Popular Slang Origins: Crib
Shakespeare, the original lyrical gangster
Source: Lit Stack
The word “crib” refers to a house or any kind of dwelling normally attributed to rappers and hip-hop culture, but there was another poetic bard who used it before them – Shakespeare. The word makes an appearance in Henry IV when Shakespeare asks “Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee…”
Geek
Reason #7 why Captain Picard is better than Captain Kirk…
Source: Making Better Video
The word “geek” has a long history, and it took a while to have the positive connotation it does today. Originally, it was used in old British dialects to mean “fool”. When the word came to the U.S., it was (and still is) used as circus slang referring to a performer who would eat live animals. Afterwards it was used to refer to an extremely diligent, but unsociable student. Finally, when the 80s came along, it began being used to refer to someone who was into technology, particularly computers.
Blockbuster
Don’t know what’s a bigger bomb – this or John Carter? Source: University Of St. Thomas
Nowadays, the word “blockbuster” refers to the latest superhero movie which makes enough money to fund a small nation. And its origin should be pretty obvious – a film so popular that people are lining round the block to see it. Makes sense, but the origin—or at least one of them—is far more badass. A blockbuster used to be something that literally busted blocks – a giant bomb, like 4,000 pounds or heavier kind of big. More specifically, it was a type of bomb used by the British to bomb Germany during World War II.
Another, less pleasant way in which the term was originally used was to describe a 1950s realtor who would sell a property to a black family in a white neighborhood, thus busting up the block. People.
