Groovy
Excellent, pleasing or very fashionable.
- Origin: 1930s jazz slang; heyday in the 1960s
- On the Slang-o-matic wheel: Boomers (born 1946–1964). That is who the translator files it under, not a claim that this generation coined it.
What it means
Groovy means excellent, pleasing or very fashionable. Call a song, a jacket or a plan groovy and you are saying you like it a lot. Cambridge Dictionary labels it old-fashioned slang and defines it as “very fashionable and interesting.”
Where it comes from
Groovy is older than the Boomers. Green’s Dictionary of Slang cites a 1937 musicians’ word list that defines “groovey” as a state of mind that helps you play well, the feeling of being in the groove with the band. Jazz players used it long before it became general slang for anything pleasant.
Its heyday was the 1960s. Green’s records a later, mocking sense in which groovy means passé, used to tease “the tastes and styles of the 1960s,” the decade when the approving sense “was the only accepted meaning.”
Who says it now
Older Boomers reached their teens and early adulthood in the 1960s, the word’s heyday, and the translator files groovy under Boomers by that convention, even though jazz musicians were using it decades earlier. Cambridge now labels it old-fashioned. In our observation you may hear it from older speakers who kept using it, or from younger people choosing it for a retro effect.
Tone
Friendly and, in most uses, harmless. From a younger speaker it is often playful or ironic; from someone who grew up with it, it may be completely sincere. Tone of voice usually tells you which.
What adults hear, what kids mean
A grandparent may hear groovy as an ordinary compliment from their youth. A kid who says it may be doing a bit, the way you might put on a costume. If a ten-year-old calls your record collection groovy, it may be a little teasing and a little compliment at the same time.
How to use it
On its own, “Groovy.” works as a reply meaning “sounds good.” In front of a noun it means stylish or fun: a groovy jacket, a groovy little café.
Two examples, written by us:
- We got the last two tickets? Groovy.
- My aunt still calls every good thrift-store find groovy, and she means it.
How to answer it
“Groovy” on its own usually means “sounds good,” so the person is most likely agreeing with you. “Glad you like it” is enough. To play along, answer in the same spirit with another old favorite, such as “Outta sight.”
Same idea, other generations
The Slang-o-matic wheel files Groovy under Boomers for the idea of excellent. These are the words it files under the same idea, by generation. They are related, not always exact translations:
Related slang
- Outta sight (Boomers): Fantastic, wonderful; often an exclamation of delight.
- Rad (Gen X): Excellent, exciting. Short for radical.
- Kick it (Gen X): To relax and hang out, usually with friends.
Try the slang translatorAll slang by generation
Sources
Meanings and dates on this page come from these dictionaries. Each quote is copied word for word from the linked page.
- Cambridge Dictionary
“very fashionable and interesting”
- Green's Dictionary of Slang
“1937 R.B. Nye ‘A Musician’s Word List’ in AS XII:1 46: groovey.”
“Name applied to state of mind which is conducive to good playing.”
“esp. when referring to the tastes and styles of the 1960s”
“during which time sense 1 was the only accepted meaning”