Terms Which Have Disappeared

[tonyb]

L7

I suspect that most here are old enough to dig its meaning.

Curiosity had me looking up earliest known references to L7, and in so doing I learned that among certain segments of the population it refers to the same thing as 69, although specifically involving people of the same sex. One can easily imagine how that, um, came about.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That originated as mid-forties bobby-soxer slang. Another way to describe a drip, a drag, or someone who doesn't dig Frankieeeeeeeee.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^
Folk etymologies being what they are, it’s difficult to know for certain just how the phrase came into being.

I’ve read that it was popular among black youngsters before gaining traction in the wider culture.

For the benefit of the few among us who don’t already know, an L and a 7 placed together make a square (sort of). Make an L with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand, do the same maneuver with the right hand but turn it upside down. Then put the two together. See? It’s a rectangle, if not quite a square, but we’re talking slang here, not geometry class.

In my circles, back in the mists of time, “square” meant “cigarette” (among other things). It was what the squares smoked, as opposed to reefers. I must’ve heard “Let me bum a square off you” at least a thousand times.

 

[tonyb]

“Adam’s off ox”

I’m tempted to use the phrase myself, because it is kinda poetic, on account of its assonance, mostly, but I fear it would come across as affected coming from me, seeing how I’m not truly a Southerner (I can’t recall ever hearing anyone BUT a Southerner make the utterance), and I’m at least one generation too young for it to have been a part of my everyday working repertoire.

I have said, and will continue to say, “I wouldn’t know him from Adam,” and variations thereon. The addition of his “off ox” is an intensifier. But while most modern people know what an ox is, even if the only ox they’ve ever seen is that blue one in a children’s book, they’d likely have no idea what the off ox would be.

 

[tonyb]

Kibosh

Not truly disappeared, but it’s becoming less common.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I used that the other day, in the sense of "cancel such and such an activity" and got a blank look. "Sh*tcan it," I said, and got a nod of understanding.

 

[tonyb]

Skosh, which is similar to smidge, although I’ve usually heard skosh used in reference to spatial measures and smidge to recipe amounts, but not exclusively.

 

[Haversack]

Skosh, which is similar to smidge, although I’ve usually heard skosh used in reference to spatial measures and smidge to recipe amounts, but not exclusively.

I picked 'skosh' up while in the army. Its from the Korean work 'sukoshi' which means 'a small amount'. As far as I know it came into US military lingo via the Korean War and subsequent deployments there.

 

[Haversack]

Kibosh

'

'

 

[Harp]

'Hubba hubba.' Yiddish for hurry or on the double.

101st Airborne vernacular.

 

[BobHufford]

Cipher / Ciphering as the archaic meaning "do arithmetic".

 

[Doctor Strange]

Harp, I don't think you're right about "Hubba hubba" coming from Yiddish. I've looked in the resources below and can't find it. What's the connection to the 101st?

A Historical Dictionary of American Slang - alphaDictionary.com

Yiddish Glossary - The Gantseh Megillah (pass.to)

Home- Jewish English Lexicon (jewish-languages.org)

There's no definitive answer here either:

The Grammarphobia Blog: The sexy life of “hubba-hubba”

 

[Harp]

Harp, I don't think you're right about "Hubba hubba" coming from Yiddish. I've looked in the resources below and can't find it. What's the connection to the 101st?
”

Yiddish. Impressed by your research. Ex-101st Airborne; used since Division inception, usage Vietnam War.
Trust me Doc, lineage is solid as relayed by a topkick first sergeant. 'Hubba hubba. Listen up. Private Jones
has an attitude malfunction and I got a double sawbuck for any man wants to kick his sorry ass.'

Top always contracted the work out at formation, a crisp bill pinned to the orderly room bulletin board.
'OK Top. I got Jones. When you want it done, hubba hubba or slow?'
'Slow, let the motherf...er think about it for a day or two.'
'Gotcha Top. No hubba Jonesy.'

 

[tonyb]

“Sunday driver”

The phrase was frequently heard in my early years in the Upper Midwest, when it was still common to take leisurely journeys by motorcar through the countryside, mostly for its own recreational value, often with no particular destination in mind, and with no urgency to get wherever that might be. Such outings most often occurred on Sundays.

So a “Sunday driver” was one who would poke along on weekdays, when it seemed that every driver but him was in no mood to be stuck behind any vehicle traveling at a speed slower than the posted limit.

“Get a horse!” might be an epithet directed at the Sunday driver by other motorists.

 

[Bugguy]

When I was a kid and made a wishful comment preceded by"If", my father would say, "If stands stiff on fifty-fifth". I think another version is: "If stands stiff in a poor man's pocket". I think the latter more directly refers to "if I had money...".

However, my favorite that I still use is: "He could screw up a two car funeral".

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
In my world it was … “And if George Washington hadn’t died he’d still be alive today.”

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

^^^^^
In my world it was … “And if George Washington hadn’t died he’d still be alive today.”

For my father, it was "If the little dog hadn't stopped to void his bowels, he would have caught the rabbit."
But he really didn't say "void his bowels". It was words to that effect.

 

[Monte]

My dad would say, "More than you think," or not as much... very much the mind reader now that I think of it.

 

[Zombie_61]

...However, my favorite that I still use is: "He could screw up a two car funeral".

Our version of that is, "He/She could screw up a free lunch."

 

[tonyb]

For my father, it was "If the little dog hadn't stopped to void his bowels, he would have caught the rabbit."
But he really didn't say "void his bowels". It was words to that effect.

A friend used to say “If rabbits packed pistols dogs wouldn’t mess” (or a word to that effect) “with ’em.”