Old Timey Words

I know some of you will not understand this message, 

but I bet you know someone who might.

I came across this phrase 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 disappear from our language with hardly a notice 

like'curb feelers.'

And 'steering knobs.' (AKA) 'necking knobs.'

Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally  

went that direction first.

Any kids will probably have to find some older 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.' Many today 

do not even know what a clutch is or that the dimmer 

switch used to be on the floor. For that matter, the starter 

was down there too.

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 was 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 'Coffee maker.' 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  

'Dyna Flow' and 'Electrolux' and 'Frigidaire'.   

Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with 'Spectra Vision!'


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 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.

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.'


IF YOU AREN'T OF A CERTAIN AGE, YOU MUST
KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS