Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Fading Fast]

He's 'pickled'. Hey..there's an old term..!!
HD

I'm thinking mummified might be there right term and an even older one (the guy looks desiccated which is effectively the start of mummification).

 

[Mr Oldschool]

Actually, he's been dead for forty years, but he's got so many chemicals in his system the body won't shut down.

Exactly so! I've been saying that for years now. I remember a comedian on TV saying that someone just needs to tell him, "Keith, you're dead! Lay down already!"

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

One class of terms which are disappearing fast are those related to agriculture. In 1870, 53% of the US labor force was engaged in agriculture. By 1920, that had dropped to 27%. Today it is about 2%. Expressions like "in high clover" ('to live luxuriously') have lost their meaning and currency. Anyone else have a grandfather who was a farmer? Do you remember any expressions he used but are no longer current?

 

[skydog757]

The phrase "Gone to seed" meaning shabby or neglected. If a farmer didn't harvest certain plants in a timely manner they would begin to go past a point where they could be eaten.

 

[Stearmen]

One class of terms which are disappearing fast are those related to agriculture. In 1870, 53% of the US labor force was engaged in agriculture. By 1920, that had dropped to 27%. Today it is about 2%. Expressions like "in high clover" ('to live luxuriously') have lost their meaning and currency. Anyone else have a grandfather who was a farmer? Do you remember any expressions he used but are no longer current?

Both of my parents were born on farms. Knee high, by the 4th of July, to describe how high your corn should be! As scarce as hen's teeth, Separate the wheat from the chaff, Hold your horses, You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, The black sheep of the family, In a pig's eye. My favorite, though completely non PC, was from my Grandfather, on my mothers side, he even had a plaque with this saying on it, "a big barn and a fat wife, never hurt anyone!"

 

[skydog757]

Not strickly a farming term, but taking someone out behind the woodshed meant that they were about to be taught a harsh lesson.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Not strickly a farming term, but taking someone out behind the woodshed meant that they were about to be taught a harsh lesson.

My grandmother used to say that "so-in-so has earned a trip to the woodshed".

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

When I was a boy, my grandparents didn't have a woodshed, but they didn't have an indoor toilet, either. That meant a trip to "the outhouse". Naturally that conjures up the jokes about "two-story outhouses".

 

[HudsonHawk]

When I was a boy, my grandparents didn't have a woodshed, but they didn't have an indoor toilet, either. That meant a trip to "the outhouse". Naturally that conjures up the jokes about "two-story outhouses".

I remember my grandparents talking about the reaction to indoor plumbing back in the day: "you want to put a toilet in the house? In the HOUSE??"

 

[LizzieMaine]

We didn't fool around with euphemisms. When we got out of line, the nearest adult would threaten to "warm your a**." If we failed to heed this warning, we got a "lickin'."

 

[Stearmen]

Not PC, my dad would say, "do you want to do the Indian burn dance?" Meaning, a spanking.

 

[Renault]

I used an old term today in a story about "being grabbed up by the stacking swivels" as that was what my elders did to me on the occasions I deserved it! Several listeners stopped me and I had to explain what it meant and where it came from. Most shooters and I would hope all military Reenactors know what it means!

 

[skydog757]

One phrase that I usually associate with rural (usually farming) communities is "I can't abide that" or "I can't abide such things." The only people that I ever heard use the phrase regularly were from my Mother's side of the family (all farmers and strong church-goers). Women seemed to use it more frequently than men.

 

[Stearmen]

Not worth a plug nickel.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

"Skirt chaser", "wolf"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Masher: a skirt chaser without the courage of his convictions.

 

[Stanley Doble]

How about some terms that used to be common to motorists? Tuneup, winterizing, brake adjustment, battery charge, ring and valve job. All unnecessary on cars built in the last 30 years.

Not to mention road maps, Sunday drives, lap robes, and Simoniz.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I still carry a road map with me.

 

[DNO]

I still carry a road map with me.

Absolutely. Without one, how would I give directions to all those fools who don't have one?

 

[skydog757]

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.