18 Nostalgic '90s Sayings That Will Totally Baffle Gen Z

Ah, the '90s ... a time of grunge music, dial-up internet, and some pretty unforgettable catchphrases.

If you're a millennial, you probably remember these gems fondly. But try dropping these sayings around Gen Z, and you'll likely be met with blank stares. Kids today just don’t know how good we had it!

Let's take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and revisit some '90s sayings that will completely baffle anyone born after 2000.

Classic '90s Phrases That Will Confuse Gen Z

1. "Would you like smoking or non-smoking?"
   • Before the smoking ban in public places, this was a common question at restaurants.
2. "Have you tried blowing in it? Sometimes that works."
   • This was the go-to fix for a malfunctioning Nintendo cartridge. Just a little puff of air and it was good as new!
3. "Get off the phone; I need to use the internet."
   • Back when the internet and phone lines shared the same connection, this was a household struggle.
4. "Let’s watch some music on MUCH MUSIC."
   • MUCH MUSIC was the place to catch the latest music videos before YouTube took over.
5. "Be kind, rewind."
   • A reminder from the days of VHS tapes, urging us to rewind the tape before returning it to the video store.
6. "Wind it back up with a pencil."
   • If your cassette tape got tangled, a pencil was the perfect tool to fix it.
7. "I can’t call till after 9 pm."
   • Phone plans used to have free minutes only after 9 pm, so we all became night owls.
8. "There’s the phonebook, now start dialling."
   • Before smartphones, the phonebook was the ultimate contact list.
9. "If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator."
   • The automated message we'd hear if a call didn't go through.
10. "All that and a bag of chips."
    • This phrase meant something was as good as it could get, with a little extra on the side.
11. "Don’t touch that dial; we’ll be right back."
    • A common line before TV commercials, reminding us not to change the channel.
12. "I got a cordless phone for Christmas."
    • A big deal back then—no more being tied to the wall with a cord!
13. "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire."
    • Lyrics from a popular song that became a party anthem.
14. "The 29-inch TV is huge."
    • Before flat screens and 60-inch TVs, 29 inches was considered massive.
15. "Page me."
    • Pagers were all the rage before cell phones became mainstream.
16. "Talk to the hand."
    • A sassy way to tell someone you're not interested in what they have to say.
17. "5318008."
    • When typed on a calculator and turned upside down, it spells "boobies"—a classic schoolyard joke.
18. "Shut up, I need to record this song so that it can be my ringtone."
    • Before downloadable ringtones, we recorded songs off the radio to use as our custom ringtones.

The Best Things About the '90s...

Feeling nostalgic yet?

The '90s were a simpler time, full of quirky habits and sayings that today's kids will never fully grasp. Share these phrases with your friends and see who remembers them all.

And if you find yourself explaining what a VHS tape is, just embrace it—you're officially a '90s kid.