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
or necking 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?
How about a crank to "Crank" the engine?
Also, a bumper jack or a choke.
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. (Unfortunately I can remember all
of these.)
Just for fun, Pass it along to others of "a
certain age"!
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