For the rest of you old guys......

Disappearing Words

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." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first.

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."

Did 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 rights 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 is 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 talked 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 a "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.

Come to think of it, "confirmed bachelors" and "career girls" are long gone, too.

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

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 -- Did something wipe 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.

Someone forwarded this to me, and I thought some of us of a"certain age" would remember many of these "old" words. However, you may want to think twice before showing this (or sending this) to your kids.

It might take quite awhile to explain all of these old words.

Hand made and home made are two I hardly hear. I also miss the days when products only had English on them and no www.

If I tried to explain them to mine I would get the "Eyeroll" and they would try to slap me in the "Assisted Living" center.

I would probably sit around all day in my "overhauls," which is what coots around here wear.

Quoted: ... I also miss the days when products only had English on them ...

No joke.

Quoted: Quoted: ... I also miss the days when products only had English on them ... No joke.

Shit, if we don't watch it we'll be thinking back to the days when products had English on them...

Quoted: ... 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. ...

And when I worked in the automotive supplier business, we had to make sure not to call it a "firewall", it was a "front dash panel".

Sorry, it's always been a firewall to me and it always will be!

Remember when anything "quality" was Made in the US and Japan only produced pot metal tin junk.

Come up to Ohio where we still say supper

Quoted: And when I worked in the automotive supplier business, we had to make sure not to call it a "firewall", it was a "front dash panel". Sorry, it's always been a firewall to me and it always will be!

Just as an aside, I knew an airplane pilot that explained to me that the "firewall" was the same on an airplane.

If the pilot needed to really have some power, he pushed the throttles with the little balls on top of them, all the way against the firewall.

"Balls to the wall."

A piece of trivia.  No extra charge.

What happened to the steering wheel knobs anyway?

Quoted: What happened to the steering wheel knobs anyway?

Probably power steering.

My old Dad had a 1947 Ford with no power steering.  It had a steering wheel much larger than nowadays.  And he had a steering wheel knob on it that he used all the time when backing trailers or parallel parking.

Quoted: Quoted: ... I also miss the days when products only had English on them ... No joke.

NO SHIT....now I actually have to look for the English....WTF I'm in AMERICA.  Learn the language or get the fuck out.

Here's some thoughts from a 26yr old kid from Oklahoma.

We ate "supper" every night, and "dinner" was the noon meal.

We had a farm truck with a knob on the wheel, not to mention a coupla tractors.
I still say "foot feed", but mostly to irritate my California-bred wife.

At least 1/2 the clothers I had growing up were "home made", another 1/3 were "hand me downs"...there's another one ya don't hear very often.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: ... I also miss the days when products only had English on them ... No joke. NO SHIT....now I actually have to look for the English....WTF I'm in AMERICA.  Learn the language or get the fuck out.

When I started in the cleaning business all of my supplies were written in English. Now it is mostly spanish. Bad thing is , I don't have anyone working for me that speaks spanish. Well that parts not bad.

Quoted: ... 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. ...

Or even cooler, in some applications...

Quoted: ... 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. ...

Trust me: when the brakes went out on my Miata as I was exiting off the Interstate last year, it was an emergency brake... I don't care what the proper term is.

Quoted: Or even cooler, in some applications... i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/HardShell/RWB%20-%20Cars/Continentalkit.jpg

That's a sweet old thunderbird.

Yours?  

No, my Dad's '56 - he bought it from Amos Minter (the "Early Bird" guru) in Dallas two summers ago.

Me & Dad on delivery day:

Quoted: Quoted: ... I also miss the days when products only had English on them ... No joke.

Products?  I made two phone calls today and got an answering machine that spoke Spanish at me.

I thought maybe I had dialed the wrong number.

The words may be changing but let's keep the same language at least.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: ... I also miss the days when products only had English on them ... No joke. Products?  I made two phone calls today and got an answering machine that spoke Spanish at me. I thought maybe I had dialed the wrong number. The words may be changing but let's keep the same language at least.

Yes...Try asking a Spanish speaking MACHINE for someone with a pulse to talk to....arrrrgh!!!!!!!

I've got some more:
Tin foil (although used here, everyone in the world calls it aluminum foil)
ice box (I still call it that...hey my folks did)
Packie (as in the package store)
dungarees (now they're all jeans)


Some that have gone the way of progress:
record player
UHF / VHF

Hello Don,great post and it got the wheels turning last nite. I wonder how many remember "oil spouts" or if they ever even saw a metal oil can.The cans made great pistol targets when layed on end, little silver plate you could see in the woods. Yes we let a few drops of oil out on mother earth , but i remember them oiling down dirt roads in East Texas too. That was before the plastic fantastic world we live in now. I even own a plastic gun or 2, thx. Wayne B.

You left out "Flat heads" and  "lake pipes"

Quoted: Hello Don,great post and it got the wheels turning last nite. I wonder how many remember "oil spouts" or if they ever even saw a metal oil can.The cans made great pistol targets when layed on end, little silver plate you could see in the woods. Yes we let a few drops of oil out on mother earth , but i remember them oiling down dirt roads in East Texas too. That was before the plastic fantastic world we live in now. I even own a plastic gun or 2, thx. Wayne B.

I recently found an oil spout in an old cabinet and showed it to my niece.  She could not guess what it could be.

I ought to sell it on ebay as an antique.

The term "Foot feed" is one of the stupidist terms I have ever heard.

No offense meant, but it's the GAS PEDAL!

Sgat1r5

Quoted: The term "Foot feed" is one of the stupidist terms I have ever heard. No offense meant, but it's the GAS PEDAL! Sgat1r5

In east Texas we call it the Accelerator.

that works also


SGatr15

We've always called supper, supper.  The E-brake has always been called the "hand brake" but my kids now call it the E-Brake [I'll have to look if it has a www on it].

How about the Jockey Box?  What do you call your glove compartment?  Patty

Oleo tubs? Margerine containers!

Fruit cellar? Under basement stairs storage!

My grandma was a regular font of this kind of thing.

We call it a glove box, don't everybody??

A word that you still hear in your car but it has different meaning.  "choke" .... it is no longer something used to assist in starting the car, it is a term used to threaten the kids if they dont shut up.

Victrola.


What a cool word!!!



 Soda jerk.........love that one, too.


But MOXIE....that word's got spunk.


 "Hey, ya got moxie, kid!!!!"

Quoted: For the rest of you old guys...... Disappearing Words 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." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first.  We use steering knobs on our John Deere. 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.  Haha!  I remember those! 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 still call it the emergency brake. I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed." Did you ever wait at the street for your Daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house.  A alot of vehicles still have running boards.  Is there another term for them? 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 rights to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.  We still use store bought, but it is usually about food anymore.  "Is that a home-made or store bought pie?" "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.  Coast to Coast used to be a local hardware store. 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.  Still hear it when we are talking about houses with wood floors. When is 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 talked about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply "expecting".  I usually hear, "having a baby", or "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 a "bra" now. "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.  I think they are still in usage.  My wife and I joke about "unmentionables", since it is usually found in books more than anywhere else. It's hard to recall that this word was once said in a whisper -- "divorce." And no one is called a "divorcee" anymore. Didn't you know?  Divorce is something to be proud of?   Come to think of it, "confirmed bachelors" and "career girls" are long gone, too. 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 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 still use the word "percolating", but that usually happens in a coffeemaker. 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 -- Did something wipe 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.  I never understood the distinction between dinner and supper, but some people use both or one or the other. Someone forwarded this to me, and I thought some of us of a"certain age" would remember many of these "old" words. However, you may want to think twice before showing this (or sending this) to your kids. It might take quite awhile to explain all of these old words.

I'm only 28, and I use most of those words.  You may be old, but your language isn't fossilized yet!  

Damn Torf, i'm glad you said yet.

Quoted: In east Texas we call it the Accelerator.

+1

Quoted: We call it a glove box, don't everybody??

We called it the "Glove Compartment".

Rumble Seat  


Damn, I always wanted a car with one !

This thread is groovy!

Quoted: Quoted: We call it a glove box, don't everybody?? We called it the "Glove Compartment".

"The Glove compartment isn't accurately named, and everybody knows it.  Because behind it's door there's nothing to keep my fingers warm..."

-Death Cab For Cutie

Dinner's been around a long time. I suppose it took over after that "Last Supper" thing.