Thread: A remembrance email

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A childhood friend from Florida who builds for over 40 yrs some of the slickest chopper road bikes you would ever want to buy sent me this remembrance email about terms we all old people used to use as kids.Some of the pictures might not show up,but what he wrote is pretty cool.Here is the link:

Subject: Fw: FENDER SKIRTS & such...




I'M SENDING THIS TO MOST OF MY OLDER FRIENDS AND SOME OF YOU YOUNGER "DWEEBS" AS WELL....



I REMEMBER THEM ALL , HOW ABOUT YOU?



FENDER SKIRTS

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) '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 switchused to be on the floor.




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 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.
Julie

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 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.
























Feel free to add you own terms.

Originally Posted by 1gary

A childhood friend from Florida who builds for over 40 yrs some of the slickest chopper road bikes you would ever want to buy sent me this remembrance email about terms we all old people used to use as kids.Some of the pictures might not show up,but what he wrote is pretty cool.Here is the link:


Feel free to add you own terms.

Gary,

You cannot attach an email located in your personal inbox. Highlight it, hit "ctrl C" and then start or edit a new post and hit "ctrl V" to paste the text into the post.


Bill S.

Subject: Fw: FENDER SKIRTS & such...




I'M SENDING THIS TO MOST OF MY OLDER FRIENDS AND SOME OF YOU YOUNGER "DWEEBS" AS WELL....



I REMEMBER THEM ALL , HOW ABOUT YOU?



FENDER SKIRTS

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) '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 switchused to be on the floor.




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 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.
Julie

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 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.









Here is the correction/repost.

Bump-post correction-thanks Bill.

I enjoyed that, Gary! I am of the age that it was all recognizable and part of my childhood and growing up days.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, when you consider the alternative) I recall most, if not all of those words or phrases and if I gave it some thought, could probably add some more, being a card carrying senior citizen that takes advantage of every discount

Great email! I remember those phrases too. Here's another for ya...My pop always called paper bags, the kind you used to get at the grocery store, sacks. And it's truly sad about the clutch part, you're right about kids not knowing what they are today....CR

My favorite is "church key", something I used quite often in my misspent youth.

Soda fountain and soda pop, now AMPM (mini mart/gas) and bottled water

i know what a church key is and a clutch? well we could set it up with a mcleod soft-lok with about 750lbs of base

Originally Posted by CR55

Great email! I remember those phrases too. Here's another for ya...My pop always called paper bags, the kind you used to get at the grocery store, sacks. And it's truly sad about the clutch part, you're right about kids not knowing what they are today....CR

When I was growing up in Tn. we called a paper bag a Poke, why I'll never know. A soda water drink was a Dope. I am old as dirt ,so yes I have heard most of the above.

My Great Grandparents Pic. taken 1919.

What ever happened to the Front Room, Floor Boards and the cars we used to Double Clutch? Still love my 06 Charger though.

Jack.

That's a neat picture. I have often wondered why people in that vintage photos always looked so sad/serious. Even the dog has the look. That's a fine mustache your great grandpa is wearing. And I notice he is wearing brogan shoes, there's another word you don't hear!

Pat

Originally Posted by Stu Cool

I have often wondered why people in that vintage photos always looked so sad/serious. Even the dog has the look.
Pat

They didn't have the internet to cheer them up.