Archaic slang

[Twilkes]

When I was at school in the early to mid 80s, if something was of good calibre it was 'ace', 'skill'*, and for a very short time 'rad' or 'radical'.

The current youth slang term for something of good calibre is apparently 'epic', but around twelve years ago it was, for some reason, 'minty'.

And when I was very young, if a gentleman showed a tendency towards campness, my mother termed him a 'woolly woofter'.

What no-longer-used terms do you remember?

• This one sometimes led to the trap-conversation 'Have you got skill?' 'Yes.' 'Urgh, it's an African bum disease!'

[Twilkes]

Toltec said:

The title made me think more of Chaucer or even Shakespeare than a couple of decades ago.

Does archaic mean something different in modern slang?

I just used it in the sense of 'words that aren't used any more', e.g. (of a word or a style of language) no longer in everyday use but sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavour

[Twilkes]

TheEnd said:

Twilkes said:

• This one sometimes led to the trap-conversation 'Have you got skill?' 'Yes.' 'Urgh, it's an African bum disease!'

I remember that, citation needed!

This is as close as it gets to a scholarly etymology:

http://www.odps.org/glossword/index.php?a=term&amp...