"Fender Skirts"

[Corrine]

Fender skirts

I haven'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.

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 "worldwide" for granted. This floors me.

On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50's, 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.

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.

I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation.

Most of these words go back to the '50's, but here's a pure-'60's 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 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." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts. .

[jamesk]

Corrine,  Very well written.. in a language that I understand completely... :D

[roddy32]

You are aging yourself Corrine but unfortunately, I also remember all that.  :?

[GR@PH;<'S]

Corrine,

Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors

Guess that makes Netty & I realy moden  :tease:

GR@PH;<'S   :breakkie:

[Die Hard]

     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.

I remember once when I was a teenager and I was visiting an aunt´s b-day. She had made a strawberry creamcake herself to treat the guests and one of the visiting ladys said: " Mmmm....what a delicious creamcake, it tastes almost like store-bought. "   :breakkie:

Aging is sometimes very palpable. I´m 52 and my youngest son is 11. I guess in his eyes I have to rapidly close 100, because the other day he asked me : "Dad, did they have footballs when you were young?"   :P :P

Die Hard :)

[Corrine]

Now, Roddy, it isn't that I would remember such things.  I'm merely a "copy/pastethreadcrappingmoron", right, Winchester? :lol:

[roddy32]

Actually I would rather to back to the good old days. Things were sure a lot easier. Instead of spending all this money on computers to communicate we used 2 cans with a string in between. If the string broke, I would just steal a piece of my mother's clothesline to replace it.  :tease:

[Corrine]

Right you are about those tin can phones.  They were great.   Maybe its time to bump that memory lane thread in the LzD Lounge. 

<Corrine is going thread hunting.> ;)

[roddy32]

You could use them for other things too. My sister and I used to wrap the string around our little brother's neck until he yelled uncle and gave us all his marbles. Come to think if it, maybe that is why I never get  Christmas cards from him.  :?