American society in the 1920's provided a breeding ground for new slang terms to arise. The decade was characterized by the first notable youth movement in American history, as newly liberated women began to define fashion and social trends known as the "flapper" movement. This movement had its roots in the speakeasy society created by prohibition. History has shown that most slang terms emerge when a social group needs a way to communicate without society at large being able to decipher their speech. Hence, the speakeasy society brought forth many new terms, some of which are still in use today. Some examples include words like "baloney," "blind date," "double-cross," and "bootleg." A term widely used today to describe having a conflict with another person, "beef," also originated during the speakeasy era.
Although prohibition was a time of crime and hardship for America, it created the first true subculture to be acknowledged by society at large. This allowed youth of the time to define themselves as something outside the norm and establish their own lexicon. Without this movement, we may not have had such a rich foundation for slang and variety of subcultures in our nation today.
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