Terms Which Have Disappeared

[tonyb]

"Field Day!" Used to hear it all the time, just seems to have faded away.
"Hobson's Choice!" No one today has heard of it. You can take it or leave it, Hobson's choice. In other words, no choice at all.
"Swing the lead!" To malinger, seems to have been replaced by "Duvet Day."

The first two I still hear occasionally -- more the first than the second.

But if I've ever heard the third ("swing the lead"), I couldn't say when that was. Can't say I've ever heard "Duvet Day," either. Maybe those expressions never made their way over here.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here's another one from a Dragnet episode. Friday and Romero where questioning a witness in her home where she was doing her laundry. She asked Friday to move aside so that she could get to the "mangle".

 

[tonyb]

I almost acquired a mangle not so long ago. Could've had it free, but then I took myself back down to earth and realized it wouldn't get enough use around here to justify the space it would occupy.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I almost acquired a mangle not so long ago. Could've had it free, but then I took myself back down to earth and realized it wouldn't get enough use around here to justify the space it would occupy.

I've got an electric mangle in my kitchen -- it makes a useful storage table when the lid is closed, and my sewing box sits on top of it, and my sewing machine under it. And it's great for ironing my sheets.

 

[Harp]

When was the last time someone was called a silver-tongued devil?

Last week at the office.

 

[vitanola]

I've got an electric mangle in my kitchen -- it makes a useful storage table when the lid is closed, and my sewing box sits on top of it, and my sewing machine under it. And it's great for ironing my sheets.

Yes, sheets, tablecloths, napkins and all other flat work, but a mangle is also useful for pressing men's dress and casual shirts, ladies blouses, work trousers, aprons, work smocks, wash dresses, and other forms of clothing. When used properly it can really save time.

 

[tonyb]

Yes, my dear old mother tells me of a time when the mangle was a common household appliance. But that was a time of larger families and before "permanent press" (I put that it quotation marks for reasons obvious to those who appreciate the difference between a "wash and wear" garment and one properly ironed).

What I could really use, though, is a pants press, along with a good tutorial on driving the contraption.

 

[vitanola]

Well, I picked one up to do our tablecloths and napkins, but since I've learned how to use the thing properly I find that it also saves a great deal of time pressing the bodies and sleeves of my shirts, not to mention the nice feeling of a freshly made bed with pressed sheets. I wouldn't do without a mangle now.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I haven't seen a mangle in decades, although they were fairly common when I was a boy. I see that Amazon offers two models from a German manufacturer, one for $2K and one at $3K. Even allowing for the difference in purchasing power between the 1960 dollar and the 2013 dollar, that sounds like a "Cadillac" mangle.

 

[vitanola]

The Last Iron-Rite that I purchased cost $40.00, including the matching chair. I know of a nice, clean Thor unit which could be had for $25.00.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The Last Iron-Rite that I purchased cost $40.00, including the matching chair. I know of a nice, clean Thor unit which could be had for $25.00.

Mine is a Monkey Ward unit c. 1948 which was given to me in 1988 -- a co-worker was cleaning out his cellar. I wiped off the dust, chased off a couple of spiders, and it's been working fine ever since. As long as the thermostat isn't bad, these units are pretty much indestructible.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

The Last Iron-Rite that I purchased cost $40.00, including the matching chair.

You can still buy a horse-drawn McCormick reaper from an agricultural antiques dealer, but you can't buy one new. They have disappeared, just like your Iron Rite, which ceased production in December of 1961.

 

[celestial]

[video=youtube;9anJWctHv4A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9anJWctHv4A[/video]

 

[Tomasso]

"That must be jelly cuz jam don't shake that way." Referring to a fine figure of womanhood passing by.

 

[LizzieMaine]

One of the kids at work is threatening to move to California. I told her today that California is the bunk. And then I had to explain what "the bunk" is.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Saw a question on the net from a young woman who wondered what her boss meant when he said "show your metal" which apparently was something he said frequently (she thought it might be something dirty).

The so called expert replied that in the old days mechanics and machinists would get bits of metal embedded in their hands which would make tattoo like marks. An employer would ask a prospective employee to "show his metal" so he could judge the applicant's experience.

Of course that is the bunk (thank you Lizzie). The phrase is "show your mettle". I suppose a loose translation for the younger generation would be "show your team spirit" and not in an ironic way.

 

[Shangas]

To "show/prove your mettle" is to show courage and determination. It has nothing to do with actual metal. Whoever that 'expert' is, he clearly has no idea what he's talking about.

...in the old days mechanics and machinists would get bits of metal embedded in their hands which would make tattoo like marks. An employer would ask a prospective employee to "show his metal" so he could judge the applicant's experience...

I'd love to see the source of that ridiculous claim. It actually made me laugh.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'm reading the book "Mr Churchill's Secretary" and in it men who come on to women aggressively are referred to as "Not Safe in Taxis" (NSIT, seems to be the accepted acronym). Also, the expression "Very Safe in Taxis" was code for a man being gay. My very brief web search seems to support that NSIT was used back in the 40s in London, but I didn't find any reference to VSIT as code for being gay. Again, I spent all of ten minutes searching this on the web, but thought someone (especially from England) might know more about this one. If true, it seems an emblematic euphemistic phrase very consistent with the era's and British penchant for understatement.

 

[HudsonHawk]

"That must be jelly cuz jam don't shake that way." Referring to a fine figure of womanhood passing by.

There are any number of sexist, racist and otherwise overtly offensive phrases that have thankfully fallen out of common usage. We probably don't want to start a list here.

 

[LizzieMaine]

There are any number of sexist, racist and otherwise overtly offensive phrases that have thankfully fallen out of common usage. We probably don't want to start a list here.

They may have fallen out of common usage, but only because they've all been replaced by equally sexist, racist and otherwise overtly offensive modern phrases.