A Blast From The Past
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 or necker 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.”
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.
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 any more.
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.
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