"Stop Trying to Make Fetch Happen"
From the old to the new, much of the slang we come across on the language landscape is owed to our favourite films and TV shows.
But did you know that there are certain words that were popularised and even invented onscreen?
As part of their new Slang Index, the team at Preply has taken a trip down memory lane to reveal the words you probably didn’t know have grown in popularity, all thanks to a certain film or TV show.
‘Commando’ – Friends (1994 – 2004)
Even though ‘going commando’ has been part of US college slang since the 70’s, we can only thank Friends for teaching us what it means.
In one episode of the show, we see Joey embracing the commando style, which is a euphemism for not wearing underwear.
If there was one Friends character bound to do this, it would definitely have been him!
‘Toast’ – Ghostbusters (1984)
In the 1984 hit film Ghostbusters, Bill Murray made history with the iconic line, “All right, this chick is toast”.
Still used as a slang term to this day, saying that someone is toast means that they are finished or done for.
‘Meh’ – The Simpsons (1989 – Present)
We’ve all heard of ‘D’oh’ being exclaimed plenty of times by Homer Simpson in The Simpsons, but this isn’t the only slang word coined by the show.
In a scene from the 1992 episode Sideshow Bob Roberts, ‘meh’ was dropped several times and this therefore prompted the word to become popular.
In the Oxford Dictionary, ‘meh’ is an interjection “used to express indifference or mild disappointment”.
‘Nimrod’ – Looney Tunes Show (2011 – 2013)
Traditionally speaking, ‘Nimrod’ refers to a hunter, a king, and a close descendant of Noah in the Bible.
But in the wacky world of Looney Tunes, the word gained a whole new meaning when Bugs Bunny launched a verbal attack at Elmer Fudd.
Here, Bugs used ‘nimrod’ in a sarcastic manner and since then, the term has been recognised in reference to a ‘moron’ or ‘idiot’.
‘Fetch’ – Mean Girls (2004)
The noughties era was the decade of great chick flicks, and one title that seems to reign supreme by popular opinion is Mean Girls.
Commenting on Cady’s bracelet, Gretchen Wieners dropped the term ‘fetch’. According to Gretchen, ‘fetch’ is an English slang term which refers to something being cool or awesome.
Much to Regina George’s dismay, Gretchen actually did make fetch happen following the release of the film.
‘Snaps’ – Clueless (1995)
Truth be told, it wasn’t just the noughties that delivered timeless films with great slang.
Flashback to 1995 in Clueless, Cher invented the verb ‘to give snaps’. Much like ‘to give props’, this verb simply means to show appreciation for something.
In the context of American slang, this phrase was widely popularised following the film.
‘Gaslighting’ – Gas Light (1938)
Crowned as 2022’s Word of the Year, gaslighting is a term that has been around for quite some time.
Surprisingly however, the word is not a Gen Z invention but was instead popularised by the 1938 thriller play Gas Light.
In the Oxford Dictionary, to ‘gaslight’ someone is to psychologically manipulate them to the point where the person starts to question their own thoughts or perception of reality.
