Terms Which Have Disappeared

[hatguy1]

I miss certain colorful terms that the boxing radio announcers used ". . . and Louis lands home with a right shot that tickled the ivories and turned the tap on!" (Struck him in the mouth and gave him a bloody nose.) They were always so breathy and fast and described things so clearly that they put you in the ring. Some terms like "haymaker" and "move to close quarters" are still in use, but with the advent of televised fights the announcers seem to be more analytical than descriptive. In fact, I believe they even call them "analysts" nowadays.

And speaking of radio annoucers, I sure miss Ernie Harwell calling my Detroit Tigers games. Certain calls like "He stood there like a house on the side of the road and watched that one go by" for strikeouts without a swing, " . . . and that one is (pause) LOOOONG gone!" for Tiger home runs. He called games for over forty years and no one else that I've ever listened to could touch him.

How about Harry Carey, "Hey, hey, hey!"


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[HudsonHawk]

How about Harry Carey, "Hey, hey, hey!"


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Caray was drunk when he said that.

 

[Zombie_61]

...And speaking of radio annoucers, I sure miss Ernie Harwell calling my Detroit Tigers games. Certain calls like "He stood there like a house on the side of the road and watched that one go by" for strikeouts without a swing, " . . . and that one is (pause) LOOOONG gone!" for Tiger home runs. He called games for over forty years and no one else that I've ever listened to could touch him.

That's the reputation Vin Scully has here in southern California. Also known as "The Voice of the Dodgers", he started announcing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, and followed them west when they moved to Los Angeles in 1957; in fact, his is the longest tenure of any broadcaster with a single team in professional sports history. I never really cared much for baseball (or any professional sports, for that matter) but I have fond memories of listening to the Dodger games with my father while I was growing up, so whenever I hear Vin Scully's voice it takes me right back to those days.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Scully was, is, and will always be, the finest baseball broadcaster who ever lived. You can listen to him on tape from sixty years ago and then tune him in tonight, and the quality hasn't slipped a bit. When he goes, there is no one who will ever approach him, because baseball broadcasting is a shadow of what it once was.

That said, though, I cherish every moment I spent listening to Ned Martin on the Red Sox broadcasts. He was probably the most *literate* broadcaster who ever worked a ball game, and is without doubt the only broadcaster who could not only work Shakespeare references into his game calls, but could also get away with quoting William Makepeace Thackeray in a cigar commercial.

 

[jamespowers]

Caray was drunk when he said that.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Put down my scotch you thief!
Fat Albert used it later though.

 

[hatguy1]

Caray was drunk when he said that.

Carey had a history of being pretty "hammered" during a lot of his broadcasts.


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[skydog757]

Carey had a history of being pretty "hammered" during a lot of his broadcasts.

Hey, if you had to listen to some of those celebrities stumble through a version of "Take me out to the ballgame" every seventh inning you'd most likely get hammered too.

 

[hatguy1]

Carey had a history of being pretty "hammered" during a lot of his broadcasts.

Hey, if you had to listen to some of those celebrities stumble through a version of "Take me out to the ballgame" every seventh inning you'd most likely get hammered too.

Ha! Some of 'me sure can't sing. That's for sure.


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[skydog757]

Ha! Some of 'me sure can't sing. That's for sure.

Ozzy couldn't make through the first line before he forgot the lyrics. The name of the song is "Take me out to the Ballgame!" If you know the name of the song, you know the first line!

 

[Zombie_61]

Ozzy couldn't make through the first line before he forgot the lyrics. The name of the song is "Take me out to the Ballgame!" If you know the name of the song, you know the first line!

"Take me out...to...ummm...SHARON!!!"

 

[vitanola]

Ozzy couldn't make through the first line before he forgot the lyrics. The name of the song is "Take me out to the Ballgame!" If you know the name of the song, you know the first line!

The first line is, as I recall: "Katy Casey was Baseball mad..."

 

[LizzieMaine]

The first line is, as I recall: "Katy Casey was Baseball mad..."

All the best people are.

 

[skydog757]

The first line is, as I recall: "Katy Casey was Baseball mad..."

And the last time you heard that line sung at a major league baseball game was . . .?

 

[Zombie_61]

The first line is, as I recall: "Katy Casey was Baseball mad..."

Give that man a cigar. According to Baseball Almanac, that is indeed the first line of the original version (circa 1908) of the song. The part that every baseball fan knows, the part that begins with the line, "Take me out to the ball game..." is the chorus. The verses are different between the 1908 and 1927 versions of the song, but the chorus remained unchanged.

 

[buelligan]

Just had this one pop into my head today for some strange reason, "jeez Louise" I haven't heard that for years and I have no idea of its origin.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

A guy at the gas station that I get milk at really likes my Chapeau.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Just had this one pop into my head today for some strange reason, "jeez Louise" I haven't heard that for years and I have no idea of its origin.

While I have no authoritative citation to offer, I expect this one has the same origins as "Jeepers Creepers!", "Cheese and Crackers!", and "Jimminy Christmas!" I imagine that these are all rhyming or alliterative alternatives to the blaspheming ejaculation of the surprised.

 

[Mr Oldschool]

Just had this one pop into my head today for some strange reason, "jeez Louise" I haven't heard that for years and I have no idea of its origin.

I use that one regularly, actually. Maybe I just need to speak up so you can hear me...

 

[Sourbone]

My mother will occasionally say, "I am sufficiently suffonsified." She said my grandparents said it after a good dinner.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here's a single word which is not used much these days, "lest".

A few years back, when I was riding my bicycle in early November through a small town nearby, I noticed a banner a local business had hung in honor of Veteran's Day. On it were some patriotic (US, that is) symbols, and above it was written "Less We Forget".

When a word falls out of common use, it is often confused with a similar, more common term. I expect that was the case with the sign. Reading the sign literally, it made no sense. I was struck by this (as this post suggests). I remember listening to a lecture series on languages from The Teaching Company presented by a scholar with a very accessible style. In the course, he made the point that languages which are not written are much more subject to change than those which are codified in writing systems.

A word which is not often written, as "lest" is not these days, falls into that category.

The origin of the popularization of "Lest we forget" seems to be a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled "Recessional" and was often (but not often enough, apparently) in association with the sacrifices of soldiers.