[Hyacinth Bucket]

Rokinronda sent me a wonderful pm. It was cute and the gist of the message were words that we no longer use, meanings changed or a word that is presently out of vogue. Rok doesn't know I am posting this - Rok I hope I have your permission.

I recall -rouge, refrigerator, suitcase,

The one that grieves me most 'supper.' Now everybody says 'dinner.'

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 lie 'curb feelers'

Curb feelers were little wires you had on the outside of the car to let you know if you were to close to the curb.

And 'steering knobs.' (AKA) suicide knob

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'

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 '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.

HB

[ouma1938]

What fun. Thanks to Rok and HB!

Thanks HB and RR....Lot's of memories there.

[Rokinronda]

HB, Thanks for posting! :hot: Have a rokin good time with this one, everyone!

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Rok, thanks.

You are to young to remember the gadget they used to give a woman a permanent. It looked like a hair dryer with all of the curlers hanging down from it.

I also remember tube radios, black and white TV. To get color TV then you put a piece of plastic over the screen that had the three primary colors on it - wallah color TV.

How did you know what my hair looks like? Wish you did not post it on your avatar.

HB

[Peggy D]

Remember the TV's by Sylvania that it lit up white around the picture tube?

Now that's another word that brings back memories--remember how BIG they were?

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Peggy you just reminded me of the ad for Castro Convertible sofas with the girl opening them up.

Uh oh I am showing my age.

HB

[graciegirl]

Thank you both.

I have sent it on to those who speak our language.

It was terrific.

GracieGirl

[Peggy D]

Originally Posted by Hyacinth Bucket

Peggy you just reminded me of the ad for Castro Convertible sofas with the girl opening them up.

Uh oh I am showing my age.

HB

Oh my gosh!! My parents had one!!

How could I forget that!

[Rokinronda]

OMG They were built in RI!!! Castro Convertables made in , I believe, warwick, RI. HB, dahlink, that avatar dipsy-do is all mine, my mane is not nearly as tame as yours! On another note, my daughter pulled out a box of BORAX the other day!! She asked, Mom have you ever seen this stuff??!! Hadn't seen BORAX in a LONG time! Great multi purpose cleaner!

[chelsea24]

Oh I love this post because I love words. I remember my 7th grade teacher saying we weren't allowed to wear lip rouge. Also, hose became nylons, then panty hose.
Remember slit skirts and Mix Master. Please write some more HB. I love this. :bigthumbsup:

[KathieI]

Originally Posted by Hyacinth Bucket

Peggy you just reminded me of the ad for Castro Convertible sofas with the girl opening them up. HB

HB, yes, I had one too growing up. Slept in the living room on one until I was 18, would you believe that. Now everyone has to have their own rooms!!

BTW, that wasn't any little girl, that was Bernadette Castro, owner's daughter!

Got another word for you, "johnny pump" now known as fire hydrant! Love this post!!

[Muncle]

Originally Posted by KathieI

BTW, that wasn't any little girl, that was Bernadette Castro, owner's daughter!

You mean NY Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro. Though I'd never heard of Castro Convertibles, I really enjoyed her on the Imus show. She was, and I assume still is, quite a character. I thought for the longest time that her family had sold cars with retractable roofs.

By the way, I just had to change the load in the washing machine. Went by the frig (hey, I quit calling it an icebox) and got a can of pop. I can't remember. Did mom keep the patent medicine like Carter's Little Liver Pills and Geritol in the ice box?

But think how hard it's going to be in a few years explaining why you say "dial the phone" or even dial tone. How and why do you listen to music on a record or tape or even CD? Grandpa, tell me again what film is and how you got pictures from it. You really had to take it somewhere and wait 3 days to see the pictures! And tell me again about how your telephones were these big boxes that were connected to your wall by a cord. Gramps, I think maybe you're losing it.

[redwitch]

78s, 45s, 33s -- try explaining a record player and speeds to a kid today.

Coke in the machines with the lids you opened and slid your soda out -- in a glass bottle.

Wringer (washing machine).

Dude before it became duuuuude.

Woodie to describe a car as opposed to a male state of mind.

Our grandkids are not going to believe what we did at drive-ins. They'll all be flea markets.

[Rokinronda]