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Terms Which Have Disappeared

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12,032
Location
East of Los Angeles
At one company I worked for, for whatever reason my co-workers used some form of the "pound sand" expression regularly. If we were in "polite" company the expression changed to the safer, "Hey, go to the beach." People not-in-the-know assumed this was our way of saying "Get lost", but we all knew the complete phrase was, "Hey, go to the beach and pound sand up your..."
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
Fu bar
72BB6C05-4D88-4BF4-A2DB-D4D90857B46B.jpeg

Now the thing is.....
1.Are you fu bar going in?
2.Are you fu bar going out?
 
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2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
Two bits

25¢ or a quarter.
A 2 bit gangster.
2 bits in twitch.


Not a term, but it's been sometime since
I have heard the sound of coins in pant
pockets.
Some folks would jingle them in their pant
pockets as they carried a conversation.
 
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LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,835
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Obscure bit of 30s teen/collegiate slang -- the practice of using common male proper names as adjectives either superlative or derogatory.

One who was not hep to the jive, or what later eras would call a square -- "He's real Tom."

One who was looking fine and keeping time -- "He's real George."

One who was just an ordinary fellow of no particular distinction -- "He's strictly Robert."
 
Messages
12,032
Location
East of Los Angeles
I recently threw one out that my coworkers got a bang out of. "It smells like lightning struck the outhouse". I use it a lot and hadn't considered it to be disappeared, but I suppose that the frame of reference has disappeared since I had to explain to one what an outhouse was.
I've never heard that expression/phrase before, but I know what an outhouse is so it's self-explanatory. ;)

People still do the “Shave and a haircut” knock.

Though Roger Rabbit may continue to immortalize the “Two bits” response.
My best friend and I regularly use the "shave and a haircut" knock, but we usually use a very pregnant pause between it and the "two bits" conclusion. Regardless, I don't know anyone else who uses it.
 
Messages
12,032
Location
East of Los Angeles
Whenever I'm reminded of "Kilroy" I remember a story (more of an "urban legend" really) I read years ago. I don't remember the exact details, but the story was that the wife of a high-ranking U.S. Military officer was having an affair with one of the male troops under her husband's command. During one of their romantic encounters the troop grabbed a pen and playfully drew the "Kilroy was here" image on her derriere. Unfortunately for her she forgot to wash it off, and when her husband saw it she was forced to confess the affair, they divorced, and he spent the rest of his career unsuccessfully trying to find out which of his men had been the artist.

I see the humor in the story (which I'm convinced is bunk), but I'm sure someone who has been negatively effected by a similar event in their life might not think it's so funny.
 

Haversack

One Too Many
Messages
1,194
Location
Clipperton Island
Except I think that the photo posted is from a video game or is otherwise modern and not from WWII. Reason being is that the weapon with the bipod in the foreground is an M47 Dragon wire-guided anti-tank missile launcher. US infantry used it back in the 1980s. Mind I still occasionally saw the Kilroy doodle in barracks in the '80s.
 

Haversack

One Too Many
Messages
1,194
Location
Clipperton Island
LizzieMaine wrote: "One who was looking fine and keeping time -- "He's real George.""

The only time I recall hearing it used this way was on Spike Jones' recording of Yes Sir! That's My Baby done in a pseudo-Japanese idiom with aside comments between the lines. In this case, "She's exceedingly George"
 

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