From an article on jury duty in Baltimore in the Oxford American.

He did his business with Crudup, and as he was leaving the area, he heard a man called Donny, who worked for Crudup as a lookout, holler out “Five-O!”—universal code for “the cops are coming,” and likely uttered because of the squad car on patrol ahead of Lane and Banks

Could this really be a legacy of the old TV show Hawaii Five-O after all these years?

Yes.

I don’t really understand your incredulity. Hundreds of expressions in current use have beginnings far older and more obscure than a television show.

It surprises me because expressions connected with TV shows rarely stay the course. Can you think of any other current slang expressions which had their origin in 60s/70s TV shows?

"That does not compute” from Lost in Space and/or My Living Doll.  Maybe not as common as it once was, but still in use, I think.

“Beam me up, Scotty”.  Still used as a way of saying “get me out of here” or “lets get out of here”.

Arguably these are more “catch phrases” than slang, but they show a comparable level of durability.

And then there’s “jump the shark”, an expression deriving from a 1977 episode of “Happy Days” which became common 20 years later.

Never heard of “jump the shark”. What’s it mean?

lionello - 05 August 2007 09:38 PM

Never heard of “jump the shark”. What’s it mean?

Can’t go past the definition here:
http://www.jumptheshark.com/help.jspa

“Q. What is jumping the shark?
A. It’s a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it’s all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it “Jumping the Shark.” From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same.

The term “jump the shark” was coined by site founder Jon Hein’s college roommate of 4 years, Sean J. Connolly, in Ann Arbor, Michigan back in 1985. This web site, book, film, and all other material surrounding shark jumping, are hereby dedicated to “the Colonel.”

The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually “jumped the shark.” The rest is history. “

Dr. Techie - 05 August 2007 02:41 PM

“That does not compute” from Lost in Space and/or My Living Doll.  Maybe not as common as it once was, but still in use, I think.

“Beam me up, Scotty”.  Still used as a way of saying “get me out of here” or “lets get out of here”.

Arguably these are more “catch phrases” than slang, but they show a comparable level of durability.

And then there’s “jump the shark”, an expression deriving from a 1977 episode of “Happy Days” which became common 20 years later.

I knew as soon as I asked that question that I would live to regret it!

A beautiful (I think) example is Dutch “hamvraag”, lit. ‘ham question’.
It comes from a 60’s radio show in which they had a quiz with increasingly difficult questions and the last question was the ‘hamvraag’. That in turn was a reference to a popular game played on fairs: the grease pole. The higher you got, the bigger your prize. Traditionally, when you reached the top you had won a ham.

Nowadays ‘hamvraag’ means ‘key question’. It is a very common word and few people are aware of the origin.

aldiboronti - 06 August 2007 02:34 AM

live to regret it!

Beats the alternative.  Sometimes you jump the shark and sometimes the shark jumps you.

Regarding “jump the shark”, see also:
The Big List

http://p211.ezboard.com/Jumping-the-Shark/fwordoriginsorgfrm6.showMessage?topicID=291.topic

http://p211.ezboard.com/Jumping-the-Shark-Supplemental/fwordoriginsorgfrm17.showMessage?topicID=7.topic

Dutchtoo’s posting reminds me of “the sixty-four thousand dollar question”, a phrase taken from the title of a 1950s game show that’s a bit dated but still used to mean “the crucial question, the nub of the matter, etc.” Even its precursor, “the $64 question”, is still heard occasionally.

While not from the 60s/70s, Seinfelds “yadda yadda yadda” certailny shows promising staying power.

Vulcan Death Grip as slang for a “coup de grace” comes to mind as well.

42.

Often used when someone asks for “the answer”.  Originates in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.  Started as a radio show in th 70’s

Jory Dayne - 09 August 2007 01:51 AM

While not from the 60s/70s, Seinfelds “yadda yadda yadda” certailny shows promising staying power.

Vulcan Death Grip as slang for a “coup de grace” comes to mind as well.

Yadda yadda yadda long pre-dates Seinfeld. See this Straight Dope Staff Report, from which I excerpt:

First, let’s clear up one thing--neither Seinfeld nor his writers invented the term. It can be traced back with certainty to the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce in the early 1960s. Bruce grew up in the 1940s world of Jewish club comics, who often used routines and expressions dating back to the vaudeville era. But since the term was transmitted orally, it’s hard to find early printed examples. ............................ Sheidlower includes variants such as yaddega-yaddega-yaddega and yatata-yatata-yatata from the 1940’s, so it seems certain that yadda-yadda-yadda is a variation of a phrase used in pre-1940 vaudeville.