Dig It! Late-1950s Beatnik Slang

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Instructions: Snap your fingers and step into a smoky coffee house — and discover the hip language of the Beat Generation that lit up Greenwich Village and San Francisco's North Beach.

1.
In late-1950s beatnik slang, what did it mean to "dig" something?
A
To bury it carefully out of sight
B
To steal or take something without asking
C
To understand or truly appreciate it
D
To work very hard at something
2.
A "square" in 1950s beatnik culture was someone who was what?
A
A trained jazz musician
B
A conformist who just wasn't hip
C
Very tall and well-built
D
The owner of a coffee house
3.
When a beatnik invited you back to their "pad," where were they taking you?
A
Their home or apartment
B
A jazz club downtown
C
A late-night poetry reading
D
A favorite coffee house
4.
In beatnik culture, "cool" went far beyond describing a temperature. It described someone who was:
A
Cold and stand-offish toward strangers
B
Nervously excited about everything
C
Dressed in expensive clothes
D
Stylishly calm and composed under pressure
5.
In 1950s beatnik lingo, calling someone a "cat" meant they were:
A
A hip, aware, and cool person
B
Someone who kept household pets
C
A person who disliked jazz and Beat culture
D
A person who started loud arguments
6.
If a beatnik said they needed some "bread," what were they looking for?
A
Something to eat at the coffee house
B
Money
C
A place to sleep for the night
D
A new friend to hang out with
7.
A "gig" in beatnik and jazz culture primarily referred to:
A
A silly joke or a funny prank
B
A short fishing trip on the bay
C
A type of strong espresso coffee
D
A musical performance or paying job
8.
If beatniks called something "a real gas," they meant it was:
A
Something wonderful and thoroughly entertaining
B
A terrible waste of everyone's time
C
A noisy and irritating disturbance
D
An old-fashioned and stuffy idea
9.
When a beatnik said "Let's split," what did they mean?
A
Let's each pay our own share of the bill
B
Let's have an argument and settle this
C
Let's leave this place right now
D
Let's go our separate ways for good
10.
When beatniks said a musician was "gone" during a performance, they meant the musician was:
A
No longer playing with the group
B
Making mistakes and playing poorly
C
Playing much too loudly for the room
D
Completely and blissfully carried away by the music
11.
Both "hip" and "hep" were used by beatniks to mean essentially the same thing. What did they mean?
A
Being cheerful and full of restless energy
B
Being a formally trained music expert
C
Being aware, knowing, and in tune with what was happening
D
Being wealthy and dressed in fine clothes
12.
If a beatnik called something a "drag," how did they feel about it?
A
It was thrilling and absolutely exciting
B
It was a bore or a real disappointment
C
It was a tough physical challenge
D
It was a very long road trip
13.
In 1950s beatnik slang, the word "chick" referred to:
A
A baby bird that had just hatched
B
A new and flashy automobile
C
A woman or girl
D
A small toddler or young child
14.
Which Beat Generation poet wrote "Howl," first read publicly in 1955, which became one of the most celebrated expressions of beatnik culture?
A
Allen Ginsberg
B
Jack Kerouac
C
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
D
William S. Burroughs
15.
Beatniks were famous for inserting which word as a verbal pause in mid-sentence — a habit so tied to their culture it eventually spread into everyday American speech?
A
"Man"
B
"Wow"
C
"Baby"
D
"Like"

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