Terms Which Have Disappeared

[1967Cougar390]

Here is one that I haven’t heard in many years. “He’s so lazy, he wouldn’t play a dead man in a cowboy movie.”

Steven

 

[tonyb]

"Brook" as a verb, as in "She'll brook no backtalk from those brats." Rarely hear it anymore.

 

[1mach1]

"Brook" as a verb, as in "She'll brook no backtalk from those brats." Rarely hear it anymore.

I have never heard that. Meaning?

 

[3fingers]

I have never heard that. Meaning?

Put up with, listen to, tolerate.
He won't tolerate any argument.

 

[1mach1]

Put up with, listen to, tolerate.
He won't tolerate any argument.

Ah. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[skydog757]

Catch-as-catch-can.

 

[tonyb]

Ah. Thank you for clearing that up.

It is (or was) almost always used in a negative construction, as in "he won't brook any resting on the job" or "she'll brook no further nonsense from that boy."

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Donnybrook," as in "whoa, they had a real donnybrook down there to the Myrtle House last night, three sailors got their teeth kicked in."

 

[Fading Fast]

"Donnybrook," as in "whoa, they had a real donnybrook down there to the Myrtle House last night, three sailors got their teeth kicked in."

I like that one and am familiar with it, but don't know why as it wasn't one I heard growing up; perhaps, I know it from old movies.

"Hell for Leather" as in going really, really fast. Love it, rarely heard it, but now never hear it.

 

[Upgrade]

There’s variants like “hell-bent for leather” or “bat out of hell”.

 

[tonyb]

"Donnybrook," as in "whoa, they had a real donnybrook down there to the Myrtle House last night, three sailors got their teeth kicked in."

Not-quite-synonyms include "to-do" and "dustup."

"To-do" might refer to an altercation, but it might not. To "make a big to-do" of something generally meant to make more of it than was fitting or necessary. But "that Jones girl's wedding was quite the to-do" meant it was the spectacle. Real sit-down eatin' and a DJ and everything.

"Dustup" I took to mean an altercation, but one resulting in no lasting injuries, except perhaps to someone's pride.

 

[3fingers]

There’s variants like “hell-bent for leather” or “bat out of hell”.

Another variation around here was "hell bent for election."

 

[3fingers]

They had quite a shindig down the street last night.
Or it may have been a hootenanny, depending on who was telling the story.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Hell Bent For Election" was the title of one of the best political propagnda films of the Era, produced to promote President Roosevelt's reelection campaign in 1944.

The film was produced off-the-clock by a number of the top animators from Warner Bros. and Disney, several of whom went on to form the core of UPA Productions after the war, the eventual home of Mister McGoo. However, the anti-Roosevelt forces had long memories, and when they gained power in Congress, they made a point of hunting down and seeing to the political persecution of as many people connected with the film as they could.

 

[skydog757]

"Donnybrook," as in "whoa, they had a real donnybrook down there to the Myrtle House last night, three sailors got their teeth kicked in."

I've always liked "pier six brawl" to describe an old-fashioned, all-in fight. "Slobberknocker" not so much.

 

[tonyb]

"Hell Bent For Election" was the title of one of the best political propagnda films of the Era, produced to promote President Roosevelt's reelection campaign in 1944.

The film was produced off-the-clock by a number of the top animators from Warner Bros. and Disney, several of whom went on to form the core of UPA Productions after the war, the eventual home of Mister McGoo. However, the anti-Roosevelt forces had long memories, and when they gained power in Congress, they made a point of hunting down and seeing to the political persecution of as many people connected with the film as they could.

The more things change ...

 

[Just Jim]

Not-quite-synonyms include "to-do" and "dustup."

"To-do" might refer to an altercation, but it might not. To "make a big to-do" of something generally meant to make more of it than was fitting or necessary. But "that Jones girl's wedding was quite the to-do" meant it was the spectacle. Real sit-down eatin' and a DJ and everything.

"Dustup" I took to mean an altercation, but one resulting in no lasting injuries, except perhaps to someone's pride.

Growing up (mid-'70s-to-'80s) where I did, a "to-do" never referred to an altercation; a "dust-up" typically didn't involve knives, or funerals, or anyone being seriously shot-up. I recall reading in the local paper of what was described as "a dust-up downtown" that resulted in three locals being hospitalized.

A "donnybrook" was a bare-knuckle brawl, typically involving alcohol consumption in excess of good judgement.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

"Donnybrook" and "hooligan" sound like remnants of the time when the Irish were the recent immigrant group feared and contemned by the more established American population.

It's hard to imagine nouns with similar connotations based on Spanish words/names gaining purchase and legitimacy in contemporary American culture.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The America of a hundred and fifty years ago was a hive of ignorant, violent xenophobic nativism. We've come so far.

 

[Fading Fast]

The America of a hundred and fifty years ago was a hive of ignorant, violent xenophobic nativism. We've come so far.

Well at least today we don't have NINA references in classified ads (and business windows), "gentlemen's agreements" at hotels and other shockingly publicly or generally understood and acceptable forms of xenophobic nativism.