| What a great blast from the past! I hadn'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.
You kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 60 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 "Gas Pedal."
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 cackled. 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." Save a great word. Invite someone
to supper. Discuss fender skirts.
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