Slang words from 1776 to brush off this July 4
Independence Day is a good occasion to remember that the people who founded this country were not the marble statues posterity made them into. They were loud, opinionated, frequently drunk on rum, and apparently very creative with language. The slang that circulated in colonial America tells a more entertaining story about daily life in 1776 than any history textbook, and several of these words are genuinely overdue for a comeback.
Kedge
If someone in colonial New England asked how you were doing and you wanted to indicate that you were in good health, you said you were “pretty kedge.” Mental Floss documents it as a term recorded around the colonial period that essentially meant physically well and in good spirits. It sounds like something you might hear at a farmers’ market in Vermont. It should probably come back.
Macaroni
This one is in the most famous patriotic song in American history and most people have no idea what it means. Mental Floss notes that macaroni was 18th-century slang for a highly fashionable, worldly, sophisticated person, derived from the extravagantly dressed Macaroni Club in London. A detail worth noting is that young British men who had done the Grand Tour of Europe and returned with exotic tastes. When British soldiers sang that Yankee Doodle “stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni,” they were mocking American colonists for thinking a feather made them sophisticated. The colonists eventually adopted the song as a defiant anthem, which is its own kind of macaroni move.
Quoz
Mental Floss documents quoz as a colonial-era term for something absurd, bizarre or laughable. It could be used as a noun to describe a ridiculous person or as an exclamation of disbelief. The 18th century had no shortage of quoz to describe, between powdered wigs, taxation without representation and the general chaos of trying to found a country from scratch.
Buss
A buss was a kiss, specifically a noisy or enthusiastic one. Mental Floss documents it as a word recorded across the colonial period that never quite made it to modern English, which is a shame because it is considerably more expressive than the alternative. George Washington reportedly gave a buss to his troops on occasion. This is historically undocumented but feels right.
Prickmedainty
A prickmedainty was someone who was excessively fussy about their appearance or manners. Mental Floss documents it as a colonial-era term for a person who put too much effort into presenting themselves as refined. The 18th century had specific and well-documented opinions about pretension, and the vocabulary to match. This word deserves a July 4th revival. There is no shortage of applications.
Whiffle-whaffle
A term for indecisiveness, procrastination or talking at length without arriving at a point. Mental Floss documents it, dating back to the colonial era. The Continental Congress produced several documented instances of whiffle-whaffle in the months before the Declaration was signed, which is either reassuring or alarming, depending on how you feel about the deliberative process.
The bottom line
The people who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, were kedge, occasionally quoz, sometimes prickmedainty and definitely guilty of whiffle-whaffle before they got it together. Happy Fourth.
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