Tubular words from the ‘80s

Bogus:

This is an interesting inclusion, as the word bogus itself is quite old. In the 1980s, it was used to mean “ignorant; not up-to-date; unattractive; lame, square.” Yet the word dates back to the early 1800s, referring to counterfeit currency.

Dude:

Dude is a term that’s still in use to this day. It is defined as “a man excessively concerned with his clothes, grooming, and manners.” The interesting thing about this word is it has multiple cultural inferences, depending on how one says it. If you say to someone in a short, clipped fashion—you’re mad. If you drag the word out breathlessly, you’re amazed. If you use it like they did in Fast Times, you’re stoned.

Gnarly:

If something is gnarly, it’s “distasteful; distressing; offensive; gross.” Our erstwhile Jeff Spicoli of Fast Times goes on a field trip to see an autopsy and proves the proper context.

Omigod:

No religious subtext here, dudes. We define this as “an exclamation of surprise, pleasure, dismay.” This one is frequently used in our final example entry.

Val-speak:

The intertwined concepts of Val-speak and Valley Girl rose to prominence with this song, which, as Wikipedia accurately notes, was intended to “lampoon the affluent Southern California teen culture of the San Fernando Valley.” Val-speak is associated with “uptalk,” or ending a sentence with an upward inflection.