Originally Posted By friendofdd I came across this phrase in a book yesterday "FENDER SKIRTS." These are obviously from a '57 Chevy. A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts." My '54 Ford and my '61 were so equipped. It started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice. Like "curb feelers." I've been thinking about getting a pair of these but couldn't find them in the Auto Parts store. And "steering knobs." (AKA) suicide knob. I put one of these on the '54 and it quickly 'ate' through the steering wheel. I stopped at a car wash being held by the cheer leaders of the local high school to raise money. I specifically asked the young lady to make sure they did a good job on the 'White Walls'. When they were done I noticed that they had not cleaned the sides of the tires at all. I went back to the gal and told her that I had intended giving them a nice tip but was very disappointed that they hadn't done the 'White Walls'. She looked at me puzzled and said... what are "White Walls"? 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. I really wanted one but they were like $150 dollars and that was too much to put on a $300 car. 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." I love to use this word in the classes that I teach that are filled with teens. 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? We had a couple of cars that sat in the back yard that had 'running boards' but not 'running engines'. 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," 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 "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 "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"!!
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I don't think I'm a certain age, but I call the parking break (on a manual tranny car anyway) the E-break. (I think supper is a regional term, because no one in my family ever used it, even the grannies).
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost OMG, I remember everything except foot feed. That's a new one for me. Everything else is sadly a part of my life. Man, I am getting old. Or as my daughters would say, "what do you mean, getting? That ship has sailed."
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Thanks for this folks. Reading some of these things makes me feel I was born too late. But I am still determined to get a car with running boards one day!
Originally Posted By avromark 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 call it the e brake. 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. I really wanted one but they were like $150 dollars and that was too much to put on a $300 car. <-- when I was in HS the daughter of the Chevy dealers daughter had a circa 80's Caddy with one of these things. Next thing you'll tell me the Dynaglide if an automatic! Err supper may be a regional thing, I say supper or din din <<using hand signals in the car.>> Did this when my Camry burnt out a fuse, granted I also had no headlights until I was able to roll into Parts Source. My mum had running boards on her Astro, my dad didn't on his Safari. (There was a time my parents bought near matching vehicles, one had a Parisienne, the Other a Caprice Estate, one had a blue Windstar, the other a red one)
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Suicide knob White walls Emergency brake We say foot pedal not foot feed Running boards Store-bought Supper Guess I'm old. ;>
