The Eighty's Observer

Issue #1 "Like totally awesome, dude." 1980-1989
Music Movies - TV Schedule - TV Shows - Children of the 80's - Trends

Fashionable Hair (?) and Dictionary

Hair Hair Hair

Mesh Hair Ties

The piece of white or black mesh girls tied in their hair.  We can thank Madonna for this style.

Temporary Hair Dye

Colorful hair in the 80's were a must.  This invention let you change your hair color from day to day.

Headbands

From Pat Benetar to Mike Reno...This was a hot style!

Ponytail for Men

Popular with the yuppies.

Hair Crimping

Kind of looked like you had your hair braided for a week.

Mousse

Lots of body for your hair!

Helmet-Haired Bangs

Loni Anderson...Need I say more?

Neat Look for the Guys

Preppy would be the best word to describe this.

Banana Clips

And still used today!  Who says the 80's are dead?

Mohawk Haircuts

Very attractive, 'eh?

Barrettes w/ things dangling From them

Girls wove ribbons through, usually two different colors, and hung beads on the end of the ribbon. You could also buy theses barrettes ready-made and some even had FEATHERS hangning from them

Princess Di Haircuts

Poor Di!  Miss her!

Crazy Hair Colors

Pink, blue, purple, red, yellow and so on.

Tails

You remember...The short or long 5 pieces of hair running down your back.

RayBan's

Probably from the Tom Cruise movie 'Risky Business'.

Flat top haircuts for guys

Some cuts were a little off to the side like Bobby Brown.  He also had a line cut on his head.  Don't know if this was a fad for the bros.

Rooster bangs look

Rooster Bangs Are bangs that are cut so they stand up and frizz out.

Big Hair

Lots of hairspray and teased up high!  Gotta love it!

Skater haircut

Shaved on one side and all the hair hanging on the other side.

BIG Hair Bows

Another essential Madonna accessory!

Colored Mascara/Eyeliner 

Always extra thick!  Blue, purple were the popular colors used.

Painter type hats

With the tails off the back

Bandanas

Any color tied anywhere would make you fit in just about anywhere circa 1984.  (i.e.. David Lee Roth)

Green Lipstick

Turned pink when you put it on.

Pierced Ears

Lots of earrings for the girls.  For the guys - Left ear your straight, right ear you were not so straight.  :)

Blue Eye Shadow

Not only was mascara and eyeliner blue, but also above chick's eyes!  We've even seen yellow used in some cases!

Shoelace Hairclips

Women's hairclips in which they came multicolored, metallic, or solid print Popular in late 80's, early 90's.

 

Dude, Like It's the Dictionary

acid house

House music inspired by the use of LSD. See also house music.

adult child

Word(s) to describe grown-up children from dysfunctional families.

airhead

n. A stupid or unaware person; moron, dim-wit. Origin: term implies that there is nothing but air in the subject's head. ("He's confused again. What an airhead!") Unrenowned to popular belief, Valley Girls did not invent this word. It was used to describe them.

awesome

Awe"some, a. 1. Causing awe; appalling; awful; as, an awesome sight. In the 80's, if something was cool, it was awesome. See also bad.

bad

adj. very good, excellent; Cool, Awesome. See also awesome.

bad to the bone

The group George Thorogood & the Destroyers had a hit in the early 80's that had started this quote. The movie Fast Times At Ridgmont High was bad to the bone! See also bad.

barf bag

A type of insult. Something Jo on The Facts of Life might of called Blair for spilling something on her homework.

barf me out

You might of heard this come from a Valley Girl after you've said something offensive to her. Also used to describe something you do not particularly like.

bimbette

The use of bimbo would of been too outdated for use in the 80's. Bimbette would be used instead of calling a girl a "slut". Also used to describe a girl who is stupid.

bodacious

An 80's guy's way to describe a woman who had a beautiful body. She is bodacious with gnarly ta-tas. See also gnarly & ta-tas for descriptions.

bogus/bogue

Unfair or unfortunate. Having one night to do a termpaper is so bogus!

boinking

Having sex. Some say Bruce Willis's character on Moonlighting created this word.

boho

A bohemian or artist. From the late 80's this word emerged. Probably from the Soho art district in Manhattan.

bomb

Adj. Something favorable. See also awesome.

boy toy

A word to describe a cute guy used as a toy for older woman. Madonna invented this one with her "Boy Toy" belt on her 1984 Like a Virgin album.

butt ugly

Adj. Unattractive to the sight.

Cap

As in to "cap" on someone. Meaning to insult.

Case

As in "casing on a person." Meaning to insult.

cheesy/cheezy

Adj. 1. In poor taste; lame, corny. The gift I received was really cheesy. 2. Overly sentimental or insincere.

chill

v 1. to relax; hang out. Let's go chill at your place. Dude, just chill. Made popular by black Americans in the rap phase of the 80's.

chocoholic

Word to describe an alcoholic. Became a somewhat popular word during the Nancy Reagan "Just Say No" era.

clydesdale

Big, all-American boy. Meant as a word of praise. Usually used by mid-80's preppy girls.

cocooning

The act of fixing up your home. Investing in it for the long-term. Poor people make rent or mortgage payments, yuppies cocoon.

couch potato

Someone who sits in front of the TV on their couch or sofa. With the boom of cable, MTV and home video, more people parked their butts on their couches. Hence the term couch potato.

crack

The most addictive form of cocaine. Not in the form of powder, but crystallized into a hardened form used to smoke. Popularized in 1985.

deep house

House music with a gospel flair. See also house music.

deep shit

Word meaning you were in trouble. We are in deep shit!

dick - dickbrain - dickhead

A major 80's comeback. Cock was a bit harsh to use for calling someone a dick, so these words emerged to describe someone who is unpleasant and/or stupid.

dink

Two incomes with no kids. A couple of yuppies with lots of money to burn.

dipstick

n An unintelligent person; moron, dim-wit; idiot. Popularized by "Boss Hogg" on TV's The Dukes of Hazzard. Also used instead of using the word dick. See also dick/dickbrain/dickhead.

ditz

A less harsh way of describing a person who is not very smart. See also airhead.

do lunch

One of the most used phrases in the 80's. Notoriously used by yuppies to get together for power lunches or mixing lunch with business. Lets do lunch. One of the few surviving phrases of the 80's ,used in the 90's and possibly beyond!

do the nasty

Having sex. They were doing the nasty last night when I tried to call her.

do/doing the wild thing

To have sex. Popularized by Ton Loc's 1989 hit "Wild Thing". Not used too often today. See also do the nasty and boinking.

dweeb

Geek, nerd. Someone who is not "in".

eat my shorts

Phrase used as a comeback. Heavily in use in the 80's and also used on TV's The Simpsons. If someone was to put you down in anyway, you can reply with this phrase.

ecstasy/X/XTC

"Designer drug" used to enhance sensations while dancing. Gained popularity in the early 80's. This drug is still popular if not more popular throughout the 90's among teens and young adults on the party scene.

eurotrash

Europeans who were rich that frequented the club scene in the early to mid 80's.

for sure/fer shur

To stress what you are saying. Usually in a valley type accent. Fer shur, fer shur dude!

fresh

Cool, new. Duran Duran's new album is so fresh!

gag me with a spoon

A typical Valley Girl response to something you dislike. Not meant to be taken literally.

galpal

a spin on boy toy, used to describe a guy's girlfriend or a girl's girlfriend. Also used to describe a woman who is not openly gay.

get horizontal

Having sex. See also do the nasty, do/doing the wild thing and boinking.

gnarly

Very good. Not commonly used today. She is gnarly!

grody

really, really gross. Sometimes used with: Grody to the max! Max being a degree of grossness.

gross out/grotesque

To make someone sick. Most of the time - not literally.

hacker

Computer genius. In WarGames, Mathew Broderick played a hacker.

have a cow

Being overly excited or to make a big deal out of something.

hellacious

Bad, not good.

homeboy

Used in the early 80's to describe someone who is a gang banger. Later used to describe a black male - which was okay for blacks to use this word. And even later was accepted to be used by all do describe a black guy.

hoser

Loser, jerk. Rob Moranis & Dave Thomas as "Bob and Doug McKenzie" made this a popular slang word. See also take off/take off to the great white north.

house music

Disco type dance music, very repetitive. See also acid house and deep house.

ill

Uncool, unhip. "You be illin'". Sometimes used if someone looks under the weather, unhappy or even if they have suffered a catastrophe.

"In your dreams!"

A phrase used usually when a person totally disagrees with something someone said.

joanie

A boring, not-so-hip girl. From the 70s and 80s show Happy Days, Erin Moran, the character of Joanie Cunningham the unhip girl of the 50s.

joystick

Used in place of dick. From the accessory used with the Atari 2600.

"Just Say No"

First Lady, Nancy Reagan's slogan of the early 80's. Sometimes thought of as an oversimplified slogan aimed to teach kids not to use drugs.

lame

Used to describe something or someone who is not cool or acceptable.

like

A word used before every sentence in the 80's. "Like, are you going to the prom?"

major

To stress something you say, immensely. "You are a major dipstick, Major!"

mall chick

Girl who spends most of her time at the mall. Big meeting place of the 80's.

Moldy

Meaning if one does something stupid or embarrassing
they feel moldy "you feel moldy" Can also be used as "you feel Molded".

"Not even!"

Used when someone says something you don't like or disagree with.

networking

To meet well-connected people at parties. Sometimes old friends and most of the time, new people. A way for yuppies to get ahead and make connections.

new wave

A type of heavily synthesized pop music performed by groups like A Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, The Busboys, Thompson Twins and Eurasure. A form of disco that had an essence of the future. This spun off people who dressed "new wave". Lots of mouse or gel in the hair, makeup on the face, loud colors, etc.

o-rama

Suffix you affix to a word to describe the whole spectrum of the meaning. "He is a Dweeb-o-rama". Meaning, you are describing someone that is every sense of that word.

out

Explaining that someone is "out of the closet" or openly gay. "She is out finally."

outing

Another way of describing someone publicly, someone is gay.

out the door

A suffix used at the end of a phrase. "Gag me out the door." Meaning, something gaged them so much they had to leave the room.

paninaro

Italian slang for a person or persons who are fashion conscious. Came from the Pet Shop Boys with their song "Paninaro".

party hearty/party hardy

To party excessively.

PC

1. Personal Computer (early 80s) 2. Political correctness.

pencil you in

To tentatively set an appointment with someone. If you were not sure you will make the appointment, you would say, "I'll pencil you in, just in case something comes up".

phat

To be phat is a good thing. If someone says you are phat, it doesn't mean you are overweight. Sort of like telling someone they are bad. A term still used today. See also bad.

Poser

A 'wannabe' spin off

POSSLQ

Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters.

preppie/preppy

A collegiate type, someone who wore Polo or Izod shirts, deck shoes and a cloth belt. Preppies usually grew up to be yuppies. See also yuppies.

psych

A term meaning "gotcha"! Psych was usually used after telling someone something not true.

rad/radical

If something is rad, it's not only attractive, it's attractive immensely.

rap

Speaking or singing rhythmically over a beat in the background. One who raps is a rapper.

road pizza

Road kill. A dead animal on the road.

rush/head rush

Big thrill. "That roller coaster was such a head rush"!

schmooze

To kiss up to someone. Yuppies schmoozed their way to the top of their field.

scumbag

An undesirable person.

Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll!

This phrase may not of been coined in the 80's, but it sure was used often enough.

shitting bricks

One that is extremely nervous.

skank

1. Physically dirty, filth 2. Immorally dirty. 3. Disapproval

slamdance

Punk teens throwing themselves while "dancing", trying to harm either themselves or others for enjoyment. The same sort of dancing resides today in mosh pits.

spazzing

Overly excited. An exaggeration of being excited.

stoked

To be ready to do something.

stud

A macho guy, man or teenager. Guys used to call each other studs as well as woman referring to a good looking guy as a stud. Also used to describe a man who is sexually active.

sucks

Disapproval of something or someone. "This sucks". -or- "He sucks".

ta-tas

A woman's breasts.

take off/take off to the Great White North

A Canadian expression made popular by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas who played "Bob and Doug McKenzie" in the beer guzzling movie Strange Brew. They also did a song with Geddy Lee of Rush named Take Off to the Great White North. They emphasized the Canadian accent in their movies and recordings. Saying 'eh after each sentence. See also hoser.

to the max

To the extreme. Taking it to the max or maximum level.

totally

Another way to stress what one is saying. "That is totally tubular". -or- "School is totally uncool".

tubular

Something that is cool. Something overwhelming. "Tubular, totally tubular."

UV

Ultraviolet rays. "I'm going to the beach to catch some UV's."

Valley Girl/Val

Airheaded, spoiled girls in California's San Fernando Valley. Later, valley girl talk or valspeak inhabited the 80s across America. A Valley Girl would of said something like: "That stud is like, omygod, so rad!"

veg

Term used to describe chilling out or taking it easy. Derived from the word vegetable or someone who is paralyzed. A couch potato would be a veg. See also couch potato.

wannabe

A person who would like to be like someone else. Usually a pop star or a person in the public eye. There were lots of Madonna wannabe's in the mid-80s.

"What choo talkin' 'bout?"

From the hit 80's Show Diff'rent Strokes. Little Arnold used to say this at least one time in each episode.

wicked

Another word for good, radical or bad. See radical and bad. "She is wicked nice."

word

Adjective Very cool or wicked. "That movie was word!" 'Truth'. Something you said when you would agree with someone.

word-up

Another variant of "word".

word to your mother

Got a definition to this word?

yuppie

Young urban professional -or- young upwardly mobile professional. A well educated, career oriented, almost always white and driven by lots of money. This person is also into the social scene especially if it could better their business or career.