discussing these things... My grandma, born in 1891, (yes, that's
grandmother, NOT great-grandmother) had a percolator, wore a brassiere
with other unmentionables, and even darned socks.
-Pam
You may have seen some of these before, but I enjoyed reviewing them all
and thought you would too.
I came across this phrase yesterday "FENDER SKIRTS".
A term I haven't heard in a long time and 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." (AKA) suicide knob
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.
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."
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?
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. 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.
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 "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a
great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.
Someone forwarded this to me. 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!
I sure did.
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