Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Stanley Doble]

On the cigarette theme, how about "tailor-mades"?

Or "OPs" as in Smokin OPs the Bob Seger album.

 

[HudsonHawk]

"Foldin' money". I used to hear that around the family a lot, not so much anymore. I had an uncle who used to say "big money", as in "if you go to that restaurant, you better bring your big money", in reference to paper currency.

 

[dh66]

"Foldin' money". I used to hear that around the family a lot, not so much anymore.

Nobody totes it any more. This is the age of plastic and electronic payments.

Tote is another one I hear less often. "Tote those groceries in the house" or "I'm tired of totin' this baby around, I'll be glad when he can walk."

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[HudsonHawk]

Nobody totes it any more. This is the age of plastic and electronic payments.

Tote is another one I hear less often. "Tote those groceries in the house" or "I'm tired of totin' this baby around, I'll be glad when he can walk."

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I hear "tote" every once in a while, and I also hear "carry" as opposed to "take", as in "can you carry me to the airport next Tuesday?" or "I had to carry my kids to school this morning".

 

[LizzieMaine]

We don't "tote." We "lug." "You think I'm gonna lug that junk all the way 'cross town, you got another think comin'."

And along those same lines, you might lug your stuff across town in a "grip," a small leather bag with handles.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

... I also hear "carry" as opposed to "take", as in "can you carry me to the airport next Tuesday?" or "I had to carry my kids to school this morning".

I first heard that locution when I moved to Washington, DC about 40 years ago. It is most commonly heard from African Americans of southern origin, so I expect it is also common among southern whites as well.

 

[dh66]

Here in AL the term "carry" is still in pretty common use amongst all the demographics.

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[jamespowers]

I first heard that locution when I moved to Washington, DC about 40 years ago. It is most commonly heard from African Americans of southern origin, so I expect it is also common among southern whites as well.

We use take here.

 

[tonyb]

Probably the origin of "ham actor" as well.

This prompted me to look up "ham" in the dictionary. Among the definitions and etymologies was this (cut and pasted, word for word) ...

ham 2
noun
1 an excessively theatrical actor : nobody gets to emote more than a ham on the witness stand.
• excessively theatrical acting.
2 informal an amateur radio operator.
verb ( hammed , hamming) [ intrans. ] informal
overact : he was hamming it up, doing all the voices and the effects.
ORIGIN late 19th cent. : perhaps from the first syllable of amateur ; compare with the slang term hamfatter [inexpert performer.] Sense 2 dates from the early 20th cent.

 

[LizzieMaine]

ORIGIN late 19th cent. : perhaps from the first syllable of amateur ; compare with the slang term hamfatter [inexpert performer.] Sense 2 dates from the early 20th cent.

"Hamfatter" was a common term among minstrel-show performers around the end of the 19th century, and might be linked to "hamboning," which was a flamboyant dance commonly performed in such shows. A hamboning performer played it up big for the audience and the more flamboyant the dance the greater the applause, much to the annoyance of the rest of the performers.

 

[3fingers]

"Foldin' money". I used to hear that around the family a lot, not so much anymore.

That's one I still use. It's inherited from my father and grandfather. My children know what it is since I have always made sure they had a little bit of it if they were going somewhere with friends or the like. I did find however that their friends had never heard the term.

 

[HudsonHawk]

"Hamfatter" was a common term among minstrel-show performers around the end of the 19th century, and might be linked to "hamboning," which was a flamboyant dance commonly performed in such shows. A hamboning performer played it up big for the audience and the more flamboyant the dance the greater the applause, much to the annoyance of the rest of the performers.

To tie this in with the baseball thread...there is a team in Japan called the Nippon Ham Fighters. I was disappointed when I learned that it's Nippon-Ham "Fighters", not Nippon "Ham Fighters". The latter would be the greatest nickname ever.

 

[scottyrocks]

Keeping to the ham discussion, the term 'chewing the scenery' has been around since the late 19th century, but I don't hear it often today, even in discussions with theater or movie fans. The most common word I hear these days for it is 'corny.'

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Expressions originating in railroading (and with the coal once used to power it) are also disappearing. "Klinker" is one that doesn't have much currency now. How many of you have a "coal chute"? You can add "stoker", "brakeman", and "conductor" (not the orchestral kind) to the list. How many remember "coke" as a kind of fuel, not a soft drink?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Keeping to the ham discussion, the term 'chewing the scenery' has been around since the late 19th century, but I don't hear it often today, even in discussions with theater or movie fans. The most common word I hear these days for it is 'corny.'

When I was acting we called that "beard acting," the sort of overwrought performance you get from second-rate actors who parade around on stage in ostentatious beards. The beard is the whole characterization, not anything they themselves contribute to the role.

"Beard actors," without exception, refer to themselves as "Thespians."

 

[Stearmen]

How many remember "coke" as a kind of fuel, not a soft drink?

Coke is real funny! I was talking to a couple of young guys a few months ago, we were talking about camp stoves and how slow some of them cook. I said to the one in his early 40s, you can always burn coke, he laughed, the other guy, in his early 30s looked at me real puzzled. The 40 year old explained what coke is, he is from Michigan, so he knew. The guy in his 30s laughed and said, "he was wondering, how you burn Coca-Cola!

 

[CataWhatas]

I use tote for happily or easily carried, lug for what I don't want to carry now.

As in - to my then 9 year old "Please open the door as I'm toting the babies." vs being 39 weeks pregnant with twins in August "Aren't I done lugging them around quite yet?"

Cultural difference is pop. To me, you drink soda, you tap or swat a naughty diaper covered rear and you pop something down. Please note, I don't swat the kids out of diapers as they don't need it. I rarely have to in diapers because I don't cater to bad behavior and manners, and if it won't kill them, go right ahead and pull the cat's tail after being told no. The scratch was far more effective than saying no every four seconds. Which apparently these days is called neglect because baby got a booboo.

Diaper pins. Now it's disposables or snaps/Velcro. I admit to preferring snaps as they are faster and easier to put on a squirming baby, then are easy to replace when they wear out. I do love cloth diapers, the boys train fast at least when awake. Cold, wet and clammy is good motivation to toilet training.

 

[dh66]

You and my wife must be kindred souls. Cloth diapering and all that.

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[jamespowers]

You and my wife must be kindred souls. Cloth diapering and all that.

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I wouldn't mess with cloth diapers if you paid me BIG money. PU!lol lol

 

[Matt Crunk]

Heard this one the other day in an old movie: "Cagey" It's not a term you hear much these days, at least not in my part of the country.