Research Article: 1930s: the Great Depression Disrupts America

"All the way": At a soda fountain, an order of chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream.

Brawl: A party or dance. Also called a toddle or pig fight.

Cat: A fan of swing music. Also called an alligator. Someone with a "tin ear" did not like the new music.

Chamber of commerce: Toilet. Also called "crapper" or "honey house."

Coffin nail: Cigarette.

Cramp your style: To bother or interfere with something a person is doing.

"Crap!": "I am upset!"

Dead hoofer: A bad dancer.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn": These words said by Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) at the end of the film Gone with the Wind (1939) drew attention because they included a word—"damn"—that was taboo. They have become some of the most famous words ever uttered on screen.

Knuckling down: A term to describe a way of shooting marbles by resting one's knuckles...
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