Can you understand all this Sixties slang heard in Dragnet?

Try not to freak out.

When Dragnet returned to television in 1967, the world was a much different place. The pioneering police procedural first aired in the 1950s. 

Jack Webb revived the show — and his iconic character Sgt. Joe Friday — following the Summer of Love. By that point, Boomers had come of age. Psychedelic music was invading the radio. The hippie movement was in full swing.

Dragnet not only tapped in the zeitgeist, but it also mined the generation gap for its themes. The show often preyed on the fears that the Greatest Generation (Sgt. Joe Friday and his partner Bill Gannon included) had for the "kids these days," a.k.a. Boomers. Today, it all sounds quite familiar.

That also means the Dragnet packed in a lot of youthful Sixties slang, especially in the episodes "The LSD Story," "The Big High" and "The Big Departure." Let's see if you can translate it all.

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  1. Shipley asks "Did my father fink on us again?" What does "fink on" mean?
  2. What does "square" mean?
  3. What does "fuzz" mean on the back of Blue Boy's jacket?
  4. What is "bread"?
  5. What is a "Black and White"?
  6. What does he mean by "love grass" here?
  7. What is a "bum trip"?
  8. What does "Sherlock" mean?
  9. What is a "travel agent"
  10. What does Gannon mean when he says "caps"?
  11. When characters "swooped the scene," what did they do?
  12. Friday and Gannon hear that Blue Boy has been "Chewing the bark off a tree." Is that a euphemism for something?
  13. What do the police call this in "The Big High"?
  14. Which of the following is NOT a slang term used by Sgt. Friday for LSD in "The LSD Story."

Can you understand all this Sixties slang heard in Dragnet?

Your Result...

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84 Comments

ruswilinc 26 months ago
I grew up hearing the term, eyewitness. Gotta roll my eyes when these guys say, eyeBALL witness. It just sounds so completely wrong.
jslaff 26 months ago
Can you show any other seasons? You rotate about 90 episodes of Dragnet, but there are tons of others.
ruswilinc Jerry161 26 months ago
I'm guessing they aren't able to get the rights to previous seasons. Different distributor or something like that. I've never seen anything but these, what? 3 seasons worth?
HP11 ruswilinc 23 months ago
There were only 4 seasons in this run. 98 episodes. The 1951 series is a different series.
ruswilinc HP11 23 months ago
Yeah. Found it on Tubi tv
Dario 40 months ago
12 out of 14. Got 11, 13, and 14 wrong. 😁😁😁😁😁
DarioWiter 42 months ago
10 out of 14. Got the last four wrong. 😁😁😁😁😁
jerseyguy2468 44 months ago
You got 12 out of 14
Did you have the "flower power" to pass this test?
DocForbin 44 months ago
I always liked that scene where Blue Boy yells "You're the dirty disbelievers! The evil disbelievers! Evil! Evil! EEEEEEEEEVILLLLLLLLL!" and he rips the sleeve off Officer Gannon's jacket.
RedSamRackham PeterGuerin 40 months ago
Before he was Blue Boy that lad was son of Mister Hobbs (Jimmy Stewart)! ☺
MichaelNivens 47 months ago
Comet was a complete guess for me
MichaelNivens 47 months ago
When we used the term Sherlock , as In no shit, sherlock , we used it to mean a smart aleck
* That phrase used Shylock! ☺
EllisClevenger 49 months ago
You got 13 out of 14
Did you have the "flower power" to pass this test?
Missed #14.
DavidBarker 49 months ago
You got 12 out of 14
Did you have the "flower power" to pass this test?
thedude1500 49 months ago
12/14
Here's the hint for 9:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGYUWHef3Is
Runeshaper 49 months ago
You got 9 out of 14

Wasn't my time, but I did alright LOL :)
MrBill 49 months ago
11/14; not too bad a score for having to guess on most.
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