Schoolchildren have always had a way with insults, but the inventive vernacular changes with the decades.
Many barbs that were commonly heard during the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s are very rarely uttered today.
Below are 15 playground insults that were popular with schoolchildren back then but have faded from use.
They range from playful gibes you might trade with your best friend to more bilious terms you’d save for your worst enemy.
The sometimes surprising origins include medieval kings and literary giants, plus, more predictably, several euphemistic terms for human genitalia.
We’ve omitted the most vulgar, offensive and distasteful slang.
How many of these do you remember, and are there any other once-popular insults that you rarely hear anymore?
If you enjoyed this trip down memory lane, you might like this look back at the things you’ll only remember if you went to school in the 80s.
7. Dipstick
Dipstick, a slang term for someone considered to be stupid, was an insult you once heard frequently. It's believed to come from dip stick, the instrument used to measure oil levels in your car. | AFP via Getty Images Photo: ROB ELLIOTT
8. Div
This slang term for an idiot is believed to come from The Divisional room, where pupils were given extra reading lessons in comprehensive schools | Getty Images Photo: Fox Photos
9. Git
In the Beatles song I'm So Tired, John Lennon calls Sir Walter Raleigh a 'stupid git' for introducing tobacco to England. According to the Britannica Dictionary, git describes a stupid or worthless person, usually a man. | Getty Images Photo: Michael Putland
10. Spanner/tool
The terms spanner or tool can be used to describe a stupid or foolish person, with the latter often referring to someone too witless to realise they are being used | Getty Images Photo: Al Barry/Three Lions
11. Nincompoop
This word, meaning a stupid or foolish person, has been around since the late 17th century but is not often heard today. It possibly comes from a combination of the words 'ninny', for idiot, and 'poop', an old word meaning to cheat or deceive. Another explanation is that it derives from the Biblical character Nicodemus, who asks Jesus seemingly naive questions. | Getty Images Photo: H. Allen/Topical Press Agency
12. Wally
When's the last time you heard someone being called a wally? The slang insult is believed to originate from the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, at which a reveller reportedly went to buy food for his friends and couldn't find them in the crowd when he returned. His friends called out 'Wally', to no avail, before others in the crowd did the same for a laugh, and soon everyone was joining in. | Getty Images Photo: Express Newspapers