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 *****.' Suicide ****.

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.

 

some of the old coots I work with dont call it lunch, they call it Dinner. and the term brunch will get you a 10 mile stare.

 

Here the farmers have breakfast, dinner and supper, not breakfast, lunch and dinner. When I moved back to IA from 35 years on the west cost it took me a while to remember this from when I was a kid growing up here in IA.

 

Grew up on my Grandparent's farm, (what seems another lifetime ago) that was it exactly. They also never set their clocks for daylight savings time. Their clocks were always on standard time, always confused the hell out of me in the summer months.

Here's another for your list. How about the old starters that you pressed with your foot? Turn on the switch and step on the starter. Ahh, simpler times......

 

How about the word Davenport, which was replaced by sofa or couch

Britches ( pants )

Television program (TV guide )

Hi-boy ( Stereo )

Areial ( antenna )

I could go on and on ....

 

Donny. . .your age is showing, pull up your britches

 

Don't make me put you over my knee and "paddle" you Drew



Remember when anyone could whip your azz if yo got "sassy", not just your parents?

 

heck yea. . .I remember getting a few paddelings at schooland not being able to sit back down at my desk all day. .then get home and worn out again. kinda hard to sleep when your keester is putting out the same light as a 100watt bulb.

 

I think the emergency brake was a casualty of law suits. Much like the terms "roll bar" and "push bar" aren't used by companies anymore. People actually expected these products to do what their name implied.

 

and why shouldn't i expect a roll bar to do what it's name implies? i thought the whole purpose of a roll bar was to protect individuals in the event of a roll over... am i wrong??