MetaChat - the word 'eighties' is the least credible word in the english language.

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29 November 2005

the word 'eighties' is the least credible word in the english language. →[More:]I'm editing. i have a sentence with that word in it. I cannot possibly believe it. Excuse me, "the eighties?" no, no, certainly not. Possibly "the 80's," but even then probably only with Michael Ian Black doing something lame on VH1 to pay the bills.
Come on. "Eighties?" Never.

post by: sam at: 00:36 | 24 comments

The Wikipedia seems to agree with you. The 1980s, it says, or 80s for short.

posted by rebirtha 29 November | 00:52

i don't think my issue is grammatical; it's just somehow impossible to believe in anything that anyone claims to have occurred in 'the eighties.' as in iran-contra must have happened in '79 and everyone's mistaken.

wikipedia's been sabotaged: ' "bumboclaatness" among Yuppies.'

bumboclaatness?

posted by sam 29 November | 00:58

I was there, sam. The 80s, eighties, and the 1980's all happened, for better or for worse. It wasn't all bad, but there was a lot of stupid shit. Just like any other decade you care to pick out.

With regard to bumboclaatness, though, I'm not sure what to tell you.

posted by bmarkey 29 November | 01:05

Darn, now I have Walkin' on Sunshine in my head.

posted by amro 29 November | 01:12

what bmarkey said. we were there, and ketchup really became a vegetable.

posted by amberglow 29 November | 01:13

I have fond memories of the 80s, which defies all logic since that is also when I went through puberty.

posted by amro 29 November | 01:15

Mullets, crack cocaine, the preppie look, "gag me with a spoon", Ed Meese, Men Without Hats, Urban Cowboy, post-modernism, Air Supply...

I could go on.

posted by bmarkey 29 November | 01:17

parachute pants, Tipper Gore...

posted by trondant 29 November | 01:22

Someday, the nineties will be embarrassing, for someone, somewhere. *salivates*

posted by stilicho 29 November | 01:24

On the other hand: Mission of Burma, Rock Against Racism, Wings of Desire, the San Francisco 49ers, Blade Runner...

On preview: the 90s are already embarrassing.

posted by bmarkey 29 November | 01:25

I don't think the 90s were as embarrassing as the 80s. I could be wrong, but I believe the 80s to be a most ridiculous decade.

posted by puke & cry 29 November | 01:31

Dr. Helen Caldicott, The Replacements, Pee-Wee's Playhouse... yeah, "Walking On Sunshine", sure. And don't it feel good?

p&c, you'll just have to take my word for it - in another ten years, you will have changed your mind.

posted by bmarkey 29 November | 01:33

From this side of it, the 70s look pretty damn stupid. I could certainly do without the 70s' color palette (baby food, anyone?). And the 60s aren't too far behind. What's up with those decades where they had prohibition and the depression, too? In fact, in retrospect, I think the 1910s were the only cool decade last century.

posted by Eideteker 29 November | 01:41

So what were the embarrassing fads of the 90s? I remember the cool hairstyle when I was at high school was the "bubble" which I've totally seen on Veronica Mars.

Ooh! Spiral perms and blue eyeliner!

posted by tracicle 29 November | 02:56

Two words: rave culture.

posted by bmarkey 29 November | 03:23

I'm wearing parachute pants right now.

posted by pliskie 29 November | 05:57

You're wearing pants?

For the record, the preppie look was a product of the 70s. I know, cuz I had to put up with The Preps during high school, and I graduated in 1980.

posted by Doohickie 29 November | 09:33

'80s. never 80's.

Jelly Bracelets.

posted by shoepal 29 November | 09:46

From this side of it, the 70s look pretty damn stupid.

Dude, the eighties were so hideous that they made the seventies look like the roaring twenties by comparison.

posted by jonmc 29 November | 09:51

My 6 year-old actually asked me this morning what this 'year' is called.

"Uh, 2005?"

"No like 'the 80s', what is now called?"

"That's a hard one, the aughts?" I figured that was kinda over his head, but maybe not since he has grokked the idea of 'the 80s'.

posted by danostuporstar 29 November | 10:06

I'm with shoepal. '80s is correct.

posted by me3dia 29 November | 11:24

AIDS. Nihilism. Reagan's Star Wars. Bleak. And out of that came the '80s movies that I love:

Blade Runner.
Aliens.
Terminator.
The Abyss.

not to mention the rest of the pulp fiction action genre: Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, etc.

And Big Trouble in Little China- still good.

posted by small_ruminant 29 November | 12:27

I happened in the 80's, therefore, it is good.

posted by euchrecthulhu 30 November | 11:13

I also put apostrophes where they probably shouldn't be because I know I was taught that in elementary school.

posted by euchrecthulhu 30 November | 11:14

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