Endangered Words?
Someone sent this to me and I knew you would appreciate it:I came across this phrase in a book yesterday "FENDER SKIRTS." These are obviously from a '57 Chevy. A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts." My '54 Ford and my '61 were so equipped. It started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice.
Remember "Two-Toned"? Like "curb feelers." I've been thinking about getting a pair of these but couldn't find them in the Auto Parts store. And "steering knobs" (AKA) suicide knob. I put one of these on the '54 and it quickly 'ate' through the steering wheel.
I stopped at a car wash being held by the cheer leaders of the local high school to raise money. I specifically asked the young lady to make sure they did a good job on the "White Walls". When they were done I noticed that they had not cleaned the sides of the tires at all. I went back to the gal and told her that I had intended giving them a nice tip but was very disappointed that they hadn't done the "White Walls". She looked at me puzzled and said... What are "White Walls"?
Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly 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. I really wanted one but they were like $150 dollars and that was too much to put on a $300 car.
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." I love to use this word in the classes that I teach that are filled with teens. Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house? We had a couple of cars that sat in the back yard that had "running boards" but not "running engines".
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 "world wide" 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 his or her 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. If you said this your daughter would probably crack up. I guess it's just "bra" now; "unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all. I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation. 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? "Coffee maker." 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 "Electrolux." 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 kids with castor oil anymore. Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts. I thought some of us of a "certain age" would remember most of these. Just for fun, Pass it along to others of "a certain age"!! Or they may know someone of "A Certain Age".
posted by Ann at
9:04 AM
5 Comments:
How about slacks? dungarees? groovy? cream rinse?
I eat supper everynight!
My mother always used cold cream on her face and hands and put rouge on her face.
I used to wear coats with matching leggings when I was a child. Saddle shoes to school and little red leather sandals and pedal pushers in the summer. Oh my, I'm showing my age!!
Loved the post!! Mary
If you really want to confuse those cheerleaders, ask them what a 'rotary phone' is.
I remember every single one of these words and I, too, eat supper every night. We had crinoline petticoats, weejuns, and poodle skirts and bobbed hair. I remember Castor oil from childhood. I still remember hiding under the bed and my daddy pulling me out and forcing me to take it! It was the most horrible tasting stuff.
When I was a science teacher, the students didn't know what a record player was.
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