40s and 50s slang

[stepperry]

What slang words have changed greatly since the 40s and 50s?
What were some slang words in the 40s and 50s in York, Manchester/Liverpool, and London?
Was there a slang word that meant the same thing as "fit" does currently back in the 40s and 50s?

[SepticTone]

I'd like to help you but I'm too young to remember the 50's, & wasn't born in the 40's. Sorry.

But 'fit', to describe a pulchritudinous male or female was used commonly in the 60's, 70's, etc., & still is, I believe.

Slang words from those specific towns you mention would probably require a volume of their own, frankly. Except York really doesn't have the huge population & individual character the other big cities have, being basically just a large market town rather than a conurbation.

[PeterSF]

The earliest stuff I can remember is from the 60's, and I can only remember one term used then that dropped out of use since, which would be "bird", slang for a girl of dating age and above.

One modification of that was "dolly bird", used to describe a similar female, but referring more to the outward appearance, interest in fashion and makeup, and presumed behaviour/availability. They would almost certainly be wearing a mini-skirt. It wasn't intended as a pejorative, and wasn't the equivalent of the American term "bimbo", but can certainly be seen as objectifying.
The 1960's film "Alfie" probably used "bird" many times, maybe "dolly bird" too, but I'm not sure as I haven't seen it in years.

[stepperry]

What does 'walking through all the corridors' in York'? Is it just walking through the well traveled roads?

[SepticTone]

What does 'walking through all the corridors' in York'? Is it just walking through the well traveled roads?

I would imagine that the phrase is taken from a guide book of York, designed for Americans.

In British English, a 'corridor' is generally something found in a house or large building, as in hallway, etc., & I've never heard it applied to a town layout.

Bear in mind that York as a town is almost 2000 years old, so its street plan is by US standards eccentric, to say the least, each wave of conquerors (Romans, Vikings, Normans, Lancastrians ( ), etc, having laid down their own buildings & alleyways, often overlapping & twisting around to join up in some improbable place, made worse by the crazy town planning implemented in medieval times.

Corridor='alleyway' in this context, I think, but having none of the sinister overtones of a dark dingy alleyway in a big city. Just a narrow twisty short cut to somewhere else, with probably quite interesting things to see en route. Little or no street crime at all in York, so you're perfectly safe.

Incidentally, we live about 50 miles from York, & last visited some 5 years ago. Lots & lots of Americans go there because externally, it's very quaint & nice.

We had one of the worst meals in our lives in one of the many realistic-looking 'Food Pubs' on one of the main streets in York, which actually looked quite nice & big & pretty & reasonably authentically 18th Century to our fairly well-trained eye.

The place was filthy & smelly, the tables unwashed, food & service was dreadful & I'm ashamed to say, was full of Americans: God knows what they must have thought of the place, & we were genuinely embarrassed that perhaps a foreigner's first impressions of England could be so bad, even though our fellow American drinkers/diners seemed to take it in their stride. I felt like personally going round to each one & apologising & saying " I think this place is shit, too ". But it wasn't my pub, so I didn't. "Service, hygiene & food hasn't changed since the 15th Century", we sarcastically remarked to the landlord as we left.

Tip: DO NOT enter any pub on any main street in York & expect decent food or service. Go down a 'Corridor' instead & enter the least attractive place which offers food drink & hospitality & actually contains British people. A cliche applicable to anywhere in the world I know, but especially in York.

[stepperry]

Thank you
This is also in York in the late 40s or 50s.
What would a young man walking a girl home from a school dance or a sport game or gala have if her jacket had blown open?
Could the phrase 'replacing my coat' be slang for something or a code for something more?

[PeterSF]

Could the phrase 'replacing my coat' be slang for something or a code for something more?

I have never heard that phrase before as slang for anything. More likely it is either innuendo, depending on the context, or even just what it appears to be.

[stepperry]

Thank you, again
A school girl was being walked from dance/swimming gala in late 40s or the early 50's by. The girls coat blew up or open and the lad replaced it. The girl wrote him a note that said he could not walk her home again because he had replaced her coat and singed with her name.
Is it innuendo or just what it sounds like or just a very purdeish school girl?

[SepticTone]

Thank you, again
A school girl was being walked from dance/swimming gala in late 40s or the early 50's by. The girls coat blew up or open and the lad replaced it. The girl wrote him a note that said he could not walk her home again because he had replaced her coat and singed with her name.
Is it innuendo or just what it sounds like or just a very purdeish school girl?

To be frank, that doesn't make any sense at all.

If somebody's coat blows open, it's sensible to button it up rather than to replace it.

It doesn't even imply innuendo either, in my view either.

It might in some Islamic or Hindu sense, but clearly that doesn't apply in the 1950's Britain, as there weren't any islamic or hindu people living here at that time.

It's just bollocks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[stepperry]

Thank you, again
A school girl was being walked from dance/swimming gala in late 40s or the early 50's by. The girls coat blew up or open and the lad replaced it. The girl wrote him a note that said he could not walk her home again because he had replaced her coat and singed with her name.
Is it innuendo or just what it sounds like or just a very purdeish school girl?

To be frank, that doesn't make any sense at all.

If somebody's coat blows open, it's sensible to button it up rather than to replace it.

It doesn't even imply innuendo either, in my view either.

It might in some Islamic or Hindu sense, but clearly that doesn't apply in the 1950's Britain, as there weren't any islamic or hindu people living here at that time.

It's just bollocks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Thank you

Replacing the coat ie fixing buttoning it
A very prudish girl would have written such a note