Missing Words

This will make you feel a bit more mature . . .
but memories, now those are good things to have!

I came across this phrase in a book 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 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. 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?
"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 "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 "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.

Just for fun, Pass it along to others of "a certain age"



   

   

       


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Made with love August 11, 2005