Do you remember being forced to read Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in high school? Do you remember how weird the English of that period sounded?

The English language is constantly changing; Google has become a verb. I was reminded of this again when I ran across the article “20 Delightful Slang Terms From the 1930s” by Bethel Afful (https://getpocket.com/explore/item/20-delightful-slang-terms-from-the-1930s?).

This accounting lists some expressions I’ve never heard of, yet also reminds me of some terms I am familiar with but didn’t realize they had fallen out of favor. Here are the ones I recognize and appreciate:

Nogoodnik — Someone who’s nothing but trouble

Bazillion — A large, indefinite number

 Boondoggle — A frivolous waste of time

 Cockamamie — The given definition is “a ridiculous, crazy, or wildly eccentric person” but I remember it as any crazy idea.

Gobsmacked — A British term for “flabbergasted, astounded; speechless or incoherent with amazement,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Seat-of-the-pants — An early flying term with two given meanings: In reference to a person, “tending to act instinctively, spontaneously, or expediently”; in reference to an activity, “done on the basis of practical experience rather than technical knowledge; informal; inexact.”  I still use this one.

Anyway, check the list to see if you have ever heard of these expressions. Then try to guess which of your favorite expressions will be considered “delightfully outdated” when you reach my age.