Words of the Decade:

Beautician: the increased attention to appearance and the growth in beauty parlours led to the creation of the beauty specialist…

Beautician: the increased attention to appearance and the growth in beauty parlours led to the creation of the beauty specialist.

Sex: as a term for sexual intercourse dates from the 1920s, in use because of a general liberation about the subject.

Astronaut: Space travel was still in the realm of science fiction, and the word appeared when the reality was merely an ambition.

Totalitarian: the term for monolithic authoritarianism presaged an era of dictators in Europe.

READ MORE

Motel: a hotel for motorists; one of a number of "blended" words of the period.