Our favorite bits of 1920s slang

Beyond the bee's knees, phrases like French kiss, blind date, sexpert, and backseat driver were all coined in the roaring '20s

Clara Bow
(Image credit: Eugene Robert Richee/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

No doubt: The 1920s were the bee's knees. But the ads banking on the latest film adaptation of The Great Gatsby would have you believe the Jazz Age was all about flappers, fashion, and parties. It was more than that.

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Angela Tung's essays on language and culture have appeared at Mental Floss, Quartz, Salon, The Week, The Weeklings, and Wordnik. Her personal essays have appeared at The Frisky, The Huffington Post, and elsewhere.