Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Late 20th century ·1980
Eurotrash
Euro- trash
- Meaning
- A pejorative for wealthy, idle young Europeans socialising abroad.
- Source words
- Euro- + trash
- Coined by
- unknown (US gossip press)
- Year
- 1980
Background
Peaked in 1980s New York club culture, reclaimed in the 1990s by a British Channel 4 comedy chat show (*Eurotrash*, 1993–2007). Illustrates how a pejorative can be inverted into self-branding within a generation.
Late 20th century
Marketing, media, and the early internet. Infomercial, emoticon, workaholic — the coinages name phenomena of mass media and white-collar life. Several predate the decades they're associated with.
Two words, one coinage.
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