Footnotes to the TV series
LORELAI: We have stretched ourselves as thin as humanly possible without going completely postal.
In American slang, “going postal” means to become uncontrollably angry to the point of violence, especially in a workplace situation. The expression comes from a series of incidents from the mid-1980s onward in which over-stressed United States Postal Service workers committed mass murder as a result of workplace rage. The earliest known use of the phrase is 1993.
RORY: You go girl.
Originally black American street slang meant as a sign of encouragement to a female. It went mainstream after being popularised by Oprah Winfrey on her talk show. After this it often became used ironically, as Rory just did.
EMILY: I mean, to have a place to go where she can socialize, that’s very important to a young girl.
LORELAI: Well, now especially that the crack den is closed down on the corner, all her really good friends are gone.
A crack den is a place where dealers sell the illegal drug crack cocaine to buyers, and provide a place for the drugs to be used.
LORELAI (referring to Dean): Is he dreamy?
RORY: Oh, that’s so Nick at Nite.
Nick at Nite is the programming block that broadcasts every night on the Nickelodeon channel, appealing to a crossover audience of teens and adults. It is notable for showing reruns of old television programs, several of which are later revealed to be ones that Lorelai and Rory (the target demographic) watch regularly. This may be why Rory connects the 1940s teen slang “dreamy” with Nick at Nite: she may have heard it on old TV shows.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 