The year was 1995, and Cher Horowitz inspired the nation to wear plaid. We huddled around our clunky TVs, captivated by the O.J. Simpson verdict. And Silicon Valley came alive with the Big Tech brands we still know and use today.
But one event in 1995 is closest to our hearts: On May 14, Dictionary.com opened its doors (er, website). Thirty years later, we’re celebrating our anniversary by looking back at the most influential words of the year and how news and pop culture shaped our language and the way we communicate with one another.
51吃瓜 of the Year聽
When Dictionary.com was first starting off thirty years ago, it didn’t have the 51吃瓜 of the Year that you’ve come to know and love. So in order to take a look at the words that were making waves in 1995, we can turn to the American Dialect Society (ADS). The internet was all the rage that year. The World Wide Web took co-honors of 51吃瓜 of the Year, and it was also voted “Most Likely to Succeed.” Three decades later, we can say this assessment was right on the money.
Prior to 1995, the internet heavily relied on funding from the federal government for operation. In 1995, however, that all changed when the internet was privatized 鈥� one of the key moments of the Information Age that led to an explosion of online growth.
At the same time, tech moguls were hard at work creating future ecommerce behemoths, search engine capabilities, and pioneering computer software and hardware. But there was still a long way to go: A report from the noted that only 21% of people said they used the Web in 1995. The next year, that number had skyrocketed to 73%. Back then, Americans weren’t keeping up with the news by logging on. In 1995, that only 4% of Americans went online at least once a week to check out current events. And there were certainly a lot of events to keep track of.
News and pop culture that defined 1995聽
The most notable news story of 1995 was undoubtedly the O.J. Simpson trial, which Americans watched via live TV. In fact, watched the verdict in October of ’95 to see if Simpson would be found guilty of murdering ex-wife Nicole Brown and her acquaintance Ron Goldman.
This news story gave way to many words and phrases we still use today, including the idiomatic phrase “trial of the century” to describe well-known court cases. Despite the case’s serious and tragic subject matter, it also brought the term infotainment into the mainstream, meaning “factual material presented in an entertaining manner.” From the living room to the conference room, everyone seemed to be discussing the trial, making it a prime example of water cooler television. Today, we have endless true crime “entertainment” options, 脿 la streaming services. But back then, the genre was not nearly as prevalent, outside of popular shows such as Unsolved Mysteries.
Viewers also became familiar with the meaning of acquit, when defense attorney Johnnie Cochran uttered the now famous words “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” referring to the glove found at the crime scene. Ultimately, in a verdict that shocked the nation, Simpson was acquitted for the murders.
In the pop culture realm, the summer of ’95 brought us the enduring Jagged Little Pill album from Alanis Morissette, which had everyone questioning whether they actually knew the definition of ironic. Critics pointed out that Alanis was pretty liberal with the definition of the word, sometimes just pointing out bad luck, like a bug in your wine or a downpour on your wedding day. Ironic has traditionally meant “something that’s the opposite of its literal meaning.” By the 1900s, the definition expanded to “unexpected or coincidental,” often with an unfortunate outcome. (For the record, does list this as a meaning.)
It was a big year all around for the music industry, with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opening in Cleveland. In 1995, genres such as alt-rock and grunge were all the rage. After all, this was the year Oasis debuted its hit Wonderwall and Bush’s song Glycerine climbed to No. 1.
In the world of literature and literacy, UNESCO created the first World Book and Copyright Day on April 23 to promote the joy of books and reading. UNESCO deemed the day fitting as famous authors including William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died on that date.
That summer, we were introduced to Clueless, a defining teen movie inspired by Jane Austen’s novel Emma. The movie inspired new plaid fashion trends and various slang. While fillers like like (no pun intended) predated Clueless, the movie helped propel its usage through the roof. Clueless also popularized as if to indicate disgust or disbelief; and whatever 鈥� an interjection to indicate indifference in a situation or a dismissal of someone or their ideas.
Friday, also a hit movie of the year, brought us another dismissive phrase that has lived on in pop culture over the years: bye, Felicia.
To round out a big year in movies, Pixar released Toy Story, which marked the first use of CGI (otherwise known as computer-generated imagery) throughout an entire film, rather than hand-drawn 2D animation. In the animated movie, toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear introduced the iconic phrase “To infinity and beyond!”
Meanwhile in 1995, real astronauts were making strides in aeronautics. That year, Bernard Harris became the first Black man to complete a spacewalk, and Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a NASA space shuttle. That same year, U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts joined forces when the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir, creating the largest combined spacecraft in orbit at the time.
Whether it was through news, pop culture, or technology, 1995 brought us iconic words and phrases that live on today in our dictionary and in our nostalgic hearts.
So, like, thanks ’95. And Happy 30th Birthday, Dictionary.com. You da bomb!
