Another Interesting Read... Memories...

[mike4lorie]

THE 50's and THE 60's

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'

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 BRAKES’.

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. That 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’.

I thought some of us of a 'certain age' would remember most of these.

Just for fun, maybe pass it along to others of 'a certain age'!

IF YOU AREN'T OF A ’CERTAIN AGE’,
YOU MUST KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS.​

 

[Capt Lightning]

Back in the UK, the names may have been different, but we had many similar things. Steering knobs never really caught on, and the "dip switch" moved from the floor to the steering column. Most cars here are still manual and have bumpers instead of fenders and the "hand brake" is now the parking brake. One term I loved was "Shooting brake" - now the nearest we have is a "S.U.V".

I think that the term brassiere went out a long time ago. I notice that on the continent, it's a B-H (short for Bustenhalter). Still, that's the way the language goes. Either something new comes along so we need a new name, or a word becomes unfashionable.

 

[Ken N Tx]

I think that the term brassiere went out a long time ago. I notice that on the continent, it's a B-H (short for Bustenhalter). Still, that's the way the language goes. Either something new comes along so we need a new name, or a word becomes unfashionable.

I heard that in Germany its called "holdthemfromfloppin".

 

[Tommy]

Thanks for the memories, Mike. I can easily relate to all except "foot feed" (which must go back quite a number of years). "Picture show" was a bit before my time, but the rest are common for me.

The last car I had that came stock with fender skirts was my 1973 Mercury Marquis Brougham. We usually referred to steering knobs as "suicide knobs". I've a friend with only one arm who still uses one. That brings to mind "suicide doors" - doors that are hinged at the back and open rearward. Common in years gone by and I've heard they may be coming back into style.

 

[jujube]

I heard that in Germany its called "holdthemfromfloppin".

Or there's the "over the shoulder boulder holder".