Terms Which Have Disappeared

[KILO NOVEMBER]

'He gets the signal. Winds up! Putz let's go a high hard one!' hehehe

I walked carefully around that one. I wanted to say something along those lines, but I didn't have the nerve. You've got stones, brother.

 

[babygirl...]

ound:

 

[scottyrocks]

Well, I was just using references from two existing posts here. Nuttin' wrong wid dat! haha

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here are two now-extinct terms from social dancing: "full dance card", "taxi dancer".

 

[LizzieMaine]

This time of year, with college break in full swing, all the graduates of my concession staff come by the theatre to say hello and catch up, and there were so many of them around today that I commented it was "getting to be like Old Home Week around here." And nobody understood what I was saying.

For that matter, I haven't seen an actual Old Home Week in ages -- used to be every small town had a week in the summer where long-gone residents were encouraged to come back home for reunions, picnics, speeches and special events. I guess a world where people don't really "come from" anywhere anymore doesn't have room for such a tradition.

 

[rjb1]

Since they are college students they should be able to approximately translate "Old Home Week" to "Homecoming", which college alumni participate in. However, if they are on break now that means they haven't graduated, and possibly have not yet thought about going to their own "Homecoming".
When Homecoming happens here I always have a few of the recent graduates give a short presentation to the undergrads telling them how much harder things are out in the real world.

 

[Bugguy]

In the movie "Forever Young" (Mel Gibson) last night.

"Close but no cigar"

also the word "cheaters" which is referring to sunglasses .

Anyone know the origins or why they were referred as such.

Funny, I always used a cheater to refer to a pipe extension... put it on the handle of your "monkey wrench" to increase your leverage.

 

[Bugguy]

My father always referred to someone as being "able to screw up a two-car funeral".

 

[Zombie_61]

Funny, I always used a cheater to refer to a pipe extension... put it on the handle of your "monkey wrench" to increase your leverage.

I've used it in that context as well. That's the "problem" with a term like "cheater"--it could be used in any number of circumstances.

My father always referred to someone as being "able to screw up a two-car funeral".

I've never heard that one before, but you can be sure it's going into my rotation of wisecracks! :yo:

 

[Stanley Doble]

The thing you use for leverage is more properly a "cheater pipe".

Speaking of pipes, does anyone remember "pipe dream" or "hitting the pipe" for someone with too much imagination? As in, smoking an opium pipe?

 

[jamespowers]

The thing you use for leverage is more properly a "cheater pipe".

Speaking of pipes, does anyone remember "pipe dream" or "hitting the pipe" for someone with too much imagination? As in, smoking an opium pipe?

Out here, I see it all the time.....:doh:

 

[scottyrocks]

The thing you use for leverage is more properly a "cheater pipe".

My Dad and I refer to it as a 'breaker bar.'

 

[Stearmen]

My father always referred to someone as being "able to screw up a two-car funeral".

I remember that one.

 

[HudsonHawk]

My Dad and I refer to it as a 'breaker bar.'

A "cheater pipe" or "cheater bar" is an improvised breaker bar. The safety man frowns upon the use of the former.

 

[KayEn78]

Oh yes, I've heard "Old Home Week" used quite a bit on OTR shows. I had an idea of what it meant, but now I know for sure!

 

[Nobert]

One term I still haven't got quite a handle on is, "no better than he/she ought to be." Seems to be a euphemism for someone of lax morals or (in the case of a woman) virtue, but I haven't quite nailed it down from context.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

One term I still haven't got quite a handle on is, "no better than he/she ought to be." Seems to be a euphemism for someone of lax morals or (in the case of a woman) virtue, but I haven't quite nailed it down from context.

I think this one is "chiefly British" and not North American. The only places I have read or heard it is in British TV or books. The inference I drew from the context was that the subject was some sort of "low" person whose behavior was exactly the unsatisfactory sort that the speaker expected from such a person.

 

[Stanley Doble]

"no better than she ought to be" referring to loose morals. This was current in the US in the 30s although it may have been old fashioned by then, at least it has a Victorian ring to it.

James Thurber did a cartoon in the 30s with the caption "She didn't used to be any better than she ought to be, but she is now".

 

[Bugguy]

When trying to have a teaching moment with my teenage daughter, i'd either be "talking to the wall" or my comments would "go in one ear and out the other".


Another one my father would use when I was trying to spin a tale was "If stands stiff on fifty-fifth". I could never quite figure out his point. Sixty years later, I still can't.

 

[Stearmen]

Another one that would be misconstrued today, "I creamed him last night!"