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Here are some of those cool and groovy terms that hippies
use and what they mean. If you would like to make a contribution to this list, please send them in.
acid:hallucinogenic drug, LSD, popularized by Timothy Leary.
acid gas:empty capsules that were laced with Liquid LSD giving the appearance of being empty.
acid head:one who uses acid
Allen Ginsberg: Controversial Beat poet from the 50's who wrote about following your instincts and free love.
bag:a quantity of drugs sold as a unit.
Beatniks: Derived from the term "beat", beatniks were the precursors of the hippies. This tribe included authors Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and others who believed the essence in life is to follow your desires and experience all life has to offer. The beat music scene included jazz, folk and the emerging rock music. Beatniks had hangouts like Greenwich Village in New York when they weren't "On the Road". Beatniks experimented with unusual living arrangements, drugs, and innovative art.
Bean bag chair: A big bag made of plastic, leather or other materials, originally filled with beans, later with foam pieces. When sat in it would shape itself to you. They are very comfortable and relaxing.
Beautiful People:another name for "hippies".
Be-In: One of the first gatherings of hippies. There was no big reason to be there, other than to be there, hence a Be-In. An event where you groove on everyone else.
Bellbottoms: Pants with wide bell-shaped legs worn by hippies.
bennies:benzedrine pills, uppers.
Birkenstocks - These are sandals that were all the rage in the early 70's. They are shaped to your foot and toes with a fair amount of support.
Black Panthers: Radical black political action group. Some members were imprisoned on various charges.
Bong: A long cylindrical tube with a bowl, used to smoke marijuana.
Bread:Money
Bugged:bothered, annoyed
Bummer:bad trip of situation.
Bust(ed):Arrested
Dass, Ram: also known as Dr. Richard Alpert. Author of Be Here Now, Grist for the Mill. Worked with Timothy Leary at Harvard on LSD studies. Alpert was so changed by the ingestion of LSD, he left his post and wandered through India. Finding enlightment he returned to write several books and do the lecture circuit.
Dharma: Indian word for one's life purpose and work.
Far Out!: Expression of glee at something interesting. Also a way of saying thanks.
Fillmore posters - The Filmore East and West were concert venues
in the 60's that had introuduced some of the biggest rock acts to American
audiences including The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane,
etc. The posters for those concerts are now collectors items and some are
very valuable since the art work was very psychedelic.
Funky:Outlandishly vulgar or eccentric in a humorous or tongue in cheek manner, campy.
Generation Gap: Term highlighting the differences in perspective between hippies and their parents.
Give peace a chance: Saying on banners and John Lennon song sung by protesters.
Go with the Flow: Taoist philosophy of living in the moment, without struggle, letting things happen as they may.
Grateful Dead: The ultimate hippie band, from San Francisco. For thirty years Jerry Garcia and his faithful band brought hallucinatory music to their legions of fans.
Groovy!:Very pleasing, wonderful.
Hashish: Compressed potent form of marijuana, produced in the Middle East, Himalayan region and Africa. Also known as hash.
Head Trip: To play games with someone's mind. A person or situation that messes with your mind.
Hendrix, Jimi: Legendary performer who could play guitar beyond comprehension. A great soul who soared so high and fell so fast.
Hell No We Won't Go:Popular chant at demonstrations against the war in Vietnam.
Hippie:One who opposes or rejects conventional standards and/or customs.
Hoffman, Albert: Sandoz scientist who inadvertently discovered the mind transporting properties of LSD.
Jack Kerouac: Beat author wrote "On the Road" about the freedom of living each day as it comes.
Jefferson Airplane: Another San Francisco band that took off on the Summer of Love. Marty Balin, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Cassady were band members.
Joe Cocker sang the theme song of "The Wonder Years" - a cover of the Beatles tune "With a little help from my friends" off the famous Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band record
Karma: Indian term for the concept of just desserts. You reap what you sow. We are reincarnated until we free ourselves from our Karmic indebtedness.
Kent State: University where four students were killed by National Guardsmen during a protest.
Lava Lamp - The original is a glass lamp lit from the bottom with a sort of liquid inside that rises in colorful bubbles. These lamps are now enjoying a revival and can be purchased at most department and novelty shops and also through the "net.
LBJ - Lyndon Baines Johnson - He became President of the United States upon the death of John F. Kennedy. Was elected in 1964 and served another four years. Texas democrat was responsible for the buildup of forces in Vietnam and was in office during the bloodiest fighting. Along with the next president, republican Richard Nixon were considered the epitome of the government run by the military-industrial complex that prospered during the Vietnam war. These two presidents highlighted the generation gap as they found it impossible to see the world from a youthful perspective.
Leary, Timothy: The psychedelic guru, acid impresario, prolific author, unchallenged hero of the free mind movement. "Turn-on, tune-in, and drop-out." Those words inspired a generation to experience the mind expanding capabilities of acid.
Love-In: Like a Be-In it was a reason to get together with other hippies and have fun. Loving everyone and everything was the general theme of the event.
LSD: lysergic acid diethylamide. HALLUCINOGENIC DRUG, an extremely potent drug causing physiological and behavioral changes. Reactions to LSD, such as heightened sense perceptions, anxiety, and hallucinations, are influenced by the amount of the drug taken and the user's personality and expectations.
Make Love Not War!: slogan popularized during protests against Vietnam War.
Orange Sunshine:Name for a type of LSD, orange in color, therefore the name.
Patchouli - For some reason this is the fragrance most associated with hippies. You can still smell it in most head shops. A very strong earthy, flowery smell, usually found on hippie girls wearing long peasant dresses.
Peace Now!: Rallying call to end the war in Vietnam.
Pigs: Derogatory name for police.
Psychedelic: Hallucinatory experience sometimes brought on by altered state of awareness, via drugs like LSD or some other experience or art work.
Pot: Marijuana.
Purple Haze:Name given to a type of LSD, purple in color, therefore the name.
Spaced Out: Not all here, possibly stoned.
Stop the War!: The Vietnam War.
STP: Very strong hallucinogenic, lasting 72 hours or so. Some people never came back from that trip.
Tao: "The way". Oriental philosophy adopted by many hippies.
Toke: A "hit" of marijuana. To smoke marijuana.
Trip Out: To get spaced out. To get really stoned. To trip on LSD or other hallucinogen.
Trippy: Something unusual or psychedelic.
Weathermen: Extremely radical group. Responsible for several bombings including banks. Their enemy was the establishment, big business and the government. A bomb destroyed their hideout in Greenwich Village, killing several members. The others ran away and hid for decades.
Weed: Marijuana.
