Terms Which Have Disappeared

[ChrisB]

Yup. And some still insist that "furrin-made" durable goods are by default less durable than the stuff made stateside. But then, these days determining where such goods are actually made isn't always so easy. A car might be "made in the USA," meaning its final assembly might take place here, but the components come from hither and yon.

I frequently encounter the phrase assembled in America from foreign and domestic parts. To be labeled made in the US, it must contain "virtually all" domestic parts.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard

 

[LizzieMaine]

The most "American-made" car on the market right now, meaning assembled in the US from parts manufactured in the US is the Toyota Camry.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The most "American-made" car on the market right now, meaning assembled in the US from parts manufactured in the US is the Toyota Camry.

 

[ChrisB]

Remember when "made in Japan" meant cheap and shoddy?

China seems to have inherited that reputation. While there is a vast quantity of cheap junk produced there, there are some good quality items made in China.

 

[tonyb]

I frequently encounter the phrase assembled in America from foreign and domestic parts. To be labeled made in the US, it must contain "virtually all" domestic parts.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard

Either enforcement is lax or interpretation is squishy. I happen to have an example of a cheapish straw hat which was marketed to the golf crowd. I am almost certain the hat body was woven in Ecuador. The tag reads "Made in USA."

And then there are all those garments sewn in sweatshops on the Mariana Islands that carry tags reading "Made in USA."

 

[tonyb]

China seems to have inherited that reputation. While there is a vast quantity of cheap junk produced there, there are some good quality items made in China.

Among the things one of my insurance coverages DOESN'T cover is damage caused to the building or its components and occupants by Chinese-made drywall. A cursory search indicates that some of it off-gasses some nasty stuff, which corrodes copper (plumbing and electrical wiring) and doesn't do people any favors, either.

 

[Zombie_61]

I can't say that I ever knew anyone who self identified as a "hippie".

I know a few people who still do.

...A car might be "made in the USA," meaning its final assembly might take place here, but the components come from hither and yon.

My father-in-law, who was born in Italy in 1913 and emmigrated to the U.S. in his teens, was adamant about owning only "American" cars. During a conversation about this in the late 1980s he was rather surprised when I mentioned almost every car company, including Ford, GM, and Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth, outsourced various components for their cars from all over the world. He thought about it for a moment, then asked "But they still build them here (in the U.S.), right?" When I answered, "Yes, as far as I know," he replied, "Well, that's good enough for me." He could be opinionated, but he was also very reasonable.

 

[BlueTrain]

Another way to look at it, if it isn't made where you live, then it's imported.

People can apply twisted logic to their thinking about imported products. In some circles, British-made products get a pass. In fact, they're even preferred for some people. German-made products have always had an excellent reputation, too, probably deserved, but some things are expensive. We just bought a new Volkswagen station wagon a month ago. It wasn't expensive, though. It was made in Mexico.

 

[MisterCairo]

Remember when "made in Japan" meant cheap and shoddy?

Japan then was like China now. Made in Taiwan is also becoming less common. It's not just Europe and North America that's losing out to the Chinese juggernaut!

 

[MisterCairo]

Another way to look at it, if it isn't made where you live, then it's imported.

People can apply twisted logic to their thinking about imported products. In some circles, British-made products get a pass. In fact, they're even preferred for some people. German-made products have always had an excellent reputation, too, probably deserved, but some things are expensive. We just bought a new Volkswagen station wagon a month ago. It wasn't expensive, though. It was made in Mexico.

Our new "Japanese" Toyota Highlander was assembled in Indiana, with parts from the US, Japan and Canada and Mexico.

 

[BlueTrain]

Something about spring on another forum reminded me of something my father used to say when someone was dressing for warm weather that hadn't quite arrived yet. He would say that was "pushing the season."

He also described one of our neighbors who was rather quick to punish his so as "high-strung."

After my mother died, my father remarried. My new step-mother was from the country and we moved there (all of about 35 miles away) when I was still in high school. I heard all sorts of countrified expressions that I've never heard anywhere else, although I can't remember that many of them. They were a surprisingly easy-going group of people and nobody cursed. All their expressions, like "whopper-jawed," were exaggerated and always used for humorous effect. Some of their humor was quite adult, though, which I thought was curious since most of them were devoted church-goers. If anyone thinks the sort of humor you saw on the Beverly Hillbillies or Green Acres was fake, think again. Of course, nobody was rich and nobody had a really old pickup truck.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Lum, of Lum and Abner, used to exclaim "By the Great I Am," which was an extremely Old Testament oath with the whiff of absolute 19th Century authenticity about it. The censors finally got around to figuring out the Biblical reference and made him stop.

 

[BlueTrain]

Never heard that one but just like on Lum & Abner, my father referred to a little general store that also housed the local post office as a "jot-'em-down store. He even referred to the tiny collection of houses and other buildings as a "settlement." He was quite serious in his choice of words and was not trying to be humorous. At the time, which was the spring of 1964, we were still on a party line, although I don't remember what our ring was.

I also vividly remember coming home from school one day a year or two earlier to discover that one of those new-fangled coiled cords had been installed on our telephone, instead of the old plain and straight cord. But it still sounded the same when somebody called. I remember my stepmother asking me if I noticed anything different in the house. I couldn't find anything different until it was pointed out.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I lived for 20 years in the southern Appalachians and there, people did not go to town to "shop." They went to "trade."

 

[kaiser]

In northeast Indiana in the late 1960's the term "trade" was still used when refering to shopping

 

[Trenchfriend]

Nieselregen (drizzle). This old fashion-term isn't that much around, in Germany of today.

 

[BlueTrain]

Are there still tea dances with dance cards and a live band?

 

[HudsonHawk]

I did have one friend who literally did the Miami Vice pastels, jacket with tee and rolled up sleeves. At least for a brief time, about grade 12 (1985 or so).

Since this simply won't go away, I guess I'll have to fess up. From 1986:

Yes, that's me, and no I'm not proud of myself.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Wow..coulda swore it was Donnie & Marie....

 

[Fading Fast]

Nieselregen (drizzle). This old fashion-term isn't that much around, in Germany of today.

You might need to find the German-language Fedora Lounge equivalent to get confirmation on the nuance of German words disappearing from usage. While I'm kinda kidding, I often think when reading some of your posts that they would play better to an audience experienced with German culture - is there a German-language equivalent to Fedora Lounge?