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About This Quiz
People within the hippie culture were generally rebellious by nature. This meant they loved challenging the status quo, challenging traditional cultural structures and societal systems, and, of course, they loved challenging pop culture and politics in general. But what about language?
Language is, of course, the very first aspect of human culture that gets changed whenever there are upheavals in society. Be it a small one or a major one, these changes are often reflected in the way we do things. And it definitely gets reflected in the language we use, first and foremost. For how do we communicate what we think, how do we communicate our dissent, our objects, and how do we communicate our thoughts and feelings about many things? Language is the key here.
There are times when language changes formally, then gets cascaded down to everybody. But more often than not, language actually changes from the ground up. What's slang today or yesterday could be tomorrow's important buzz word. What's informal right now might find its way into formal systems eventually.
That's how the language of hippies was, too. Or perhaps we should say is - since many of these phrases are still quite in use today. Take a peek and see if you can guess what they all mean!
If your friend yells, “time to split,” what do you do?
Dance
Divide money or food
Sit down and eat
Get out
When it’s “time to split,” that means it’s time to go away, to leave, or to escape the current scene or location where one is staying. The origin of the phrase is murky, but it’s still in use until today.
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What did Jimi Hendrix mean when he used the phrase “Foxy Lady”?
Ugly
Suspicious
Sexy
“Foxy” means that a woman is truly sexy. It’s a gender-specific compliment for women. The origin of the term is still being debated, though.
Jumpy
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When hippies say, “it’s a bummer, man,” what are they trying to say?
It's not what they like.
When something is a “bummer,” it means that there are some things that didn’t go as one has expected. The term probably came from “bum rap,” which means something was unfairly done.
It’s a bit slow.
It’s what they expected.
It’s nothing to them.
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If you can “dig the music,” what is it you’re doing?
Criticizing
Understanding
“Digging” anything means you understand what it’s about. You don’t have to like it; that’s another thing entirely.However, the word crossed over generations later, since it’s still being used today. The musical group, TLC, had a 1995 hit entitled “Diggin’ on You” which extended the meaning into “liking it” territory.
Hating
Ignoring
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If your laid-back friend looks at your shirt and says “it’s groovy,” what does it mean?
Horrible
Wrong size
Fashionable
The use of “groovy” actually began in the 1920s as a jazz slang word, and it became popular with hippies decades later. The simplest meaning is that you’re on the right track or groove, and you’re doing well. So to have a groovy shirt means you’re on the right track of being fashionable.
Wrong texture
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If a guy says his “old lady" is waiting for him, who’s he talking about?
Mom
Wife/girlfriend
The phrase, “old lady,” is a term of endearment by men reserved for their wives or girlfriends. Whether or not it has something to do with growing old together is anyone’s guess.
Grandma
Older sister
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If your hippie friend is “out of bread,” what is he or she lacking?
Inner peace
Love
Money
“Bread” (or the lack of it) is the hippie term for money. The phrases used with this main word probably developed as cash was needed to buy food back then – and even now, of course.
A sharing experience
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If a perplexed person says “Sock it to me,” what are they trying to say?
Fight me
Make me sleep
Kiss me
Give it to me
“Sock it to me” means that a person wants to know something, even if they won’t like it. There are sexual and comedic uses for it, too. Aretha Franklin’s famous 1967 song "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" used this line as a form of refrain, too.
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Should you feel good if your friend said “right on,” after hearing your opinion?
Yes
“Right on” can mean that what someone said is not only correct, but exactly right. People are still debating if it’s from “right on target,” or “right on time,” though these two thoughts essentially suggest the same concept.
No
It’s neutral.
They didn’t listen.
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Why is it a good idea to “hang loose” after a long week?
Working at a slower pace is OK.
Preparing for work is important.
Relaxing is good.
“Hanging loose” simply means that you are relaxed. The term comes from the opposing visual to being tightly wound when stressed.
Taking work home to get ahead is a smart move.
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It’s one of the most famous hippie phrases. What should peace be given?
A chance
“Give peace a chance” was a cornerstone phrase for hippie counterculture. It stated the pacifist and inclusive nature of hippies. John Lennon immortalized this hippie sentiment in a famous 1969 song, which is still relevant up to now.
A revolution
A dream
A reefer
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If you’ve been “busted by the fuzz,” where would you be now?
Parent’s house
Detention
Hospital
Police station
The “fuzz” simply refers to the police. Some people say the term comes from the fuzzy hair that cops used to have, like crew cuts.
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If “you’re bogarting” all the chocolate in the house, what are you doing?
Not buying
Sharing
Hoarding
When you’re “bogarting” something, that means you’re keeping it all to yourself. Some people say it refers to how long a cigarette can dangle from Hollywood icon Humphrey Bogart’s mouth.
Throwing away
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When you say a friend has “gone ape” over a promise you broke, what does that mean?
Very sad
Very angry
“Going ape” is a hippie phrase for getting very angry, sometimes with violence involved. It’s the visual idea of someone acting like an angry gorilla.
Very noisy
Very funny
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If your hippie friend says that another person is “all show, no go,” is that person OK?
Yes
No
“All show, no go” is a fancy hippie phrase to say that something is superficial. In other words, it looks good, but it’s actually useless or of low value.
Depends on the situation
Befriend that person more
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If you want to “lay it on” your best friend, what are you trying to do?
Get intimate
Rest at their place
Ask for money
Tell something important
“Lay it on me” was used as a term for telling a person something important. Some people say the term comes from the idea of sharing a burden among friends or peers.
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What does it mean if you’re “going steady”?
Content with your state of being
In a relationship
“Going steady” was popularized in hippie culture. It means that one is in an exclusive relationship with another person. It’s still in use today, but it’s interesting to note that it’s used by the general population, not just hippie-like people.
Happily single
Dating around
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If a person said something was “out of sight,” what does that mean?
Confusing
Wrong
Really good
“Out of sight” is a hippie term to emphasize that something was truly excellent. The term was already in use by the 1900s, but only became famous in the 1960s and gained a bigger currency of usage during the counterculture era.
OK
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When a hippie says he’s “scoring some grass,” what’s he doing?
Buying a salad
Finding a place to lie down
Cleaning an area to sit on
Getting marijuana
“Grass,” of course, is the most obvious term for marijuana in hippie lingo. Given how the marijuana plant look, it’s no surprise that they would call it that.
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Fill in the blanks of this classic hippie phrase: “Make _______, not war!”
Peace
Love
“Make love, not war,” sums up the anti-war stance of the hippie subculture of the 1960s. The “love” part means “free love,” which was against marriage and similar traditions, so that includes they prefer all kinds of non-traditional “love practices” of a sexual nature, like premarital sex, and orgies, to name a few.
Pizza
Grass
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If you’re “having a gas” during a party, what’s happening?
Laughing
When you’re “having a gas,” that’s hippie code for having fun, or laughing a lot. It’s said that the term came from using nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.
Drinking beer
Hungry
Sleepy
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If a party “blew the doors off,” was it successful?
No
Yes
When you “blow the doors off” something, it means that it was so good, it was like an explosion happened in a small room. It’s a phrase used for emphasis to connote success.
Could have been, but it was stopped
Technically, yes, but it needed more booze
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If you understand hippie culture, you just “go with the flow.” What does it really mean?
Surrender to authorities
Be less aggressive
“Go with the flow” has many meanings, but it is usually used to ask another person to be less extreme, and to just generally cooperate. Some people trace the phrase back to Zen philosophy and Shakespeare’s plays. It’s also symbolic of not going against the flow of a river, because that exercise is futile, so you just go with the flow and be less aggressive.
Be ignorant
Stop it!
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When a woman resorts to using “foam domes,” what is she doing?
Staying in bed
Sleeping on the couch
Making her breasts look bigger
Back in the hippie era, some women would use tissue paper or the like to stuff their bras, with the intention of making their breasts look bigger. The term for these artificial endowments was “foam domes.”
Resting anywhere
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Should you be concerned if someone “bagged your stuff?”
No
Yes
If someone “bagged your stuff,” that means they did put some of your stuff in a bag – theirs! It’s an indirect phrase meaning your stuff has been stolen.
It has a vague meaning.
It depends on the situation at hand.
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If your hippie friends are saying you’re “waving your freak flag,” what are you displaying at that moment?
Being funny
Being independent
Being angry
Being weird
The “freak flag” is the one you wave when you’re the weirdest person in the room at the moment. Some people point to Jimi Hendrix using the phrase in a song as one reason why the term became famous. That song is entitled “If 6 was 9,” released in 1967.
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If you were a hippie, what are you concerned about when you ask someone “What’s your bag?”
Luggage
Hang-ups
Asking someone “what’s their bag” is a hippie way of asking what’s on that person’s mind, or what’s troubling them. The term is related to the idea of “mental baggage,” and it concerns someone’s emotional state or well-being.
Material things
Legal tickets
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When a hippie says that “this thing is heavy,” what is the meaning of it?
Shouldn’t be moved
Vague instructions were given
Emotional downer
When something is “heavy,” that’s hippie-speak for how something is affecting your emotions, something that’s weighing on you, or weighing you down. The term obviously crossed generations, since you can hear this term being dropped casually – and often – by Marty McFly in the 1980s' trilogy, “Back to the Future.”
It’s a successful thing.
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Is “give me some skin” a lewd invitation or pickup line?
No
To “give some skin” means that the other person wants to shake your hand. In later times, this also included high-fives, but not necessarily hugs and fist bumps.
Yes
It depends on the situation
It depends on how it is said.
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Good golly, what did it mean if Miss Molly “liked to ball”?
She likes sports
She likes to cook
She likes being mannish
She likes sex
A woman who “likes to ball” started out meaning that she loved parties. As hippie culture came in, it became popular slang for sexual intercourse.
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If you have an "ankle-biter,” what does that make you?
A parent
“Ankle-biter” is an unflattering term for a baby or a small child. It’s also sometimes used to describe small dogs or animals. So if you have one of these, that makes you a parent.
A prisoner
A person with issues
A person with a bad ankle
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Is a “five-finger discount” a real deal?
Yes
No
Don’t ever do a “five finger discount” because it’s a flowery hippie phrase that refers to shoplifting! It eventually came to mean anything stolen in any way, so don't do it unless you want the fuzz on your trail.
It's more like haggling.
It's more expensive, actually.
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What does it mean if a hippie friend says your idea is “far out”?
It’s stupid.
It’s a great one.
A “far out” idea is a great one, if only in theory. Some people say the term has been developed from the longer phrase “out of sight.”
The idea needs work.
The idea is OK either way.
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If you’re “watching the submarine race,” what are you doing?
Making out and more
If you’re “watching the submarine race,” you’re not actually watching anything. However, you’re probably making out and more, usually by the beach!
Reading
Sitting in silence
Getting drunk
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Who is “the Man,” who is “always keeping you down”?
Corporations
Government
Religion
All the authorities
The “Man,” and “the man keeping you down,” are terms that hippie counterculture used to describe any organization that tries to control people, and it’s not a good thing. These terms date back to around the 1920s, where “the Man” was one’s employer.
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