Ok, now for those of you who are a little older than us children of
the 80's here is another one. But you know what.....I know what most
of this stuff is too.
Fender Skirts
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."
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 their 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.
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.
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.
Remember?
Saturday morning serials,candy cigarettes,
Kool aid parties,NBC Peacock,Bowling for dollars,
Fly paper, penny loafers,Flat tops, sock hops,
Studebaker, Pepsi please, a little dab'll do ya,
Cigar bands on your finger,baseball cards or baloons in your spokes,
The hit parade, Grape Tru-Ade,Playing army,Good to the last drop,
Pedal pushers, duck tail hair, Howdy Doody, Capt. Kangaroo,
the seam up the back of her hose, Elvis on Ed Sullivan,
Cracker Jack prizes, ask daddy for the keys, Friday night at the
fights,
The boogey man, lemonade stand, and takin' your tonsils out
Cigarette loads,a double root beer float, Amos and Andy,
Moon hub caps, and loud heel taps, and he's a real gone cat,
Dancin' close, little moron jokes, and cooties in her hair.
Ovaltine,Charles Atlas Course, Roy Roger's Horse,nellie bell,
Going steady AND Knock Knock jokes?
Invite someone to "supper. Discuss fender skirts.
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