Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy
@scarymommy
Latest posts by Jill Smokler, AKA Scary Mommy (see all)
- The Disney Reveal - May 14, 2013
- Met My Match At Disney… - May 13, 2013
- Sunday’s Baltimore Sun - May 11, 2013
I love the 80s. I didn’t necessarily love them when I was in them, but I love them now. How can you not? I dare you to find a woman in her thirties who doesn’t put down the remote when Girls Just Wanna Have Fun comes on or won’t rock out to Borderline in the car. If there are any, I certainly don’t want to be friends with them.
More than the music, movies or television, though, it’s the language that penetrates my everyday life. Such jewels as “barf me out,” “gag me with a spoon” and “take a chill pill” are uttered from my lips embarrassingly often. “Eat shit and die?” I think it’s inspired– perfectly descriptive and to the point. “Bite me” is genius as well. “No shit, Sherlock?” What an incredibly valuable phrase and better, even, is “no, doy.” And, let’s not forget “Fuck’n A.” Curse words don’t come better than that.
Other fantabulous words from the 1980s? Dweeb. Gnarly. Buggin’. Lame. Stoked. Bogart. Spazz. Wicked. I could go on all day, but I won’t. It’s a pretty stellar list, and it just doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Don’t you agree?
I hope you’ll join me in bringing back the verbiage belonging to the decade of jelly shoes, crimped hair, legwarmers and Trapper Keepers. I think we can agree to leave the scrunchies in the past, but these gems are just too good to be forgotten. Consider this a call to action, my friends. Once you embrace them, you’ll wonder how you ever let these words language. They’re truly outrageous.
Like, totally.
{ 84 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, Scary Mommy, you are so cool! Couldn’t agree more with this post.
My ipod is full of bad 80s rock music! It’s the BEST for exercising!
My personal fave quote from the 80s is: drop dead and rot.
.-= Mrs.Mayhem´s last blog ..Spring Break, Day 3 =-.
I forgot “eat shit and die.” I love “eat shit and die.” The 80′s were just more simple and easy…except that it required more hairspray than it does now.
.-= Lanita Moss´s last blog ..When Your BFF is a Psychic =-.
I don’t give a care… psych!
.-= seriouslyahomemaker´s last blog ..Casual Blogger Tickets Giveaway! You Want ‘Em! =-.
I love 80s movies and music but not 80s style. Remember the banana clips? Or the poofs! OMG…I wore one of those for my homecoming dance. Banana clip in the back poof in the front…
.-= This Mama Works It!´s last blog ..The Most Money I Ever Made With One Auction Selling On Ebay =-.
Neato frito man!
Grody to the max!
Also, love notes that ask your intended, “Will you go with me? Check one: yes or no.” Do kids still do that?
Great post — thanks for the trip down memory lane!!
.-= Suzanne from pretty*swell´s last blog ..Work Force(d) =-.
No freakin’ way? Way! My teenagers will be so stoked! Not.
.-= Lori´s last blog ..carbon monoxide? robber? choking? =-.
Like, totally!!! I rocked my banana clip, and my jelly shoes!! Ahhhh! Back when fashion made no sense and MTV was rockin. Good times…oops, I mean totally rad!
Best. Post. Evah.
And not because I had something to do with it.
I do believe you were missing twat in your line-up, though. Totally fine if you want to quickly update your post. I won’t tell anyone.
What’s really hilarious is that last night, when I should have been cleaning, folding laundry, paying bills, blogging, or about a million other things, I was sitting on my ass watching Girls Just Wanna Have Fun…
…because I must. I’m pretty sure it is part of some child of the ’80s code.
.-= Mayhem and Moxie´s last blog ..Becoming the Next Dooce: A How To Guide =-.
“Gag me with a spoon” is classic! And while I realize that leg warmers went out with Jane Fonda’s fertility, I would love to rock a pair today!!!
LOL (must be carefull am at office)! Since I’am – well – a Belgian and spend most of the 80′s in Africa as a rather young child I can’t really relate, but I am so loving ‘eat shit and die’. Yes that’s going to be a great one in rush hour traffic around Brussels. Our version of ‘bite me’ is: ‘ta guele’ (French) or ‘a bakkes’ (Flemish). So there, should you ever find yourselves in Belgium you know what to reply when someone is being annoying, just make sure to use the Flemish in Flanders in the French in Wallonia, otherwise you will be hacked to bits or burned at the stake. No kidding.
I like to do little 80s and 90s combos in my speech: DUDE, THAT’S TOTALLY LAME. In fact in the early 90s, I was convinced that I had coined the phrase Dudical. As in Dude + Radical.
Awesome. Like totally.
.-= Alex´s last blog ..One Boy. Twenty-Four Hours Of Mayhem =-.
Wow. This really took me back. My teenaged daughter cannot believe I was so nerdy to be her age in the 80s. Poor kid.
.-= Lolli´s last blog ..What Has Blogging Taught You? =-.
Totally bitchin’ post! Suddenly I feel like watching The Breakfast Club, Footloose and Flashdance. Where are those leg warmers when you need them?
.-= mom, interrupted´s last blog ..The Verdict On Junk Food =-.
I couldn’t agree more. However, I don’t ever want the big bangs to come back in style. My straight, fine hair just didn’t adapt well to that trend, no matter how much AquaNet I used.
I totally forgot about No Shit, Sherlock.
I used to say that all the time. Especially since I could get away with swearing when I did, for some reason. :)
.-= angie´s last blog ..Blog World Domination by Dumb Mom… =-.
That’s, like, totally awesome.
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Blog World Domination by Dumb Mom =-.
My girlfriend still says, “RAD!” all the time. LOL!
.-= Lessons in Life and Light´s last blog ..Light =-.
i had totally forgotten about “no doy!”…i’m going to start using it again for sure. thanks for the reminder!
The 80′s were my decade. Forget the fact that I wasn’t even a teenager yet, everything about it was totally awesome. Looking back, though, we could probably have done without some of the gnarly fashion choices.
.-= C @ Kid Things´s last blog ..The Joe Camel of the Preschool Set =-.
I said ‘tubular’, like in a Ninja Turtles kind of way, while wearing Hypercolor Tshirts. I also used to tote picks in my Caboodle like my ship was going down.
http://www.imgonnakillhim.com
The 80′s will always be my decade too. I was in high school, and songs that I didn’t particularly like then I’ve come to love now – purely because they remind me of good times.
The 90′s were also a great decade, but the music wasn’t particularly “defining”. It was bland and tasteless. The 80′s music was glam, camp and fun.
.-= pixielation´s last blog ..Banged up in Munich for being English. Probably. =-.
Lovin’ the 80′s post. I have been to so many 80′s gatherings lately. A fundraiser and a birthday party coming up that have an 80′s theme. So much fun!
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Things Kids Say Thursday #18 =-.
Thanks for bringing back some good memories!!
.-= Pres. Kathy´s last blog ..I am exhausted – in a good way! =-.
You’re too funny Scary! Some of these might be colloquialisms, but Wicked Cool was very big in the Northeast. Duh, Der, and Err too. I remember dorks, dweebs, nerds and dills (dills?!?). And if you don’t like it I’ll snap your suspenders and You Can Sit On It … and Spin!
Do you remember the day “the MTV” went live with “Video Killed the Radio Star?” I’m not even sure MTV plays music videos anymore! I wore a tux to my senior prom and was considered way radical.
.-= Sally´s last blog ..Sewing for the Home, Grendelskin Style! =-.
Hmm … I wasn’t aware that “No shit, Sherlock” and “Fuckin’ A” had ever gone out of style.
I started a news school in second grade, in 1983, and found that everybody was using the word “awesome.” I joined in. But then around maybe early 1985 I was told “nobody says that anymore” and I stopped saying it. I noticed a few years later that it seemed to be coming back into vogue, but I was in “once bitten twice shy” mode and refused to start saying it again, joining the “The Grand Canyon is awesome! Pizza is not awesome!” school of thought.
Somewhere along the line, I gave in, though, and now I use the word multiple times every day, most to describe myself after I do something minor. “That’s right, I did the dishes. I’m awesome.”
.-= Noah´s last blog ..Frequently Asked Questions =-.
I totally found jellies at Target and got a pair for my Abby. The 80′s rock!
.-= metta1313´s last blog ..Day 90: The Unexpected (part 2) =-.
Ummm….I think I’m the only one not laughing here. I didn’t know rad was out, or no shit, sherlock, either.
Does this mean I can’t keep telling the grody hag at the kid’s school to take a chill pill anymore?
Totally bummed.
.-= Alexandra´s last blog ..And It Made Her So Very Happy =-.
I just turned 40 so the 80′s were my teen years and your post definitely brings back memories. I, like, totally talked like that, you know! Add the leg warmers, banana clips, Madonna plastic bracelets and gallons of hairspray and, well you get the picture. I think that I’ll go put some Cindi Lauper on now!
.-= Kat´s last blog ..So We’re Not Perfect! =-.
Love jellie shoes! I made my daughter wear them when she was little. :)
I love 80′s movies. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Some Kind of Wonderful and anything with Molly Ringwald. I remeber wanting to change my name to Frankie or Tonie. I guess boy names for girls was really big back then.
.-= Kisha @Pumpkin Spice Life´s last blog ..Mayhem and Moxie Cupcake Give Away =-.
I’m getting out my boom box and shrine to John Cusack. Maybe later, I’ll tease my hair into wings. Good times!
.-= Stacia´s last blog ..Fixing What’s Broken =-.
hah! “no, doy” haven’t heard that one in… well, a while ;-)
.-= MommyNamedApril´s last blog ..Waiting for Daddy. Okay, Not Really, But I Told Them To Pretend To Wait For Daddy. =-.
“Doy” is briefly used as a semi-plot point in SPAMALOT. Technically it’s “Doi” there and as soon as another character says it, another corrects him that it’s “Duh.”
I’ve always been partial to “Durhay” myself.
.-= Noah´s last blog ..Frequently Asked Questions =-.
Yes, I LOVED the 80′s. Somehow, things seemed more simple then. Of course, where would I be without my computer and my cell phone…
.-= Lindsey Petersen´s last blog ..It’s Like I Won the Lottery!!! =-.
i wasn’t very old in the 80s but it has had its affects on my life.
.-= S Club Mama´s last blog ..Enell Sports Bra Review =-.
Bitchin post! Perspective and time makes the 80s look awesome! I really wanted to find some jelly bracelets for A. for Christmas, but never could find them.
I like totally loved the 80′s, too, like Oh, my GOD? Totally? And like, I still always totally say stuff like ‘gag me with a spoon’ and my all-time favourite, ‘eat shit and die!’ We are kindred spirits, I tell you! ;) The 80′s rocked my world. Girls Just Want To Have and Can’t Buy Me Love (as well as all the John Hughes movies) were my favourite! ;) I was just talking about safety-pinned jeans today on Twitter! How fun! Remember?
.-= Loukia´s last blog ..TOP TEN things blogging has taught me =-.
I am constantly telling my son to take a chill pill.
.-= Erin´s last blog .. =-.
We must have been on the same 80s wavelength today because I decided to write about my unfaltering devotion to Debbie (not Deborah!) Gibson. I used to draw smiley faces on my knees to show through my denim holes. And I said tubular, like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
http://www.imgonnakillhim.com
I posted about the 80′s today and as a special bonus included a picture of myself with a PERM.
Doy is my personal favorite of all time.
.-= Zak´s last blog ..A Trip Through Time. Or 1989. Whatever. =-.
My SIL had an 80′s party last weekend and it was the best night out I’ve had in forever! Complete with leg warmers, back combed hair and singing along to Belinda Carlisle!!! Good times!!!
.-= Emma´s last blog ..And the Winner is……. =-.
How could one forget bout trapper keepers and jelly shoes?
And the expression Sh*t happens.
Remember?
I LOVE the 80′s.
Bangles bracelets galore! Remember?
Just another Manic Monday.
.-= one cluttered brain´s last blog ..A is for April Fool’s<—Yo! You, April Fool, let me tell you the basics of Blogging, K? =-.
Like, oh my gaaawwwwdddd, you are like totally gnarly!!
Yes, the 80s had some most awesome gems but I must thank you…I totally forgot about the jelly shoes!! Now I know why I wanted the sparkly pink rubber boots at Target! They reminded me of jelly shoes of yesteryear!!
.-= Naomi´s last blog ..The true cause of gray hair =-.
Did you just see “Hot Tub Time Machine”….?
I am missing the 80s BIG TIME lately. Thank you for all the great reminders of how freaking cool we were. The only things missing from your post are Aqua Net and blue eye shadow. Or was that just me?
.-= Stefanie´s last blog ..right back atcha =-.
Wow! This takes me back… I still say, “Gag me with a spoon” and “No shit, Sherlock” all the time. Though, my friends and I changed “spoon” to “spork” because we thought it was a much funnier-sounding word.
What about made-from-metal slap bracelets? Remember those? Kids were getting cut with them, and they were banned in our schools!
No shit, sherlock! They totally rocked!!
I especially loved my trapper keeper. But the sight of seeing someone in a scrunchie…ugh…gag me with a spoon! But you know…their comin back I heard. Maybe we should take a chill pill…I don’t know though. Might be tough!
Love this! :-)
Megan
.-= Megan´s last blog ..Finally…. =-.
Dude, that would be awesome. As long as we leave the pegged jeans and stirrup pants in the past…
.-= amber´s last blog ..Wordful Wednesday: Twelve Months. =-.
I was just singing “Into the Groove” the other day. Twenty years later- it’s still as good as day one. Now if only I could get my hair to stand up like that again.
And find those cool lace gloves.
.-= LaMereJoie´s last blog ..No April Fool’s Joke =-.
I am 41. The 80′s were my decade and I grew up in The Valley and hung out at the Galleria. Good times, even if they have been misrepresented.
.-= Jack´s last blog ..Passover 2010- Grandma is Gone =-.
leg warmers! i totally rocked those all the time.
.-= vanillasugar´s last blog ..banana shortbread =-.
I casually throw “rad” into conversations. Love it. The other one I love…awesome-possum or better yet, Right-on, Tampon.
My husband, a totaly 80′s product, who STILL has the inch think flip flops with the rainbow straps, prefers the term “steller”.
The thing I miss most about the ’80′s? The hair. Big Ass Hair. I had so much hair! In pictures from that time, I am just this tiny face surrounded by a huge, flowing, hairsprayed mane. And my boyfriend at the time was in a BAND, so he had this gravity-defying Flock of Seagulls do. Man, those were the days.
.-= Gretchen´s last blog ..Honest Scrap =-.
I didn’t realized how often I used many of those same phrases you listed above until one day when my two-year-old was doing what two-year-olds do best (tantruming), and I said, “Take a …” and before I could even finish it, she said, “No chill pill, Mommy!”
Guess there are worse things she could have recited back to me! Thanks for the memories!
Guilty! I say many of those same things.
I love the hair too….if it ever comes back in style, I’ll be one of the first to rock it!
I say “No shit, Sherlock” all the time, and didn’t think about it being from the 80s until someone pointed it out to me not too long ago. I have always tried to embrace my inner 80s-lover. But not the hair. Some things are too horrid to be revisited.
Smooth move, Ex-Lax!
But seriously, I use stoked almost daily. On purpose.
.-= Sara´s last blog ..Higher Education =-.
We saw Hot Tub Time Machine this weekend and it was seriously a trip down memory lane. It was awesome 80s flashback time. But the scary part? How many of these styles are coming back. If only they could bring back Jake Ryan.
.-= Cara´s last blog ..Tumblebeans =-.
I wore a shiny, gold lamay dress to my jr. prom with permed hair and gold heels….Hell yeah!
.-= LoveFeast Table´s last blog ..April Food Day 2010 =-.
“no, doy.”
LOL.
That brought back some wonderful memories.
Don’t forget Dorkwad!
.-= Skooks´s last blog ..7 Things About Me and Another Award =-.
I will absolutely join you in bringing back the 80′s verbiage. I still use a lot of it, and I don’t know if that means I’m very ahead of the linguistic style curve, or I’m a total douche canoe. But I’m using “No doy” tomorrow. And I don’t even care.
.-= Tricia´s last blog ..Tricia’s Trend Report-Spring 2010 =-.
That post was “Totally Awesome!” (in Valley girl talk). Long Live the Brat Pack!
Is “bitchin’” from the ’80s? I say it all the time!
How about the big square combs that we used to put in our back pockets of our sassoon jeans… that read “No Parking” – yeah… I wore my comb to the skating rink every friday night!
Thanks for the flashback.
-Buffi
My Wonderfully Dysfunctional Blog
.-= Buffi´s last blog ..It’s only a matter of time =-.
Funny, I was just blogging about my kick-ass collection of Garbage Pail Kids the other day. And JELLY BRACELETS! Man, those were good days.
Fuck’n A.
Dude, I found a JEM shirt at Plato’s Closet just last week for $6.!! I got all excited and exclaimed to the total strangers near me “OMG! Jem! Do you remember Jem and The Holograms?!?” They looked at me like I was CRAZY.
Check it ouuuuut!
Thanks for the memories! I learned English and American culture by listening to the radio and watching TV shows and movies. The 80s. The good old days. I read your post and now am a bit freaked out ’cause most of the words/phrases you cited are part of my daily vocabulary. I am so doomed.
.-= subWOW´s last blog ..On the road =-.
i remember the trapper keeper, dudette! :)
.-= cheri´s last blog ..making it come true =-.
Fun post. I have been hitting thrift stores and friends’ closets to get ready for an 80s prom next week in Tulsa. I think the words are better than some of the clothes I have found :)
http://prom.weebly.com/
Oh my, I am TOTALLY an 80′s kid. I find myself totally using that word totally too much. It’s totally scary. You totally gotta love an 80′s girl. :)
.-= Jodi´s last blog ..park playdates & picnics…and even some tips too. =-.
[said with the intonation and flip of my hair...] oh Mi Gawd, that was such a totally bitchen post. Fur shurrre, dude.
On a side note, the kids and I often say “Holy Spicoli” in supreme reverence to Jeff Spicoli (Fast Times at Ridgemont High). :)
.-= NotJustAnotherJen´s last blog ..honestly jen! =-.
Love this! How could I have forgotten about “Eat shit and die”?? And I’ve always liked “I’m so sure!”
As for Borderline…my 7-yr-old daughter can’t name a single Hannah Montana song, but she knows her old-school Madonna!
.-= Liz @ Peace, Love & Guacamole´s last blog ..Rookie Move =-.
Uh, some of us have never left the 80′s (linguistically speaking). I blame my SoCal heritage which, as all 80′s aficionados know, was the birthplace of 80′s-speak. Valley Girl, anyone? Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Yeah, we still talk like that here. Fur Sure.
-Aimee
.-= Aimee @ Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog´s last blog ..Start Talking Before They Start Drinking =-.
Do you remember Spuds McKenzie t-shirts? They were totally rad in my redneck town.
My hubs still thinks it’s 1987. Shhh, don’t tell him any different.
.-= Semi-Slacker Mom´s last blog ..A prelude to an egg hunt =-.
Tab, Pepsi Free, MTV…
What a great era. Go watch Back to the Future…basically an ode to two great eras — the 80s and the 50s!
Marty McFly: “Heavy”
Doc Brown: There’s that word again; “heavy”. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth’s gravitational pull?
I’m a geek. I know.
.-= Mariano´s last blog ..Who is Gary Vaynerchuk? =-.
I think there’s an ongoing academic debate as to whether the proper verbage is “no doy” “no duh” “dur” or “a-doy”. I’m willing to bet the mentally challenged community is not a fan of any of those choices.
Retards.
- your friend Sue the Whore
Converse, yes. Leg warmers, gag me with a f’ing spoon please! Super Cute spot you got here … I just stumbled on your link … I was a former Valley Girl- fur’sure! And I just subcribed to your post oh, scary one … I’d be oh, so honored if you would stop by my place when you have the time ;-) Like, maybe you’ll tottaly like what you see ;-)
This post made me grin like the geeky girl in a John Hughes flick! My totally awesome 80′s phrase has to be “Bueller…. Bueller…. Bueller”….. . I got her from the Pinkknotes blog and I’m going to have to send her a big thank you for pointing you out (you might want to thank her too :-) !! Feel free to stop by my blog if you get a chance. I’m newer to the blogverse and wouldn’t mind some pointers from one such as yourself you has found her place on the net well!
Ahhh… the 80′s. I think I started my obsession with fashion because of Pretty in Pink. And yes, the phrases that came from the 80s movies are Classic. I’m hoping at my 20th HS reunion coming up that we’ll be throwing some of your list above around just like we right back smack in sophomore year 1988!
.-= becca´s last blog ..Like Yesterday =-.
Had to add one that I say all too often that is apparently not “au currant”… grody. Even my little ones say it. Though one of my little ones is now big enough to rock legwarmers, jellys and t-shirts knotted at the side to match her side ponytail. Yikes.
Marija
Love it! I miss the 80s (in my head, not in real life). It was the last decade of innocence. . . we could make prank phone calls without fear of caller ID retribution, wear day-glo colored clothes and banana clips and plastic shoes that really hurt our feet and still somehow look cool. You rock Scary Mommy! I would give you a homemade friendship pin if I could.
The fashion is horrifying. But the slang? Stellar :-)
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..For my fellow bloggers… on this side of the pond =-.
I lived in DC in the 80s and the Catholic school crowd was a little more conservative than the pictures I see in other friends’ photo albums… But I rocked blue eyeliner in 8th grade would wouldn’t have been caught dead without my giant rhinestone drop earrings. OH! Here’s the best. My 8th grade yearbook quote was a line from the Modern English favorite, “I’ll Stop the World and Melt with You.” And that’s about as 80s as you can get!
.-= Kate Coveny Hood´s last blog ..Hell JUST Froze Over… =-.