It seems surprising in retrospect that the term ‘sexism’ didn’t enter the language until the late 1960s, long after the suffragette movement gained worldwide attention, and over a half a century after the first International Women’s Day, which is observed for the 102nd time today.
The use of ‘happening’ as an adjective came about through a meeting of two contrasting cultures: conceptual art and street talk.
Grooves have been around since at least the 15th century and probably long before. Back then, the word referred solely to furrows or ditches. In the 19th century, people even talked about things being ‘groovy’, but strictly in the sense of ‘possessing the physical qualities of a groove’.
You can tell a lot about a culture from the language it uses. To read a list of words and phrases coined in the 1960s is like reading a miniature social history of the decade. ‘Hippie’. ‘Flower power’. ‘Peacenik’. ‘Love-in’. ‘Beatlemania’. All these words are inseparable from the time that created them.
