Learn to Talk Like a Hippie

Want to learn how to talk like a hippie? The flower children of the 1960s invented dozens of counter-culture words and expressions to describe their experiences and beliefs. Whether you are planning a party to celebrate peace and love, or just want to learn some hipster slang, here is a short list of hippie words and expressions.

Baby or Babe: A term of fondness for men or women, like “Honey.”

Bag: A favorite hobby or pursuit, as in, “Playing guitar is my bag, baby.”

Ban the Bra: A feminist catchphrase. The bra was considered a symbol of women’s oppression and bras were sometimes burned in protest.

Bread: Money or cash. “I wish I didn’t have to work, but I need the bread.”

Bummer: Unfortunate occurrence or sad feeling. “What a bummer, man!”

Cat: A likable male.

Chick: A pretty, young woman.

Cool: Admirable or trendy, and worthy of emulation.

Cop out: Lame excuse for inaction or taking the lazy way out. “He said the dog ate all our brownies. What a cop out!”

Dig: “I dig it,” means, “I understand your point of view.” Also a way to describe something you like a lot, as in, “I really dig those sandals.”

Do your own thing!: Do whatever makes you happy.

Drag: Boring or disappointing. “What a drag!”

Far Out!: “Awesome!”

Flower Children: Hippies were called Flower Children because they wore flowers in their hair, on their clothes and painted flowers on everything.

Flower Power: Flowers symbolized the power of love over hate. Most famously, hippies placed flower stems in the gun barrels of law enforcement during war protests.

Funky: Stylish in an unconventional way. For example, music and fashions can be funky.

Generation Gap: Defines the divergence between the ideals of modern, young adults and those of older and more conservative generations.

Get Real: Be realistic. You are in denial.

Go with the Flow: Be calm and let things happen at their own pace.

Groovy!: Most pleasurable! The coolest!

Hassle: Trouble or difficulty. “I got hassled by the police. What a hassle!”

If It Feels Good, Do It: Be uninhibited, enjoy yourself as you wish.

Laid Back: Peaceful and calm. “The crowd was laid back.”

Lid: A $10 bag of marijuana, a full ounce at the time.

Love Beads: Natural beads that were fun to wear and fun to give as a mark of friendship.

Love-In: A hippie happening with love for all things as the central theme.

Make Love, Not War: Hippies shouted this slogan to protest war and promote peace and love.

Man: Spoken in place of a man’s name, as in dude, buddy, pal, friend, chum. “Hey, man, I dig your Hendrix poster.”

The Man: An authority figure, esp. the police.

Mellow: Pleasurable and agreeable.

Mellow Out: Take it easy; stay calm.

Munchies: Ravenous hunger, “I’ve got the munchies!” Also means delectable food, as in, “We put out lots of munchies to share.”

Outta Sight or Out of Sight: Means fantastic, “The Beatles are outta sight!”

Plastic: Phony or artificial.

Rap: A rap means a friendly discussion. To rap is to talk. The word was not associated with music as it is today.

Right On!: An exclamation that means, “I completely agree!” Political emphasis is indicated by a raised fist.

Righteous: Worthy and commendable.

Scene: The party or place where cool people meet. “Dig this groovy scene!”

Selling Out: To abandon counter-culture ideals for material or personal gain. “She sold out to work in a bank. What a sell-out!”

Split: To depart. “Let’s split this scene.” “We have to split at midnight.”

Square: Describes a person or thing that is conformist, straight-laced and very un-cool. “My mom is such a square!”

Thing: Total obsession or favorite pastime. “Incense is my thing, baby!”

Threads: Clothes.

Trippy: Fascinating and captivating with psychedelic overtones.

Uptight: Stressed or on edge. “My dad gets so uptight around my boyfriend.”

Vibes: Short for vibrations, it means a feeling or intuition. “This place puts out great vibes.” “I’m getting bad vibes from that policeman.”

Way Out: Hard to believe or really amazing.

What’s Happenin’?: Whaddup?

Where It’s At!: Highly recommended place to go. “Haight-Ashbury is where it’s at, baby.”

This list of hippie slang is by no means complete. What hippie words or expressions do you know that are not on this list?

Source by Kate Monteith