# outdated words

Category: Joke Board

## Post 1 by TexasRed (I'll have the last word, thank you!) on Friday, 08-Jul-2005 0:37:56

I was thinking about "fender skirts" and it started me thinking about other
words that quietly disappeared 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. Kids will probably have to find
some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to them.
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
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."
It's hard to recall that this word "divorce" was once said in a whisper.
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 that.
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 their kids with castor oil anymore.
Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one
that grieves me most is "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great
word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.

## Post 2 by kgs4674forever (Zone BBS is my Life) on Monday, 15-Aug-2005 21:35:42

Hmm, interesting, I'll find some more of those words for you.

## Post 3 by silly_singer (The girl who's always lost in a melody) on Tuesday, 16-Aug-2005 22:47:19

hmmm!!! My family still says the word supper. I like that one!