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. 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 "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 his or her hardwood floors with, wow,
wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces
their wall-to-wall carpeting with hard wood 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.
It's hard to recall that this word was once said in
a whisper -"divorce." And no one is called a
"divorcee" anymore. Certainly not a "gay divorcee."
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!
Here's 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 - 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 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 most of these.
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. 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 "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 his or her hardwood floors with, wow,
wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces
their wall-to-wall carpeting with hard wood 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.
It's hard to recall that this word was once said in
a whisper -"divorce." And no one is called a
"divorcee" anymore. Certainly not a "gay divorcee."
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!
Here's 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 - 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 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 most of these.
