Top Pop Culture Terms Every Young Adult Should Use in Conversation

Television, movies, and music have an undeniable impact on American culture. The popular culture gems created by these media outlets often far outlive the popularity of the actual show, film, or singer. On occasion, terms birthed in pop culture make there way into one's everyday vocabulary.

This occurred to me the other day when my wife and I were having a conversation in the car. I pointed out the window and said, "Hey, that house has their Mike Seaver apartment for rent." She responded "Cool! Hey, look at that guy mowing his lawn in a Bill Cosby sweater. What's up with that? It's hot outside." Although the conversation was far from deep, it was interesting to step back and realize we had both used pop culture terms in everyday conversation without even blinking an eye. These and other such pop culture terms have come to mean so much more than the movies, shows, and singers every imagined. They have come to represent something more vividly and concisely than was previously possible. So, here is a brief list of pop culture terms that have since entered the casual lexicon of my wife and me, average 30 something's living in America's pop culture caldron.

Mike Seaver Apartment -- /[micse-ver uh-pahrt-muh nt] - noun

An obvious reference to the much loved sitcom, Growing Pains, a Mike Seaver apartment is a small living area above a garage. As seen on the show, once Mike matured to near manhood, he set up residence in the studio apartment over the family's garage. As a result, any such over-the-garage living quarters has come to bear his name.

Bill Cosby Sweater -- / [bil kawz-bee swet-er] - noun

The Cosby show ran for 8 seasons overlapping the 80's and 90's. But through it all, Bill never let us down with his wardrobe. Ask any Cosby Show fan and she'll tell you that a Bill Cosby sweater is an oversized, brightly colored, garishly patterned sweater often worn by Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. Nowadays, any over-the-top, wild, colorful sweater can fall into the category of Bill Cosby Sweaters.

Daisy Dukes -- /[dey-zee dookz] -noun.

When most people think of the Dukes of Hazzard, they probably think of Bo and Luke. However, Daisy always held a special spot in the hearts of us young men growing up with the show. Specifically, the super tight, super short shorts worn by her. At the time of the show, I commended Daisy for sporting such stylish shorts. However, now that this pop culture reference has entered my adult vocabulary, I strictly use it to describe the skankily short, trashy cut-off shorts worn by objectionable young ladies, usually at the mall.

D & D -- /[dee n dee kid] -adj.

Derived from the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, to my generation D & D has come to define any uber-dorky, sci-fi and fantasy obsessed, parent's basement dwelling person. Although most people today fitting this description do not play Dungeons and Dragons, D & D can still be used as an all encompassing descriptor.

Flock of Seagulls -- [flok uhv see-gŭlz] -adj.

This adjective is derived from the 80's new wave band A Flock of Seagulls. When used in its descriptive form, it means anything with wildly short and long, flat and erect parts in opposition to one another. Mostly often used in describing hair, one may wake in the morning with their hair looking all Flock of Seagulls like. Rosie O'Donnell, shortly after ending her talk show run, sported a very Flock of Seagulls do.

Cher Effect -- [shair i-fekt] -noun

When producing her comeback hit, Believe, someone had a stroke of genius and technofied Cher's voice in various places in the song. As she sings certain phrases, it's as if Cher has become a robot, complete with metallic vocal sounds. Although this technique had been used before, it was so obvious in this song and was new territory for the likes of Cher. As a result, any song that now comes out with an electrified sounding voice distortion is using the Cher Effect. In recent years artists as varied as Fall Out Boy to Uncle Cracker have employed the Cher Effect.

Miami Vice Jacket/Pants -- /[mahy-am-ee vîs jak-it/pants] -noun

Any rolled arm, tapered leg ensemble that resembles the wardrobe of James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs of Miami Vice. Generally, this clothing will be a poly-cotton blend, light in color, often with dabs of turquoise, pink, and grey mottled throughout. To complete the look, a solid colored t-shirt is often worn underneath. Though it should be a crime in modern society, one can easily spot someone sporting Miami Vice pants/jackets at many malls across America.

Melmacian Hiccup -- [mel-mak-ee-uh hik-uhp] -noun

ALF, primetime TV's favorite alien life form, hailed from the planet Melmac. On one episode, Alf came down with a case of the Melmacian Hiccups. This basically was an over-the-top, extremely loud, obnoxious case of hiccups. Since then, anytime someone has an unusually loud hiccup, it can be deemed Melmacian.

As I stated above, this is anything but an exhaustive list. Many, many other pop culture references exist in our everyday lexicon, completely freestanding of the TV, movies, and songs that birthed them. Take an active roll in listening to your conversations for a week and see if you can spot any you regularly use.