Very few words are coined in isolation. Each neologism holds a clue， however faint， of the time in which it was created. The following choice of a single word from each of the last hundred years is inevitably subjective， since hundreds of new words are being created at any one time. Nonetheless， collectively these words give a distinct picture of the shifting preoccupations of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st. The dates of CHEESEBURGER or MOBILE PHONE may surprise.

    1904  hip

    1905  whizzo

    1906  teddy bear

    1907  egghead

    1908  realpolitik

    1909  tiddly-om-pom-pom

    1910  sacred cow

    1911  gene

    1912  blues

    1913  celeb

    1914  cheerio

    1915  civvy street

    1916  U-boat

    1917  tailspin

    1918  ceasefire

    1919  ad-lib

    1920  demob

    1921  pop

    1922  wizard

    1923  hem-line

    1924  lumpenproletariat

    1925  avant garde

    1926  kitsch

    1927  sudden death

    1928  Big Apple

    1929  sex

    1930  drive-in

    1931  Mickey Mouse

    1932  bagel

    1933  dumb down

    1934  pesticide

    1935  racism

    1936  spliff

    1937  dunk

    1938  cheeseburger

    1939  Blitzkrieg

    1940  Molotov cocktail

    1941  snafu

    1942  buzz

    1943  pissed off

    1944  DNA

    1945  mobile phone

    1946  megabucks

    1947  Wonderbra

    1948  cool

    1949  Big Brother

    1950  brainwashing

    1951  fast food

    1952  Generation X

    1953  hippy

    1954  non-U

    1955  boogie

    1956  sexy

    1957  psychedelic

    1958  beatnik

    1959  cruise missile

    1960  cyborg

    1961  awesome

    1962  bossa nova

    1963  peacenik

    1964  byte

    1965  miniskirt

    1966  acid

    1967  love-in

    1968  It-girl

    1969  microchip

    1970  hypermarket

    1971  green

    1972  Watergate

    1973  F-word

    1974  punk

    1975  detox

    1976  Trekkie

    1977  naff all

    1978  trainers

    1979  karaoke

    1980  power dressing

    1981  toy-boy

    1982  hip-hop

    1983  beatbox

    1984  double-click

    1985  OK yah

    1986  mobile

    1987  virtual reality

    1988  gangsta

    1989  latte

    1990  applet

    1991  hot-desking

    1992  URL

    1993  have it large

    1994  Botox

    1995  kitten heels

    1996  ghetto fabulous

    1997  dot-commer

    1998  text message

    1999  google

    2000  bling bling

    2001  9/11

    2002  axis of evil

    2003  sex up

    2004  chav