'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)
?'suicide?
knob,' 'neckers
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.
