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Terms Which Have Disappeared

I remember that strip and that character! He was almost always in a chair and used phrases like "kaff kaff". "harumph" and "fap"! Occasionally he'd throw in an "Odds Bodkins"!

He was, in all likelihood, the inspiration for the Commander McBragg cartoon character.

(Nope, I just looked it up, actually C. Aubrey Smith.)

Man, I watched way too many cartoons and read way too many comics as a kid.

Commander McBragg. lol lol

There I was....
http://youtu.be/q4roxM8hUMk
 

Stanley Doble

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,808
Location
Cobourg
Mountebank. I may be the last person to use that word in a conversation. The person I was talking to commented on it. He knew what it meant, but was surprised to hear it used.
 

Shangas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,116
Location
Melbourne, Australia
I still use "Bounder", "Cad", "Blackguard", "Philanderer" and other such unsavory terms.

It's nice to revive them so that you can insult people without them knowing what the hell you're saying.
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,732
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Might that have something to do with the decline in quality of newspaper comics? I haven't read anything "funny" in the funny papers since Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes.

Most of them today are neither funny nor comic. With only a few exceptions -- such as "Monty," "Frazz," "Pooch Cafe," and, of course, "Zippy," -- contemporary strips feature one vaguely-character-shaped squiggle making an "ironic observation" directed toward another vaguely-character-shaped squiggle, in hopes of reflecting a slight twinge of recognition in the particular highly-defined focus niche at which the syndicate's marketing department intends to direct that particular strip.

The Boys have ruined many things that I loved, from my country right on down, but I really resent what they did to the American newspaper comic strip.
 
Messages
17,197
Location
New York City
For that matter "the funny papers" is a term that's all but disappeared. Right along with hanging around the drug store after school to read the funny books.

My Dad and his best friend called them "the funny papers" back when I was growing up, but it sounded dated even then. But since it is the first name I knew for them and it only seemed odd as I "got out in the world" as a kid a bit (i.e., my friends didn't use that term), I use it occasionally and, when I do, my girlfriend looks at me like I lost my mind.
 

Hercule

Practically Family
Messages
953
Location
Western Reserve (Cleveland)
Dad would always tell us to "shake a leg" to hurry us up, and a small amount of something was "whisker" - "just a whisker farther", "just a whisker more milk in my coffee" (though he always drank tea with milk).
 

Blackjack

One Too Many
Messages
1,198
Location
Crystal Lake, Il
In Harlem of the 1930's the musicians told time by ticks ( doubled, so the un-hip would be confused) In other words, the gig ends at 5 ticks, 2:30 am. That cat is murderin those 88's, slightly, lightly and politely :)
 
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Mr Oldschool

One of the Regulars
Messages
108
Location
Southern Oregon
"Am-scray" was popular in our household. Along with "beat feet," "hit the bricks," and "be like a tree and leave."
I've heard Am-scray bandied about often enough, along with ix-nay, which is one of my wife's favorites. That last one now just makes me smile and say, "why don't you make like a tree and get out of here!"
 

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