are almost interchangeable today, and even though the use of them has drastically dropped they show a sort of opposition in use. Tights rise up during the past couple of decades, while stockings had a high use and steadily dropped. (Coha: tights stockings)

Heels

As these are also parts of the feet, it was hard to look up what I wanted in the word heel. I used the collocates shoes and wear to get my results. If you look at these, you notice an increase and significant peak in the 1940s (interestingly enough the same thing as skirt) (coha: shoes wear)

Flats

It is easy to assume that women have been wearing flat shoes for a majority of their history. This is an example where we have needed to create a word for something we've already had because of the increase or newly creation of a word. With heels and pumps becoming increasingly popular, we needed a word that would explain a flat nice shoe. Coha shows that this is a new invention, only giving use in the 2000s (COHA). A deeper look into Coca shows that this has the most popularity in just the last couple of years (COCA).

Extras

Bikini

One can not have a discussion about women's clothing without talking about the bikini. It was named after the Bikini Island, and was seen as revolutionary as it was one of the first swimwear to show the navel. The corpora show the start of this and the increase of it as well (COHA). Modesty appears to have played a role in the popularity of the bikini as its biggest increase isn't until the 2000s. Bikini doesn't really appear in Google Books until the 1950s, and again doesn't increase until the 2000s (Google Books)

Tankini

As the use of bikinis rose, so did other forms of swimsuits. The tankini became a more modest form of the two piece bikini, and has been used in its place by many people. Coca shows that this isn't a necessarily serious word, and can mostly be found in spoken and magazine genres (COCA).Tankini doesn't show up until the 2000s in Google Books, just as it was in Coha (Google Books).

Necklace

Necklaces are common accessories with all women's outfits. They have been in popular use through the ages, as seen in coha. It has had a rocky lifespan, dropping in the 60s and 70s to rise again at an all time high during this last decade (COHA). The use of the necklace seems to correlate with when women were prosperous enough to have fine jewelry.

Using the collocates in coha, you can see that longer necklaces are in style now, as they were in the 1900s and the 1920s. (collocates). It also shows that precious gems were commonly used in necklaces, but aren't anymore.

Earring

This is another common accessory, one that I assumed had been worn for many decades. Coha shows that there was some but minimal use until the 1940s, where it has mostly continued in growth.(COHA). Google Books doesn't show a huge increase in the use of earrings until the 1970s, but it has increased ever since then. (Google Book)

The Second Great War

On the Battlefront

World War Two brought about great change in the world. It created a super power in the United States, took women out of the homes and into the workplace. It even helped create and popularize many different words in the American language.

Nazi (Coha Google) The term Nazi comes as shortened version of National Socialism (or Nationalsozialismus for those who speak German.) It was the party that helped bring Hitler to power.
Coha shows slight use of the word before World War Two (one use looks like it was a mistype since it talks about the Korean War in 1894). Google books shows something similar, while those earlier examples show Nazi being a name.

D-Day (Coha Google) D-Day is in relation to the landings in Normady by the Allied troops. There is a lot of debate as to what the 'D' means, but many believe it comes from the militaristic use in H-Hour and D-Day. Many people use it now as a term for when a deadline of some sort is due.
Coha shows that the use of D-Day very high in the 1940s,  but even higher in 2000s. The examples show that a lot of the examples are in relation back to the historical day. Google books shows a very minimal amount of use in the 40s, and gives the highest use in the 1990s and 2000s. When looking into it it shows that there have been a lot of books written lately about World War Two.

GI (Coha Google) GI is an acronym meaning Government Issue. This term came to mean not only those things given to soldiers by the government, but for the soldiers themselves. It became so popular that a famous American Cartoon Hero became known by the name G.I. Joe.
Coha shows a little use before the 1940s, a huge jump during that decade, and then finally a decrease after that. Google shows the same little use before the 40s, but actually shows an increase after that time, a lot of examples coming from military benefits (i.e. GI Bill).

Allies (Coha  Google) An ally is someone who stands by you, who has the same beliefs you do. During the First War and the Second, the United States and those countries who stood with us became known as the Allied Forces. (That search didn't show much, so I searched for the word allies).
Coha showed similar usage during both the Second and First World Wars. Google Books put a higher usage during the First War then the second, but there is still a high use in the 40s.

Occupied Country (Coha Google) Many countries were occupied by Nazi soldiers, and under German rule. The word occupy has been around for many years, but putting it with countries was popularized in the 1940s.
Coha had a high use of this word before World War 2, but gave the 40s the highest use of the word. A lot of the examples used before the War were about historical events. Google Books actually shows little to no use before WWII and then a jump in WWII. What's interesting is there is a high use in the 1980s, and examples show that it's talking about Russian Occupied Afghanistan.

United Nations (Coha Google) The UN crowds a major part of the media today, but wasn't started until after WWII. It was created to help keep the peace around the world, and under the belief that the world would not survive a third world war.
Coha shows use of this start to grow during the 1940s, but the highest usage in the 1950s. Google Books shows a very similar trend, but peaks the word during the 1960s.

Civilian Life

Not all changes happened overseas in the battlefields. The war produced many changes in the lifestyle of the Americans who were left at home.Different words were brought about and popularized during this time to help describe those new changes.

Coupons (Coha Google) These weren't introduced in the 1940s, but they became popular during this time. They were used to help regulate rations during the war
Coha shows some use from the 1800s-1920, but has a huge increase in the 1940s. Google Books shows a higher increase in the 1920s.

Ration  (Coha Google) Rationing is described as when you control resources that are scarce. The United States didn't need to ration during the first World War, but saw a definite need during the Second. Many people were given rationing stamps that they had to register for in order to get the food and supplies tey needed.
Coha shows minimal use for the word during all the decades except for the 40s, where it has a huge increase. Google Books shows a wider variety of use during the years, but does have the 40s as the highest usage.

Scrap (Coha Google) With many people needed to ration the use of their resources, we resorted to using scraps. Scrap metal was huge, being used to help create the military vehicles needed to help win the war.
Coha shows an increase of use up to the 40s, instead of just a sudden increase like some of the other words. Google Books shows the same increase up to and decrease away from the 40s.

Factories (Coha Google) Factories were started in the industrial revolution. The work needed to help keep us winning the war brought a lot more people to those factories.
Coha shows another steady increase of this word until the 40s. (This makes me wonder if the word would've become popular even if the war hadn't happened). Google Books shows the increase up to the 20s, a slight decrease in the 30s, and then back up to the 40s.

Civilians (Coha Google) There have always been civilians, or those who aren't fighting in the military, but the definition became extremely apparent in the 40s. More young men were fighting in the war, the first oen to use the newly instated draft, and there were even some who wished they had stayed civilians.
Coha shows a steady use of the word civilian until the 40s, where there was a huge increase. It shows a higher steady use during the time after WWII. Google Books shows a slow increase of this word, until it shoots up during the 40s. It shows another high increase during the 2000s, which could be because of the increase of use during the War on Terror.

Evauate (Coha Google) America wasn't the only country to be hit with changes during the war. Britain was an allied nation that was probably the one nation that got hit the most. To help keep it's civilians safe, the British government evacuated it's civilians (in particular it's children) to the country to keep them safe from air raids.
Coha shows the use of evacuate as being up and down, with a high increase in the 40s. After the 40s it continues a high up and down use, but higher than it was before. Google Books actually shows a decrease throughout the years, which counters what coha was saying.

Sexuality and Relationships in the1920s.

The 20s was a great age for the American people. After WWI, it introduced an age of economical boost and an increase of pride in America itself. This also marked the end of the Victorian Age, and an increase in the sexual nature of Americans. I chose to look at 15 words brought about in that age showed the change in the mores during that time.

General Terms

Blind Date: I don't know how many of you have had the pleasure of going on a blind date, but for those of you who have, did you ever wonder where the term came from?
It originated in the 1920s as a slang term to mean a date where the two parties don't know each other as it was planned by a third party. The term has (unfortunately) continued on to today, where it is still alive and well.
The OED places the first use of the word in 1925 under the phrase "No,  got a blind date on to-night." COHA doesn't place the first use until 1932, which could be because the term didn't become familiar and people didn't become comfortable until then.

It: The word it has been around for a very long time. The 1920s was the first decade to use it meaning 'sex appeal'. If someone had 'it', then they were thought to be good looking, a charmer, etc. It came from the novel It by Elinor Glyn.
The OED gives us the term meaning sex appeal first in 1901 in "In the Commercial Agencies he was Rated AA Plus A1, which meant that he had it in Bales". COHA was a little harder to find. I looked up the term "it", to have "it", but was unable to grab any real data distinguishing it from the 'it' meaning thing.

It Girl: The term 'it' as used in the 1920s brought about the 'it girl'. This was a girl who had it all, a famous fashion forward celebrity with a certain...something.
The OED states that the first use of this comes from 1927 with the definition "A woman who is very famous, fashionable, or successful at a particular time". COHA gives the use first in the 1920s, with a sudden drop in the 1930s before picking back up in the 1940s.

French Kiss: We can all assume that french kissing wasn't something new to the world, but the 1920s decided to give it a name. The name came from the belief that the French had a sort of sexual composition that Americans didn't have at the time.
The first use of this word appears in the OED for 1923 in the french phrase "French kiss, baiser très appuyé".. In COHA it doesn't show up until the 1930s, much like some of the other words around this time.

Sleep Around: The term 'sleep' in terms of sex has been around since we were speaking Old English. As we left the Victorian Age, we left their morals, and it wasn't until the 1920s that people started 'sleeping around'.
The OED places the first use of this phrase during 1928 in the phrase "'Sleeping around’—that was how he had heard a young American girl describe the amorous side of the ideal life, as lived in Hollywood." Other than a few instances of cowboys sleeping (in a circle) around each other, the use of this phrase didn't begin until the 1930s in COHA.

Two-time: If you've ever been two-timed, I'm sorry for you. The introduction of this word showed the promiscuity of people in the 1920s. It meant to be cheated on, or deceived, by your significant other.
The OED states 1924 as the first use of the word two-time, 1927 for two-timing, and 1927 for two timer. COHA agrees with this, placing it's first use in the 1920s with a steady increase to today

Sexpert: The word expert has been around since the 1850s. With the increase of promiscuity in the 1920s, they needed a term for someone who was extremely knowledgable in this subject. The word sexpert was invented.
The OED shows the initial use of this term first used in 1924 in the quote "The sexperts, which is a combination of sex and expert: I glued it together myself. Not so dim; yes?". COHA shows very minimal use of this, and gives the first usage in the 1040s. 

Men of the 1920s

While women were the major focus of the loss of morals in the 1920s, they weren't the only ones to increase in promiscuity. Men decided to ditch the formal mores of their victorian ancestors, and new words were invented to describe them.

Sugar daddy: As the woman in the 1920s started to have more flexible morals, they all had dreams of having a sugar daddy, an older rich gentleman who would dote upon them.
The OED gives 1926 as the first use of the term, in "There came another woman to the sofa; and spoke to me of ‘sugar-daddies’". COHA agrees, by showsing the first instance again in the 1920s. 

Gigolo:  Prostitution, they say, is the worlds oldest profession. One that was original designated specifically for women. Men started to enter this world in the 1920s, and were given the name Gigolo.
The OED shows the first use of this word in 1922, in the definition "a gigolo, generally speaking, is a man who lives off women's money". COHA shows the first use (and huge peak) of this word in the 1920s, with a consistent decrease since then.

Tomcat: This word was changed to mean a man who pursued multiple women. It was probably introduced because of the lack of mating with only one cat.
The OED puts 1927 as the first use of this phrase tomcat " to seek illicit sexual adventure. ‘Jeff he's out a-tomcattin' roun' some 'ers." COHA shows slight use of this word before the 1920s, but increases it drastically since then.

Valentino: This term was introduced by Rudolph Valentino, used to mean a good looking man after he starred in the movie "Heartthrobe".
The OED puts the phrase "Valentino, n., a handsome man kept by an oldish woman." as the first instance o of this word in 1927. COHA has a few instances of the word before the 1920s, but the 20s had an increased usage of the word.

Women of the 1920s

The promiscuity of woman had the majority of the focus in the 1920s, their decision to have more freedom in all aspects of their lives, including the sexual nature of it, brought about a lot of terms for them. 

Flapper: Historical linguists agree that a flapper was called so either because of the flapping nature of her dress, or it was a play on the word "flap" used in the 17th century as a young woman with loose character.
The OED has multiple instances of this word since 1888, under the spelling vlapper. COHA shows the use of this word before the 1920s but in minimal use, with a drastic increase in the 1920s.

Skirt: This term for the clothing piece has been around for a long time. The 20s introduced this as a term (somewhat derogatory) for woman.
The OED gives the first instance during 1560 in "Now thow thy tale hes tauld,..Bot not gottin thow wald, licht skirt for all thy skippis." This was another word that was really difficult to find in COHA, and the only way I could find it in this way was to search "a bit of skirt", which then only gave two instances, one in the 1920s and one in the 1930s.

Gold digger: If we were coming up with the word sugar daddy, then there must be a term to describe the young woman looking for an older, richer male. Gold digger was created to mimic the action of 'digging for gold' in the use of older men.
The OED has the first term in 1920, with the phrase "Jerry’ Lamar is one of a band of pretty little salamanders known to Broadway as ‘gold diggers’, because they ‘dig’ for the gold of their gentlemen friends and spend it being good to their mothers and their pet dogs.". COHA gave iffy instances with this search, but there does seem to be a slight increase during and after the 1920s.

Sheba: A sexually attractive woman. This came because of the release of the movie the Queen of Sheba in 1921. The term to mean an attractive woman comes from the risque costumes worn by Betty Blythe, which was not usual in the silent movies of the time.
As many references as I could find about this term, it doesn't show up in the OED or COHA at all. This lead me to almost not include it in this post, but because it was appearing in everything I looked up, I thought it worth adding.


Sources: http://theweek.com/article/index/243896/our-favorite-bits-of-1920s-slang
The Old English Dictionary
www.corpus.byu.edu/coha/