What a great blast from the past! I haven't thought about fender skirts in
years. When I was a kid,I considered it such a funny term.
Made me think of a car in a dress. Thinking about fender skirts started me
thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with
hardly a notice.
Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Actually, we called them "neckers knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some a person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.
Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire
covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln
Continental.
When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking
brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with
"emergency brake."
`I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the
accelerator the "foot feed."
Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never
anymore-"store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought
these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress
or a store-bought bag of candy.
"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now
means almost nothing. Now we take the term "worldwide" for granted. This
floors me.
On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In
the '50s, everyone covered their hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall
carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with
hardwood floors. Go figure.
When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" It's
hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too
graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all
that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or
simply"expecting."
Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day
and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now. "Unmentionables"
probably wouldn't be understood at all.
It's hard to recall that this word was once said in a whisper -"divorce."
And no one is called a "divorcee" anymore. Certainly not a "gay divorcee."
Come to think of it, "confirmed bachelors" and "career girls" are long gone,
too.
Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came
across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!
Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And
what was it replaced with? "Coffeemaker." How dull. Mr.Coffee, I blame you
for this.
I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and
now sound so retro. Words like DynaFlow" and "ElectraLuxe."
Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!" Food for thought
- Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that
anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers
threatening their kids with castor oil anymore.
Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list.
The one that grieves me most - "supper." Now everybody says "dinner".
Save a great word. Invite someone to "supper. Discuss fender skirts.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
I saw a percolator the other day. I snickered and thought, "wow, i haven't said that word in a long time". People still say supper in the south. In fact, there's a lot of old school things that southerners do that you yanks are too fancy for. And as for brassiere, i prefer "over the shoulder, boulder holder."
I know most of these terms and phrases. We always said supper (and still do most of the time) but my grandmother would call lunch "dinner" which just confused the hell out of me.
A little different topic, but related, I remember using such antiquated "implements" as a scythe, an apple picker, a cider press, and just about every "hand tool" known to man. How about a soldering iron that actually was an iron, not an electric solder gun. I'm sure there are tons more that you guys can remember.
Last edited on Tue Jan 11th, 2005 12:31 am by konaboy
