beatniks

Cultural  

1. Members of the “beat” movement in the United States in the 1950s. Beatniks frequently rejected middle-class American values, customs, and tastes in favor of radical politics and exotic jazz, art, and literature. The movement was often classified as bohemian. The poet Allen Ginsberg and the novelist Jack Kerouac are examples of beatnik authors.

---

Discover More

“Daddy-O” (a term of address); “Cool, man, cool”; and “strictly dullsville” are examples of slang expressions used by beatniks or by people trying to sound like beatniks.

Example Sentences

In America, the term “counterculture” is so associated with hippies, beatniks, bohemians and the like, it might seem odd to think of self-described conservatives as counterculture types.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2023

I also omitted "beatniks" from his list of groups he believed were seeking to destroy the country.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2023

She was fascinated by the beatniks and their travels, and craved culture and education.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2022

The city was a meeting ground for beatniks and college activists, and they crowded into the tiny club to hear someone who spoke to their disdain for the status quo.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 26, 2021

A few people had gotten it right, in black turtlenecks and thrifted finds that cut a convincing impression of what people were wearing the night she decided that actually beatniks were the Worst.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny