Year	Word	Etymology/ Cultural importance	OED: First Occurrence	COHA: First Occurrence	COHA: History
1934	Goober	Comes from several related Bantu languages for peanut: nguba and olungupa. It came to America on the slave ships and is used today, mostly in the South, as slang for the peanut.	1833	1895: Hit grow in de groun', hit grow so free; Ti-yi! dem goober pea.' " Sho'' nuff w'en de goobers' gun ter ripen	[goober] Used once in 1895, then not again until the 1930s. Increases in the 1950s (all instances from the play Wilderness Road) and then again in the 1990s.
1854	Peter out	Unknown origin; perhaps from French péter, to explode. Originally used literally in the mining world as vein of ore that disappears or runs out, it came to mean anything that dwindles or gives out, such as a feud, a road, or a river, for example.	1846 peter, v.2	1873: His lode petered out about six o'clock yesterday afternoon	[peter out] Increased slowly until the 1920s, perhaps when the phrase began to be used in more situations. Use stayed pretty consistent, with a decrease in the '60s. Decreases also in the '80s and '90s, but usage is up in the 2000s. Note: first usages in COHA prior to 1870s refer to someone named Peter.
1874	Canning	People had been preserving food in cans and jars throughout the 19th century, but it was at this time that canning was used to name the activity or business. In the years before refridgeration, this activity was very important for the American public and continues to be a popular pastime.	1872	1880: for in every fruit-growing region immense canning establishments are coming into existence	For most of the 1800s, most tokens for canning refer to people with that as their surname. Scanning the results, it appears that this usage was pretty low until 1910, when it spiked to the majority of tokens. It became more popular until the 1940s, and since then has been used less and less
1914	Backpack	Coined in the magazine Outing for a folded blanked that can be taken on treks in the wilderness. In the 1990s, it became the carrier of choice, supplanting the duffel bag and book bag.	1914	1957 (1933 as back-pack): keeps the diver on his belly, so his backpack chute can open without fouling	[backpack] Hardly used until the 1980 when it increased greatly, almost exponentially until the present time. Note: searched backpack, back-pack, and back pack
1934	Whistlestop	An insulting term for a town so small that the train wouldn't bother stopping unless someone whistled for it to. Was used to mock Truman's efforts during his presidential campaign to take the issues to the American people.	1934	Whistle-stop: 1931 Whistle stop: 1934 Whistlestop: 1944 :some people would think that was a whistle-stop	[whistle-stop] Mentioned little in the 30s and 40s, spikes in the 50s (in reference to Truman's campaign) and 70s (in reference to campaigns in general), little use in the last three decades, maybe as the train became less and less a mode of transportation.
1954	Fast food	Originally phrased fast food service, the concept epitomized the speedy American culture and has since spread around the world. The phrase now, at least, has slightly negative connotations, since the emphasis is on speed, not necessarily quality.	1951	1973: somebody, somewhere, someday will reconstruct a specimen of today's ubiquitous fast food shop.	[fast food] Since it first appeared in the 70s, the term (unsurprisingly) has increased in usage with each decade.
1974	Streak	A fad on college campuses across the country of removing clothing (except shoes) and running through a crowded place. While now we often hear of people streaking, it is nowhere near as popular as it was in the '70s.	1973	1974: Indeed, the only groups that streaking really threatens are nudists and Peeping Toms-it deprives both of their raison d' tre.	[streak] Because of the many meanings of this word, there is no easy way to tell how it has been used since the 1970s. If we limit it to streaker(s) it maybe shows a general trend, quite popular in the '70s, not so much again until the '00s.
1992	Not!	Used to emphatically deny the statement that preceded it, not! was used for a century before it became a staple of pop culture thanks in part to Dana Carvey and Mike Myers and their skit on SNL, Wayne's World.	1860	1860 (?) : Sir H. Sir Henry Ardenne Nay, but you will. not !	According to COHA, this has been used sparingly over the past 2 centuries, mostly in the 1990s. COCA gives us a closer perspective of recent time, where it was more popular in the first halves of the '90s and '00s and less so in the latter halves.