Don't call me "Generation X,"
call me a child of the eighties
by Bryant Adkins
published in The Reflector
January 20, 1995 

I am a child of the eighties. That is what I prefer to be called. The nineties can do without me. Grunge isn't here to stay, fashion is fickle and "Generation X" is a myth created by some over-40 writer trying to figure out why people wear flannel in the summer.

When I got home from school, I played with my Atari 2600. I spent hours playing Pitfall or Combat or Breakout or Dodge'em Cars or Frogger. I never did beat Asteroids. Then I watched "Scooby-Doo." Daphne was a Goddess, and I thought Shaggy was smoking something synthetic in the back of their psychedelic van. I hated Scrappy.

I would sleep over at friends' houses on the weekends. We played army with G.I. Joe figures, and I set up galactic wars between Autobots and Decepticons. We stayed up half the night throwing marshmallows and Velveeta at one another. We never beat the Rubik's Cube.

I got up on Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. to watch bad Hanna-Barbera cartoons like "Snorks," "Jabberjaw," "Captain Caveman," and "Space Ghost." In between I would watch "School House Rock." ("Conjunction junction, what's your function?")

On weeknights Daisy Duke was my future wife. I was going to own the General Lee and shoot dynamite arrows out the back. Why did they weld the doors shut? At the movies the Nerds Got Revenge on the Alpha Betas by teaming up with the Omega Mus. I watched Indiana Jones save the Ark of the Covenant, and wondered what Yoda meant when he said, "No, there is another."

Ronald Reagan was cool. Gorbachev was the guy who built a McDonalds in Moscow. My family took summer vacations to the Gulf of Mexico and collected "The Great Muppet Caper" glasses along the way. (We had the whole set.) My brother and I fought in the back seat. At the hotel we found creative uses for Connect Four pieces like throwing them in that big air conditioning unit.

I listened to John COUGAR Mellencamp sing about Little Pink Houses for Jack and Diane. I was bewildered by Boy George and the colors of his dreams, red, gold, and green. MTV played videos. Nickelodeon played "You Can't Do That on Television" and "Dangermouse." Cor! HBO showed Mike Tyson pummel everybody except Robin Givens, the bad actress from "Head of the Class" who took all Mike's cashflow.

I drank Dr. Pepper. "I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?" Shasta was for losers. TAB was a laboratory accident. Capri Sun was a social statement. Orange juice wasn't just for breakfast anymore, and bacon had to move over for something meatier.
My mom put a thousand Little Debbie Snack Cakes in my Charlie Brown lunch box, and filled my Snoopy Thermos with grape Kool-Aid. I would never eat the snack cakes, though. Did anyone? I got two thousand cheese and cracker snack packs, and I ate those.
I went to school and had recess. I went to the same classes everyday. Some weird guy from the eighth grade always won the science fair with the working hydro-electric plant that leaked on my project about music and plants. They just loved Beethoven.

Field day was bigger than Christmas, but it always managed to rain just enough to make everybody miserable before they fell over in the three-legged race. Where did all those panty hose come from? "Deck the Halls with Gasoline, fa la la la la la la la la," was just a song. Burping was cool. Rubber band fights were cooler. A substitute teacher was a baby sitter/marked woman. Nobody deserved that.

I went to Cub Scouts. I got my arrow-of-light, but never managed to win the Pinewood Derby. I got almost every skill award but don't remember ever doing anything.

The world stopped when the Challenger exploded.
Did a teacher come in and tell your class?
Half of your friends' parents got divorced.
People did not just say no to drugs.
AIDS started, but you knew more people who had a grandparent die from cancer.
Somebody in your school died before they graduated.
When you put all this stuff together, you have my childhood. If this stuff sounds familiar, then I bet you are one, too.
We are children of the eighties. That is what I prefer "they" call it.

You Might Be A Child Of The 80's If...

This was something a friend of mine sent me... some of these are more seventies related than eighties, but still fun none-the-less.

...you know, by heart, the words to any "Weird" Al Yankovic song
...the Brady Bunch movie brought back cool memories
...you remember the first time "Space: Above and Beyond" aired - it was called "Battlestar Galactica"
...three words: "Atari" "IntelliVision" and "Coleco". Sound familiar?
...you remember the days that hooking your computer into your television wasn't an expensive option that required gadgets - it was the ONLY WAY to use your computer!
...you remember "Friday Night Videos" before the days of MTV
...you ever owned a pair of "Pop-Wheels" - that handy little combination of shoe and roller skate that lasted about a year on the open market
...a predominant color in your childhood photos is "plaid"
...you're pissed that you couldn't really participate in the 60's, pissed that you were a part of the 70's, think you wasted too much time doing stupid, meaningless things in the 80's, and still have no clue what the 90's are all about
...you see teenagers today wearing clothes that show up in those childhood photos, and they still look bad
...while in high school, you and all your friends discussed elaborate plans to get together again at the end of the century and play "1999" by Prince over and over again
...you remember when music that was labeled "alternative" really was
...one of the top five questions you've always wanted answered was to Robert Smith of the Cure - "What WAS that head on the door thing anyway?"
...you were shocked and horrified at the Challenger explosion (which you were probably watching in school at the time), and yet, when someone mentions the name "JFK", the first thing you think of is "Oliver Stone"
...you, yes you, sat down and memorized the entire lyric sheet to "It's the end of the world as we know it"
...you can't remember when the word "networking" didn't have a computer connotation to it as well
...you took family trips BEFORE the invention of the mini-van. You rode in the back of the station wagon and you faced the cars behind you.
...you knew all the words to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire", but it really didn't hold any meaning for you until about the third verse
...you've recently horrified yourself by using any one of the following phases:
o"When I was younger"
o"When I was your age"
o"You know, back when..."
o"Because I SAID so, that's why"
o"Just can't (fill in the blank) like I used to"

...you can't remember a time when "going out for coffee" DIDN'T involve 49,000 selections to choose from
...Schoolhouse Rock played a HUGE part in how you actually learned the English language
...Kids that work in restaurants and supermarkets are starting to piss you off by calling you "sir" or "ma'am"
...you're starting to view getting carded to buy alcohol as a GOOD thing, and you're ready to marry the next person who cards you when you want to buy cigarettes.
...flashback: it was your first chance to vote in a presidential election, and you were SO disappointed because, just for laughs, you really wanted to vote for Gary Hart
...the first time you heard the candidates names, you were pumped because you thought MICHAEL Jackson was running for President, not this Jesse character.
...you ever dressed to emulate a person you saw in either a Duran Duran, Madonna, or Cyndi Lauper video
...at one point during your teenage years, you walked with a noticeable tilt to one side due to the number of plastic rings on that arm
..."Celebration" by Kool & the Gang was one of the hot new songs when you first heard it at a school dance
...the first time you ever kissed someone at a dance fell during "Crazy for You" by Madonna
...there were at least three people in your school that voluntarily went by the names of "Skip" "Buffy" "Muffy" or "Dexter"
...you ever owned one of those embarrassing crimping irons
...you used to hold in your head the thought that all those gold chains on Mr. T actually looked kinda cool and the thought that Mr. T made millions seemed rational to you at the time
...you remember with pain the sad day when the Green Machine hit the streets and made your old big wheel quite obsolete
...the phrase "Where's the beef?" still doubles you over with laughter
...you read the "Hot Video Games Player's Secrets" guide for Mortal Kombat just so you could find the hidden screen, and play Pong again for old time's sake
...honestly remember when film critics raved that no movie could ever possibly get better special effects than those in the movie TRON.
...you ever had nightmares about the giant red evil robot Maximillian from the Disney movie "The Black Hole" and those blender attachments he had for hands
...you were convinced for years that Batman was a mildly overweight man with a moderate beer belly who wore his underwear outside of his clothes and talked strangely
...(girls) you thought Sean Cassidy was "dreamy", and lusted after "Ted, your ship's photographer" on the Love Boat, and Ponch and John from CHiPs
...you're still occasionally suffering flashbacks from your 21st birthday party
...you're starting to dread your 30th birthday, and have even begun going into denial about it's possibility
...you've ever said "I'm a vegetarian" and immediately had someone call you a hypocrite by saying "Nice leather jacket you have there...and gee, is that a suede bag...those shoes leather, too?"
...you're starting to believe that maybe 30 isn't so old after all, and it's those people over 40 you have to look out for
...you freaked out when you found that you now fall into the "26 - 50" age category on most questionnaires
...you have begun to lust after women (or men) that it would be socially inappropriate for you to date due to their age
...your hair, at some point in time in the 80's, became something which can only be described by the phrase "I was experimenting"
...you've ever shopped at a Banana Republic or Benetton, but not in the last five years, okay?
...you can't remember a time when "hitting the outlet stores" meant going to an electrical warehouse
...you're starting to believe (now that it wouldn't affect YOU) that maybe having the kids go to school year-round wouldn't be such a bad idea after all
...you're doing absolutely nothing with anything pertaining to your major degree
...you won't walk into the place where you once knew every bartender on a first name basis because "there's too many kids there"
...going to keg parties no longer involves hiding out in the woods when the cops show up
...you want to go out dancing, you really, REALLY do, but your back hurts, sorry
...you're starting to get that "why aren't you married yet" shpiel, not just from parents, but now from friends that are married
...you've recently horrified yourself by groaning as you get out of bed, not because of a hangover, but because it genuinely just hurt to do so
...you're finding that you just don't understand more than half the lingo used on MTV any more
...you ever wanted to be gagged with a spoon
...U2 is too "popular" and "mainstream" for you now
...you ever used the phrase "kiss mah grits" in conversation
...When someone mentions two consecutive days of the week, the Happy Days theme is stuck in your head for hours on end
...you remember trying to guess the episode of the Brady Bunch from the first scene.
...you spent endless nights dreaming about being the Bionic Woman or Wonder Woman or the Six Million Dollar Man
...you had ringside seats for Luke and Laura's wedding (on General Hospital)
...you remember "Hey, let's be careful out there"
...your parents wanted you to attend medical school, but you decided it was pointless since Quincy got all the babes, anyway.
...you know who shot J.R.
...this rings a bell: "and my name, is Charlie. They work for me."


Here is one of those "Pass it On" E-mails that I liked enough to save, but still didn't want to bother my friends by passing it on:

We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak. We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut.
We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's.
Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Springsteen and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at The A Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talkin' 'bout Willis? We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated?
We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop Velcro Reebox - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.
The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids- never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your tree house you were king.
In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the president was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man? We forgot Vietnam and watched Tiananman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel.
In the Eighties, we redefined the American Dream, and those years defined us. We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century. Never forget: We are the children of the Eighties.
(if this is familiar, you are one of us... pass it on to all the others...)


You're an eighties child if ...
1.You had a crush on one of the New Kids on the Block members.
2.You wanted to be on StarSearch.
3.You ever uttered the word "Radical!"
4.You wore jelly shoes and jelly bracelets
5.You thought "Ghostbusters" was by far the coolest movie
6.You remember watching shows like "Punky Brewster" , "Webster", "You Can't Do That On Television" , "Wild&Crazy Kids" and "Double Dare"
7.You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off. Or even when he had those freaky eyes in "Thriller" at the end of the video.
8.You wore a banana clip in your hair or one of those slap on wrist bands at some point during your youth.
9.You rolled up the bottoms of your splatter painted jeans.
10.You wore loafers with everything, and you put the laces in those little rolls.
11.You had slouch socks, and puff painted your own shirt at least once.
12.You owned a doll with 'Xavier Roberts' signed on it's butt.
13.You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."
14.You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off."
15.You can name half of the members of the elite "Brat Pack."
16.You can remember watching Full House and Saved by the Bell for endless hours!
17.You have seen at least 10 episodes of Fraggle Rock.
18.You yearned to be a member of The Babysitters Club, and tried to start a club of your own.
19.You sat on your back porch, playing with your "My Little Pony" , "Rainbow Brite" , and "Strawberry Shortcake" dolls
20.You know that another name for a keyboard is a "Synthesizer."
21.You hold a special place in your heart for "Back to the Future."
22.You know where to go if you "wanna go where everybody knows your name."
23.You thought Molly Ringwald was REALLY cool.
24.You know what "sike" and "not!" mean
25.You fell victim to 80's fashion : big hair, crimped, combed over to the side, big hoop earrings, and possibly the worst: you wore spandex pants.
26.You wanted to be a Goonie, or Elliot from E.T.
27.You owned an extensive collection of Cabbage Patch Kids and trolls.
28.You knew "The Artist" when he was humbly called "Prince."
29.You actually saw Ted Danson as the MacDaddy he played "Sam" to be.
30.You ever wore fluorescent -neon if you will- clothing....
31.You could breakdance, or wished you could.
32.You know who He-Man and She-Ra are.
33.You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
34.You know all the words to "Ice Ice Baby".
35.You remember MC hammer well.
36.You can still sing the rap to "Fresh Prince of Belair".
37.You own any cassettes.
38.You were led to believe that in the year 2000 we'd all be living on the moon.
39.You remember and/or own any of the CareBear Glass collection from Pizza Hut.
40.Pizza Hut was the coolest place to hang.
41.Poltergeist freaked you out.
42.You carried your lunch to school in a Gremlins or an E.T. lunchbox.
43.You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
44.You wanted to communicate with some being named Cinergy, or you wanted green hair like that lead singer of the Misfits.
45.You totally LOVED Barbie's cooler, punkier counterpart, "Jem" and her "Rockers"
46.You wanted to have an alien like Alf living in your house.
47.You wore biker shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish.
48.You wore tights under shorts and felt stylish.
49.You layered your multi-colored slouch socks, and added suspenders to make your outfit complete.
50.You ever had a Swatch Watch.
51.You actually spent countless hours trying to perfect the care-bear stare.
52.You had a crush on one of the Coreys
53.You remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.
54.You had Wonder Woman or Superman underwear.
55.You wanted to be The Hulk for Halloween.
56.You believed that "By the power of Greyskull, you HAD the power"
57.You thought that Transformers were more than meets the eye.
58.Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SO far away!!!!!!!!!!!!!
59.You ever owned or wanted any of the NKOTB action figures or dolls.
60.You remember when Deborah Gibson was "Debbie" Gibson.
If you can identify with at least half of his list then you, my friend, are a "Child of the 80's." Send this to anyone that would appreciate going back to this wonderful decade. Was that a great time or what?????

Movies and Music introduce wacky wordage into the lives of us all, forever changing the way we converse.
Language from movie, as well as many others, continues to pepper our conversations today, having transgressed from odd to ordinary. Here are some memorable 80's expressions...

Awesome Barf Me Outbodacious   Bummedchill pill
Def   don't have a cow Dude   Dweeb    Excellent!
freak me out     Gag Me With a SpoonGnarlyGotta Motor     How Very
I am Sure  Like   major  nerdNo doy
No duh      Omigod      Psyche! (or Sike!)      RadScarfing
Smooth Move Ex-lax Spaz StellarStoked    That's the ticket
to the MAX        Totallytrippin'Tubular   Way
Where's the Beef?      Wicked    yo       Your Mama

"de plane, de plane!""I pity the fool""Know What I Mean, Vern?"
"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha""Mel, Kiss My Grits"     "Mr. McGee, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry..."                              "nanu nanu""wonder twin powers- activate!"
"What You Talkin' about Willis?"

80's Glossary
As If
(1)Excl. I'd rather not. "Hey why don't you go out with that guy in the Izod shirt?" "AS IF!"
Awesome
(1)Adj. Something extremely good, and exceptional example. ie. "That movie was awesome."
Bad
(1)Adj. Good. ie. "That movie was bad, man." Used by rapper stereotypes mostly.
Barney
(1)Noun. An unattractive male. ie. "He is such a Barney."
Batcaver
(1)Noun. Person who wears all black and listens to The Cure et al...
BBS
(1)Abrv. Short for Bulletin Board System. Until the widespread popularity of the Internet around 1994 or so, this was the means for email and message postings. Basically, someone set up a computer which was left on 24 hours a day, and people would call it from their computers and use the system. Some offered over 100 phone lines and were networked with one another to provide message exchanges between remote systems and users. Hackers used these to exchange pirated software with one another.
Bitchin'
(1)Adj. Superb, excellent. ie. "That's a bitchin' Camaro."
Bodacious
(1)Adj. beautiful. ie. "That is one bodacious babe."
Bogus
(1)Adj. Not good. ie. "I just died. That's pretty bogus."
(2)Excl. Really not good. ie. "Aw man, that cop took my board." "Bogus!"
Bonus
(1)Excl. Used to denote satisfaction or one's approval. ie. "My parents are going away next weekend, I'm throwing a party!" "Bonus!"
Boss
(1)Adj. very cool. ie. "That version of the "Synchronicity" cover is boss!"
Bow-Head
(1)Noun. Another name for preppie-usually a silly girl who wore a big bow in her hair. (Mid-to late eighties)
Brody
(1)Noen. Police officer. ie. "Slow down there is a Brody over there" Origin is from Roy Shiders lead roll as the police officer who sets out to kill the rogue shark in Jaws.
Chill
(1)Verb. To be calm. ie. "I'm chill."
Chill Pill
(1)Excl. Take it easy. ie. "Take a Chill Pill! You're gonna get us all busted."
Chillin'
(1)Verb. To be resting. ie. "I'm just chillin' with my homey's in my crib."
Cool
(1)Adj. Something really good and hip. ie. "That's a cool shirt."
(2)Excl. Very good, very hip. ie. "I just scored tickets to Bruce Springsteen" "Cool!"
Cool Beans
(1)Adj. Cool, awesome, agreeable.
Crib
(1)Noun. A homeboy's residence. ie. "I'm just chillin' with my homey's in my crib."
Deck
(1)Verb. To beat someone up...ie. "I'm gonna deck you if you play that damn Raffi album again!"
Def
(1)Adj. Something very hip. ie. "That jam was def."
Deke
(1)Verb. To fake someone out. ie. "I deked him out of his shoes"
Don't Have a Cow
(1)Phrase. Remain calm, don't get excited.
Dork
(1)Noun. Someone who is not cool. ie. "Bill Gates is a real dork."
(2)Noun. A penis. ie. "Stop playing with your dork and get out here."
Dope
(1)Adj. Very hip and with it. ie. "Those Addidas are dope!"
Dude
(1)Noun. Someone who is cool. The opposite of a dork.
(2)Excl. A greeting. Used with a close friend that is considered cool. ie. "Dude!"
Origins of this context word can be traced to California. It was originally used in reference to a horse's penis.
Dudette
(1)Noun. A woman who is cool. The opposite of a dork.
Not as commonly used as dude.
Dudical
(1)Adj. Used to describe a place or thing as cool as someone dubbed a "dude".
Dufus
(1)Noun. Someone who acts stupid. ie. "Only a dufus would play with matches." or "Don't be a dufus."
Duh
(1)Adj. Stupid. Usually used with the word "like"
Dweeb
(1)Noun. Someone who is not cool. ie. "Bill Gates is a real dweeb."
Elite
(1)Noun. A person who has achieved a high status in the BBSing culture. ie. "He has a 9600 BAUD modem, he's elite now."
Excellent
(1)Excl. Superb.
Fer Sure
(1)Phrase. Definitely. ie. "Do you want to meet Duran Duran?" "Fer Sure!"
Five O
(1)Noun. Police officer. ie. "Oh oh, chill, there's a Five O comin'"
Fly
(1)Adj. Very hip and with it.
Fresh
(1)Adj. Very new, used in reference to music a lot. ie. "His beat's real fresh"
Funky
Multiple meanings, 70's disco leftover.
Gag Me With a Spoon
(1)Phrase. Disgusting.
Geek
(1)Noun. A person who is not hip, usually implies stupidity as well. ie. "Don't be such a geek!"
Generic
(1)Adj. Of poor quality; poorly planned or executed. ie. "Hey man, do you like that new Atari game, Moon Patrol?" "Hell no, dude! That game is generic!"
Get Out
(1)Excl. I don't believe you. ie. "I got tickets to Duran Duran." "Get Out!"
Goober
(1)Noun. Snot. ie. "Eww. You've got a goober showing." (2)Adj. Something stupid. ie. "Don't be such a goober."
Gnarly
(1)Adj. Exceptional. ie. "That move you just did with your board was gnarly."
Grodie
(1)Adj. Disgusting. ie. "That garbage pail looks grodie."
Gross Me Out
(1)Excl. Disgusting.
Grouse
(1)Adj. Cool, its an Australian slang term. ie "That's so grouse man"
Gross Me Out the Door
(1)Excl. Very Disgusting.
Heavy
(1)Adj. A situation which is grave. ie. "This algebra test is heavy."
Most notable use of this phrase was in Back to the Future by the lad character portrayed by Michael J. Fox. The origins of this use can be traced to the sixties when it referred to a close personal friend.
Heinous
(1)Adj. Not good. ie. "That wipeout was heinous dude."
'hood
(1)Abrv. Neighborhood. ie. "My homey's like to hang out with me in my 'hood"
Homeboy
(1)Noun. A close friend. ie. "I like to hang with my homeboys at the mall."
Homey
(1)Noun. A friend. see Homeboy.
(2)Noun. A greeting. "Hey homey, don't play that"
Widespread use can be attributed to the show "In Living Color" which had the demented clown (portrayed by Daymon Wayons) whose catch phrase was "Homey don't play that" in response to a situation he didn't approve of.
Kickin'
(1)Adj. Fun, exciting, and cool. ie. "This is a kickin' party"
Killer
(1)Adj. very cool. ie. "Your blue lip gloss is killer!"
Kiss My Grits
(1)Excl. A more polite way of saying "kiss my ass."
Origins of phrase trace back to the seventies on "Alice's Diner", it was a carry over for a few years into the eighties.
K-RAD
(1)Very radical.
Origins of phrase trace to the eighties BBS scene which is where most of the usage stemmed from.
The Joint
(1)Very cool. Seems to be primarily an East Coast term, started by rappers. ie: "The Sugar Hill Gang is the joint!"
Like
Used as a modifier, really has no definition. ie. "I was all like, No Way" Used mostly in Valley Girl speak, it was the most widely used aspect of this stereotype.
Like, oh my God!
(1)Excl. Wow. Unbelievable.
Major
(1)Adj. Really cool. ie. "That song sounds major"
Make Me Barf
(1)Phrase. A way to signal disgust with a situation. Sometimes used as "Make me wanna barf." ie. "I just bought a new Englebert Humperdink album." "Oh, don't play it. That'll make me barf."
McFly
(1)Excl. Someone has just done something very stupid. ex: "Nice move McFly" origin is the 80's movie, Back to the Future.
Melvin
(1)Action Verb. To pull another person's underwear upwards in a jerking motion untill it wedges between ones butt-crack. This is done from behind the person in order to keep them defenseless.
Mint
(1)Adj. Excellent, memorable, "priceless. "How was your weekend?" "Mint, best yet!"
Moded
(1)Skater term.
Nerd
(1)Noun. Someone who is very smart and socially unacceptable. ie. "Bill Gates is one of the most successful nerds today."
(2)Noun. Also the proper name of a tangy candy made by Wonka candies.
Nice Play Shakespeare
(1)Excl. That was a really stupid action.
No S*** Sherlock
(1)Excl. Stating the obvious. I already know that.
No Way
(1)Excl. Not going to do that. "Do your homework!" "No Way!"
(2)Excl. Disbelief. "I got tickets to Duran Duran." "No Way!"
Poser
(1)Noun. An imposter whose intent is to fit in with a more acceptable social group. ie. "Marky Mark was such a poser, he pretend to be from the ghetto when he was really a middle class preppie."
Preppie
(1)Noun. A person who dressed in upscale clothing and acted snobbish towards people not in the same social standings. ie. "That guy wearing the Izods is such a preppie."
Psyche
(1)Excl. Ha! Fooled you! ie. Person offers an ice cream cone, and then pulls it away, he would then yell "Psyche!". Origins can be traced to an Eddie Murphy comedy sketch.
Rad
(1)Abrv. Short for radical.
Radical
(1)Adj. Something extremely hip, almost awesome ie. "His moves are quite radical."
Rippen, Rips
(1)Adj. Something very cool. ie. "That Firebird ripps man"
Smooth move, X-Lax
(1)Excl. That was a really stupid action.
Solid
(1)Noun. Affirmative. ie. "So we're going at eight? "Yeah, solid."
Stellar
(1)Adj. very cool. ie. "Your blue lip gloss is stellar!"
Stoked
(1)Excl. Very excited. ie. "I am so stoked, I just found twenty bucks on the ground."
To The Max
(1)Adj. Used in conjunction with any adjective that you want to emphasize. ie "That chick is annoying to the max!"
Totally Awesome
(1)Adj. Something truly exceptional, not flawed in any ways. "That was like, totally awesome."
Totally Tubular
(1)Adj. A really cool move in skateboarding.
Trippendicular
(1)Adj. Something that is totally amazing.
Val
(1)Abrv. Short for Valley Girl. ie. "I'm a Val, I know, but it's ok because I come from a real cool part of Encino."
"Way","No Way"
(1)An exchange between two people when one believes something the other does not. ie. "I saw your girlfriend with another guy" "No Way" "Way" "No Way" "Way"
Way Cool
(1)Adj. Very cool. ie. "The A-Team is way cool."
Whatever
(1)Excl. Universally used for anything that leaves even an ounce of doubt in your mind. Usually used in a condescending tone by a Valley Girl. ie. "So she said, 'I really like your purse' and I'm like 'Whatever!'"
Wicked
(1)Adj. Excellent or great. ie. "That movie was wicked"
Word
(1)Noun. Word means "Yes, I agree with what you're saying, and will re-emphasize it." ie: Person 1: "That dweeb is grody to the max." Person 2, in agreement: "Word." Synonyms: "I know that's right," and "I heard that."
Yeah! That's the ticket"
(1)Phrase. That sounds correct. Usually an indication that an explanation was just created. Originated from Saturday Night Live sketch with Jon Lovitz who was a habitual liar in the sketch.
Yo
(1)Excl. A greeting. ie. "Yo homey, what's happening?"
     Yuppie
(1)Noun. A person who is a white collar worker who has possessions of an expensive nature and flaunts them. ie. "You see that guy in the Saab, he's such a yuppie."
Origins trace back to the beginning of the decade when the "Yuppie Handbook" was written identifying the breed. Yuppie came from the acronym YUP, which stood for Young Urban Professional

Are you a TRUE 80's Child?
Here's a test.....

Fashion
1.You own a skinny tie and know where it is.
2.You wear a skinny tie from time to time.
3.You wear polo shirts.
4.You wear Izod polo shirts.
5.You have a duck tail/rat tail.
6.You wear friendship pins.
7.You give out friendship pins.
8.You wear clothes with "Ocean Pacific" labels clearly visible.
9.You wear Member's Only jackets.
10.You wear Kangaroo Shoes.
11.You wear a single glove like Michael Jackson.
12.You wear a Swatch .
13.You own something with ESPRIT clearly visible on it.
14.You wear Banana Republic shirts/shorts.
15.You rip slits into your jeans on purpose.
16.You have a mohawk.
17.You wear VANS sneakers.
18.You wear pastel colored clothing.
19.You wear sweatshirts like they did in "Flashdance" (ripped, or off one shoulder)
20.You wear those shirts/coats that zip (or fasten) in a diagonal way which then flop down to make a triangular shape on your chest
Music
21.You own a Milli Vanilli album.
22.You listen to Milli Vanilli.
23.You have a CD of the "New Kids" you listen to.
24.You refer to dance music as disco.
25.You're waiting for Depeche Mode to become popular.
26.You're waiting for Morrissey to cheer up.
27.You know the original line up of Duran Duran.
28.You still have a crush on Nick Rhodes.
29.You refer to Bruce Springsteen as "The Boss"
30.You still talk about whether or not the video for a song is any good.
31.You still prefer 12 inch mixes over CD singles.
32.You think Madonna's "Like A Virgin" would imply she was still "pure."
33.You eagerly await the next hit single from Menudo to come out any day now.
34.You still like "Thriller."
35.You miss "Captain EO" from Disney World.
36.You call the guy who wrote "Little Red Corvette", Prince.
37.You know all the words to "Rio."
38.You own more than one album by either A Flock Of Seagulls, Toto or Mr. Mister.
39.You listen to a "Top 40 Countdown" every weekend.
40.You refer to albums as LP's and call music stores, record stores.
Fads
41.You own a Smurf figurine.
42.You also own a Smurf mushroom house for the Smurf figurines.
43.You have a stuffed animal on the window of your car.
44.You have a stuffed Garfield on the window of your car.
45.You talk like, you know, a Valley Girl from time to time.
46.You use the phrase "Yeah, That's The Ticket"
47.You use the word "DUDE" at all (and with a straight face).
48.You still say, "Well isn't that special?"
49.You have a pair of sunglasses with lights behind the lenses.
50.You play video games on an Atari 2600.
51.You argue as to whether Transformers are better than Go-bots.
52.You think "Where's the Beef?" is far better than "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up"
53.You have a Cabbage Patch Kid out in plain sight somewhere in your house.
54.You've never given up hope that you might someday solve a Rubik's Cube.
55.You think that people still breakdance to rap music.
56.You think wine from a box is as neat as sliced bread.
57.You own California Raisins merchandise.
58.You don't know that Spud's Mackenzie is a female dog.
59.You think you can get killed by mixing pop rocks and soda.
60.You own a BMX bike and still freestyle with it.
Like, You Know, The Stuff That Doesn't Like, Fit In Anywhere Else
61.You didn't know that Tiffany doesn't write her own songs.
62.You get your advice from Dr. Ruth.
63.You still cry when you watch E.T.
64.You think the only reason O.J. Simpson is famous is because of football.
65.You refer to Russia as the U.S.S.R. and think they're a bunch of commies.
66.You drive a Yugo.
67.You collect Garbage Pail Kids.
68.You still take your Flintstone vitamins.
69.You drive a DeLorean.
70.You play Laser Tag.
71.You like making Shrinky-Dinks.
72.You use a Trapper Keeper for homework assignments.
73.When you make a mistake you say, "...and now we know. And knowing is half the battle."
74.When someone calls for someone more than once in public, you start saying, "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller."
75.If someone says, "Who are you gonna call?" the first thing you say is "Ghostbusters."
76.You can still quote stupid things that Dan Quayle has said at one time.
77.You think skateboarding is rad.
78.You think that WWF wrestling isn't choreographed.
79.You still try to make your hair stand up as high as possible with tons of hairspray and mousse.
80.You're actually keeping score and will see where you place on this test.

Scoring
60-80 Points Total
Get help, you stand out in a crowd, people point and laugh at you in public, really. Go out and buy a Nirvana CD or something, you're sad!
40-60 Points Total
There's hope for you, try watching some television. Get outside in public, and notice you look like a total geek next to everyone else except Bob Dole.
20-40 Points Total
You've almost totally gotten away from the eighties, or your real young and hardly remember the eighties at all. Clean out your closet and you'll probably come close to be considered hip.
00-20 Points Total
You've forgotten everything about the eighties, I'm willing to bet you don't even remember your name.