The 1970s were a time of social activism, political upheaval, and a continuation of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s. Author Tom Wolfe coined the term “The ‘Me’ Decade” to define the 1970s, and these are some of the slang words and terms that came out of these wild, free-spirited, and tumultuous years.
Book (As a Verb)
While very commonly recognized as a noun for bound reading material,
“book” can also be used as a verb, as in “book a reservation.” However, in the 1970s, using “book” as a verb meant you needed to “move quickly” or “leave abruptly” — the first usage of this definition was in Skateboarder magazine in 1977. The use of “book” in a legal context, to mean “apprehend or arrest,” dates to the 18th century, but the television show Hawaii Five-O, which aired from 1968 to 1980, popularized what would become one of the most memorable catchphrases of the decade: “Book ’em, Danno!”
Example: “Oh man, it’s late. I gotta book!”
10-4
This radio code, meaning “message received,” was introduced into everyday conversation in the 1970s — no radio necessary — through a popular song and a string of trucker films, including Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Every Which Way but Loose (1978), and Convoy (1978). The latter film, starring Kris Kristofferson, was inspired by the 1975 country song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall. This song, which included a simulated conversation using CB radio slang, went to No. 1 on both the country and pop charts and holds the 98th spot on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time.
Example: “Let’s meet up after work on Friday.”
“10-4, see you then.”
Keep On Truckin’
“Keep on truckin’” — meaning “to persevere” — became a trendy hippie slogan in the 1970s. The encouraging idiom was borrowed from R. Crumb’s comic strip of the same name, which in turn borrowed the line from “Truckin’ My Blues Away,” a 1936 blues song by Blind Boy Fuller. While “keep on truckin’” isn’t as ubiquitous as it once was, another popular 1970s idiom with a similar uplifting meaning still endures: “Hang in there!”
Example: “He’s had a lot of setbacks in his career, but he keeps on truckin’.”
Go Bananas
Meaning “crazy, mad, wild (with excitement, anger, frustration, etc.),” the idiom “go bananas” became popular on college campuses and entered mainstream pop culture at the beginning of the decade.
Example: “I’m going to go bananas if I don’t get a break soon!”
Hardball
If someone wants to play hardball, they’re not talking about playing a game. Coined in the mid-1970s and most often heard in relation to business or politics, “playing hardball” is slang for behaving in a “ruthless, uncompromising manner.”
Example: “I told him I wanted a raise, but he decided to play hardball.”
Primo
If something is “primo,” it’s the very best. Coined in 1970, “primo” comes from the Italian primo, meaning “first, principal,” and the Spanish primo, meaning “first-rate, fine.” In the 1970s, “primo” as slang was used to refer to the high quality of a drug, especially marijuana, and then evolved into a way of describing anything that was first-rate or excellent.
Example: “Her new Mustang is a primo ride.”
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