Totally 90s Words and Phrases That We Miss

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The Nineties had such an awesome period of slang. Ingrained now in pop culture, some of us still use these Nineties terms today. Here are Nineties words and phrases that we all miss and may want to bring back:​

1) As If!

Made famous by the cult classic, Clueless, the phrase “As if” was used as an alternative to “Whatever” or in some contexts, ���No way!”

2) Talk to the Hand
Everybody in the 90s said, “Talk to the Hand” at least once or twice. Don't forget to do the hand motions with it! Also, make it as dramatic as possible.

3) Totally
Totally tubular, man! Totally! I am guilty of using totally all of the time. It's just totally cool.

4) Bangin'
Bangin' is one I also still use all of the time. Man, I need to update my vernacular. Bangin' is the equivalent of “awesome” or “cool”. Bangin' is still totally bangin'. For example, the piglet below has some bangin' glasses, yo.

5) Back in the day
A lot of people still use this phrase, and it doesn't seem to be disappearing anytime soon. “Back in the day” means, of course, anywhere from last month to a thousand years ago. It's a very vague term for past time when something used to be a certain way.

6) Boo-ya!
Who didn't scream “BOO-YA!” in someone's face at least once in the 90's? “Boo-ya,” is similar to, “In your face!” "Boo-ya" could also be used in a scenario of extreme thrill as seen in the below clip:

7) Dude

Dude is a very difficult word to describe. Dude can mean so many things. Dude can mean a man, a woman, a person, an animal, or just be an expression of excitement, happiness, being grossed out, or condemnation. “Dude,” was probably the most versatile word of the 90's. I also still say dude and rad. Don't judge.

8) Hella
The term “hella” means “extra” or “extremely” in conjunction with an adjective. Example: “These chili cheese fries are hella delicious.”

9) My bad!
“My bad” is probably one of the most annoying 90's phrases. It took the place of “I'm sorry.” To me, “my bad” is just a way of saying sorry without actually having to say you're genuinely sorry. It's just a pet peeve of mine, and I'm a crazy person so it's likely the preferred popular nomenclature.

10) Oh snap!
One of my personal favorites, “Oh snap,” can be used in situations when an individual is surprised, joking, or insulting someone else.

11) O M G
Spelled OMG, and said as “Oh-Em-Gee,” OMG is short for “Oh my God.” Fairly self-explanatory.

12) Props
Sadly, I used this word a lot in the 90's. To be fair, I was only about ten years old, so I don't feel as bad. “Props” meant you were giving proper acknowledgment to someone for doing something considered cool or good. Example: “Props on that 3-point shot, dude!”

13) Sweet
“Sweet” is the equivalent of “awesome,” only it's much better in my humble opinion. I mean, if I'm going to compliment someone's duster, I'm not going to say, “Awesome duster.” I am going to say, “That's a totally sweet duster, dude.” That's just the kind of gal I am.

14) Your mom!
The number one comeback insult when you didn't have anything else good to say. So, when anyone would hurtle an insult your way, you could just scream back in a lackluster tone, “Yeah, well, your mom!” That takes care of that.

15) Word
“Word” was an expression in the 90's of acknowledgment or agreement. If you agreed with a statement someone made, you wouldn't say “Agreed,” you would say, “Word!”

Honorable mentions include, 'trippin', 'schwing', 'amazeballs', 'bones', 'dope', 'fly', 'peace out', 'punked', 'score', 'TMI', 'so is your face', 'wangsta', 'whatever', and so many, many more that I'm unable to list. Let's all just bring back the 90's! Please? I'm bringing it back.