In English, the word ‘beatnik’ comes from the slang term ‘beat’, popularised by American writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, and William S Burroughs in the 1950s.
The Beatniks of the 1950s embraced popular music – especially jazz – as well as the copious consumption of alcohol and recreational drugs. They also gave rise to a literary movement and to a wide lexicon of words and phrases that identified them as a group.
Many of these words and phrases are still around today. Did you ever have ‘a blast’ at a party? ‘Haul ass’ when you were driving really fast? Or refer to someone as ‘bad news’?
Congratulations! You’re a bit of a beatnik. A cool cat, even.
