15 Everyday Phrases You Didn’t Know Came from Freud’s Theories—In Honor of His Birthday

Expressions such as “Freudian slip,” “Oedipus complex,” and “ego trip” have transcended their medical beginnings to explain everything from verbal errors to inner turmoil and complicated relationships. By looking at these words, we can see more clearly how Freud’s ideas continue to shape not just our knowledge of the human mind but also our day-to-day speech and actions.

1. “Freudian slip”

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This is a slip in speech that Freud thought shows unconscious thoughts or desires. Freud claimed that these slips, which tend to include taboo words or out-of-place remarks, are flashes of repressed feelings. When you slip up and refer to your boss as “mom,” Freud would say it’s not just an error.

2. “Ego trip”

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Freud defined the ego as the part of the psyche that sits between desires and reality. An “ego trip” is when we’re doing our own version of being great or superior to others. It’s basically when our ego inflates, sometimes excessively or self-aggrandizingly.

3. “Mother complex”

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Based on Freud’s theories of early childhood and parental relationships, the “mother complex” is an unconscious attachment to or problem with one’s mother. Freud felt that unresolved issues with our mother could determine our relationships and behavior later in life. If a person has a “mother complex,” he or she may carry emotional baggage related to their relationship with their mother.

4. “Penis envy”

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A term that Freud used to refer to a girl’s hypothetical jealousy of boys’ genitalia in childhood. It’s not an accepted term, but Freud believed this want represented a feeling of inferiority that girls experience while growing up. The word has since come to be applied more generally to a deep sense of inadequacy or competitiveness, particularly between men and women.

5. “Oedipus complex”

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Perhaps Freud’s most famous and controversial theory, the Oedipus complex refers to a child’s unconscious desire for the opposite-sex parent and jealousy toward the same-sex parent. Freud linked this with early childhood development, especially in boys, during the phallic stage. It’s used now to describe any intense and sometimes unhealthy attachment to one parent, often leading to conflicts or confusion in relationships.

6. “Repression”

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Repression is the unconscious act of excluding unpleasant thoughts, feelings, or memories from conscious awareness, according to Freud’s theory. This defense mechanism protects us from painful or traumatic experiences but can cause psychological problems later on. When you “repress” a memory or feeling, you’re pushing it out of your conscious awareness unconsciously in order not to confront it.

7. “Dream analysis”

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Freud considered dreams to be the “royal road to the unconscious,” uncovering concealed desires, anxieties, and repressed memories. His hypothesis was that by analyzing symbols in dreams, one might discover the underlying causes of psychological suffering. Hence, when we discuss interpreting dreams, we’re referring to Freud’s idea that they were keys to our innermost operations.

8. “Id, ego, and superego”

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Freud broke the mind into three: the id (instinctual urges), the ego (logical decision-making), and the superego (moral conscience). The interplay between these factors determines our behavior and thoughts. When you overhear a person being “torn between their instincts and morals,” you’re hearing a faint echo of Freud’s model of the psyche.

9. “Castration anxiety”

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A boy’s fear of losing his genitals, which Freud saw as connected to the Oedipus complex and the fear of being punished for lusting after the mother. It’s mentioned as a turning point in the psychological development of the male, in which the child fears the wrath of the father. We now apply it to describe heightened fears or feelings of exposure, particularly with masculinity.  

10. “Freudian excuse”

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This term refers to the tendency to blame bad actions or behavior on unconscious drives or childhood experiences. It’s applied sarcastically to imply that a person is blaming their issues on something like child trauma instead of being accountable. It’s referring to Freud’s theory that our unconscious minds have a constant influence on our actions.

11. “Transference”

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Transference in psychotherapy happens when a patient attributes feelings about another person to the therapist, usually unconsciously recreating earlier relationships. Freud felt this was an important aspect of the therapy process, as it uncovered unfinished emotional conflicts. Therefore, if one is over-reacting emotionally towards a new friend, they may be “transferring” feelings from an earlier person to them.

12. “Sublimation”

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Freud called sublimation a process of redirecting socially unacceptable urges into acceptable behaviors, such as redirecting aggression into sports or creativity. It’s a defense mechanism that lets us have primal urges in socially constructive ways. When a person directs frustration into artwork or hard exercise, that’s a case of sublimation in action.

13. “Fixation”

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Freud held that unresolved struggles at any developmental level had the potential to result in a “fixation,” in which the person remained at that level of psychological growth. For instance, an oral fixation could manifest itself in habits such as excessive eating or smoking. The word is now generally applied to refer to anyone overly fixated on or “stuck” in some area of life.

14. “Collective unconscious”

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Although this concept is more typically linked to Carl Jung, Freud’s work on the unconscious provided the basis for this. It is shared, universalized memories and archetypes that exist in all humans. Although not specifically Freud’s theory, the work he did on individual unconsciousness influenced the concepts that led to the collective unconscious.

15. “Superiority complex”

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Freud’s compensation theories — wherein people overstate their positives in an attempt to compensate for what they believe are inadequacies — are echoed in the idea of a superiority complex. This refers to someone who needs to dominate others because they have deep-seated inferior feelings. The term is applied when a person overcompensates for a secret feeling of inadequacy, usually without knowing it.

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