Words are fun to think of.  Of course, I wouldn't want to admit that I 
remember some of those.  Smile.


Vicki

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Stahl" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 10:10 AM
Subject: old words and items


> What the Heck is a fender skirt?
>
> 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 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"
>
> 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 l ast 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 "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 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.