Terms Which Have Disappeared

[tonyb]

^^^^^
As an exercise in a news writing class more years ago than I care to recall I looked through a microfiche version of a major newspaper published on the day of my birth.

What I was most struck by was the employment ads in the classifieds. "Help Wanted, Male," and "Help Wanted, Female."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Those endured until 1972.

I shocked the kids at work by showing them my birth certificate, with the spaces for "Race of Parents."

 

[KY Gentleman]

“Bookmobile”
Does anyone ever see these anymore?
“Hey mom! The bookmobile is parked down at the store... can we go?”

 

[tonyb]

Those endured until 1972.

I shocked the kids at work by showing them my birth certificate, with the spaces for "Race of Parents."

My birth certificate discloses a legal reality but a biological falsehood.

Oh well.

 

[3fingers]

The bookmobile was a fixture in several small communities around here. Two different library districts. Both had lady drivers. One was very sweet, the other would put the fear of God into every child who dared climb the steps.

 

[Zombie_61]

"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.

You've clearly never lived in southern California.

My birth certificate discloses a legal reality but a biological falsehood.

Oh well.

I think the only true statement on my birth certificate might be the name and address of the hospital printed on the top of the form.

 

[KY Gentleman]

I gotta drive through the photo mat to get my pics....

 

[tonyb]

...

I think the only true statement on my birth certificate might be the name and address of the hospital printed on the top of the form.

Adopted at birth, were you?

 

[Zombie_61]

Adopted at birth, were you?

Shortly thereafter, yes. It was an "off the books" adoption, so an attempt to cover everyone's tracks might be part of the reason for the factual hanky panky.

 

[scottyrocks]

I gotta drive through the photo mat to get my pics....

Wow, yeah. we had one of those in the parking lot of the shopping center nearest my neighborhood. In fact, I feel like the little building was there long after the business had cleared out.

 

[tonyb]

Shortly thereafter, yes. It was an "off the books" adoption, so an attempt to cover everyone's tracks might be part of the reason for the factual hanky panky.

Sounds like the motives were nothing but honorable and virtuous.

 

[Zombie_61]

Sounds like the motives were nothing but honorable and virtuous.

Based on what I've been told, everyone acted with the best intentions. My biological mother got pregnant at a young age (she was 20 years old when I was born according to "the document") and a baby didn't fit into the plans her somewhat wealthy parents had formulated for her future, and my adoptive parents were actively searching for another child to adopt (my older sister was adopted as well) but the process was taking longer than they expected. A mutual friend put them in touch with each other and told them to figure it out, they did, and the rest is history. *shrug* I have no complaints.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Yellow journalism" is a phrase you don't hear much any more, even though today's journalism is as yellow as a wet streak in the snow. Somewhere in the '80s, "yellow" was supplanted by "tabloid" as the deprecatory journalistic adjective du jour. I like "yellow" better, because it's more specific -- there have been some pretty fine newspapers that were tabloids.

 

[vitanola]

"Yellow journalism" is a phrase you don't hear much any more, even though today's journalism is as yellow as a wet streak in the snow. Somewhere in the '80s, "yellow" was supplanted by "tabloid" as the deprecatory journalistic adjective du jour. I like "yellow" better, because it's more specific -- there have been some pretty fine newspapers that were tabloids.

Oh, so you take the "Graphic"?

 

[Fading Fast]

"Yellow journalism" is a phrase you don't hear much any more, even though today's journalism is as yellow as a wet streak in the snow. Somewhere in the '80s, "yellow" was supplanted by "tabloid" as the deprecatory journalistic adjective du jour. I like "yellow" better, because it's more specific -- there have been some pretty fine newspapers that were tabloids.

I don't read them much anymore - just a time thing more than anything else, but for decades I read the two big NYC tabloids - The Post and the The Daily News - every day.

I took much abuse from my betters for this, but I argued that there was a lot of outstanding reporting, investigative journalism and op/ed pages - of very high quality - in those papers.

I was alway amazed at how many dismissed them as "garbage," when, yes, there was the salacious, the tawdry and exaggerated in them, but there was also outstanding work of excellent quality.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

When was the last time you referred to someone as a battle ax?

 

[3fingers]

When was the last time you referred to someone as a battle ax?

I still use that one occasionally.
It gets the point across without use of the cruder terms that have replaced it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I don't read them much anymore - just a time thing more than anything else, but for decades I read the two big NYC tabloids - The Post and the The Daily News - every day.

I took much abuse from my betters for this, but I argued that there was a lot of outstanding reporting, investigative journalism and op/ed pages - of very high quality - in those papers.

I was alway amazed at how many dismissed them as "garbage," when, yes, there was the salacious, the tawdry and exaggerated in them, but there was also outstanding work of excellent quality.

The News has gone thru stretches of being my favorite newspaper, and the Post, in the Era, was an outstanding paper even after it converted to a tabloid format in the early 40s. . A lot of fine alternative papers appear, or have appeared in the tabloid style -- and even the Christian Science Monitor ended its print existance as a tab.

But for my money the finest tablod paper ever published was PM, published in New York from 1940 to 1948. It never carried ads, it never was beholden to the Boys or the NAM in any way, and it was absolutely fearless. Even though it didn't pay much, many of the top reporters of the period begged to work there, because they knew they'd find a freedom there that was unknown in the ad-carrying press. I eagerly grab up copies wherever I find them.

 

[tonyb]

"Store teeth" for dentures.

I believe it was meant largely in jest by the time I came along. Although I suspect that literally buying dentures through a mail-order catalog would have been something within living memory then.

 

[3fingers]

"Store teeth" for dentures.

I believe it was meant largely in jest by the time I came along. Although I suspect that literally buying dentures through a mail-order catalog would have been something within living memory then.

"Store teeth" for dentures.

I believe it was meant largely in jest by the time I came along. Although I suspect that literally buying dentures through a mail-order catalog would have been something within living memory then.

A lot of this area is served by a rural power cooperative, originally part of the Rural Electrification Administration. The monthly magazine for members always had ads for mail order dentures in the back section. I don't recall how they were fitted. It's possible they sent you something to bite down on as much as you were able I suppose. I believe that they still exist in a slightly different form. You get the dentures and put them in boiling water then bite down on them. Which is exactly how I fitted my football mouthpieces 35-40 years ago. I doubt they fit anybody particularly well, but it would beat nothing.