Terms Which Have Disappeared

[LizzieMaine]

"Sciatica" is a much uglier word that so perfectly fits what it feels like. "Lumbago" always sounded like a character in a dialect joke told by Jimmy Durante in 1945.

 

[Zombie_61]

Now that it's been mentioned, I think I should start using "Lumbago" whenever someone asks about my back problems. It's much less of a mouthful than "Post Laminectomy Syndrome", "Lumbar Spondylosis", and/or "Spinal Stenosis".

 

[TimeWarpWife]

"Sciatica" is a much uglier word that so perfectly fits what it feels like. "Lumbago" always sounded like a character in a dialect joke told by Jimmy Durante in 1945.

My dh refers to it as his "psychotic" nerve.

 

[Upgrade]

Perry Mason mentioned "bursitis" a couple times.

Horse liniment is also a bit dated as a treatment.

 

[Zombie_61]

Perry Mason mentioned "bursitis" a couple times...

"Bursitis" is a little more definitive because, if correctly diagnosed, they know what it is, why it causes pain, and how to treat it. But I would agree that we don't hear the term used in general conversation as much these days, probably because it sounds like an "old person" ailment and so many people live in denial about the fact that they're aging.

...Horse liniment is also a bit dated as a treatment.

That's a good one! I think it has fallen out of favor simply because the companies that produce over-the-counter liniments and ointments and such for humans realized they were missing out on that segment of the market, so they concocted a variety of "designer" products that did the same thing, flooded the market with them, and convinced us they were "better" and "safer" for treating whatever ails us than products made for animals. And it worked. As Miss Lizzie might say, "The Boys from Marketing strike again!"

 

[BlueTrain]

"Good for all ailments man or beast and as an added bonus, it makes your coat sleek and shiny.

 

[tonyb]

"Bursitis" is a little more definitive because, if correctly diagnosed, they know what it is, why it causes pain, and how to treat it. But I would agree that we don't hear the term used in general conversation as much these days, probably because it sounds like an "old person" ailment and so many people live in denial about the fact that they're aging. ..,

Had my first bursitis flareup at, like, 30. The worst sustained pain I had experienced up to that point. Haven't had one in quite some time -- a decade or more, I guess.

 

[Upgrade]

There's a lot of old medical procedures that have passed from the popular lexicon for better or for worse because of changing attitudes towards efficacy, safety, or simply more effective alternatives.

Painting tonsils, glass eyes, Wassermann test, Hogben test, nurse's hats, glass IV bottles, sanitary belts...to name a few from past publications that would be unfamiliar today.

Though I'm curious about how public restrooms fared in the Era with all the various accoutrements and straps common to the clothing of the period.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

When was the last time that, when you had trouble taking an important step, someone assured you that you were "free, white and twenty-one." ?

 

[BlueTrain]

When was the last time that, when you had trouble taking an important step, someone assured you that you were "free, white and twenty-one." ?

When my wife and I were shopping for engagement and wedding rings at a jewelry store in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1978. I'd never heard the expression before.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My mother used to use that expression all the time whenever anybody tried to tell her not to do something. These days she just says "f*** you" when anybody tries to tell her not to do something. I guess that's kind of an improvement.

 

[Fading Fast]

When was the last time that, when you had trouble taking an important step, someone assured you that you were "free, white and twenty-one." ?

In a somewhat similar vein, occasionally in old movies or books from the '20s - '40, I'll come across the expression "that's very white of him," meaning, from context, honest, decent, fair.

 

[Zombie_61]

In a somewhat similar vein, occasionally in old movies or books from the '20s - '40, I'll come across the expression "that's very white of him," meaning, from context, honest, decent, fair.

I've heard some form of this here and there over the years, usually a sarcastic "That's mighty white of you" when someone unexpectedly does something nice for someone else. But until yesterday I had never heard or read "Free, white, and twenty-one".

 

[ChiTownScion]

I've heard some form of this here and there over the years, usually a sarcastic "That's mighty white of you" when someone unexpectedly does something nice for someone else.

That expression always reminds me of the verse from Kipling's Gunga Din:

"With ‘is mussick on ‘is back,
‘E would skip with our attack,
An’ watch us till the bugles made “Retire”,
An’ for all ‘is dirty ‘ide
‘E was white, clear white, inside
When ‘e went to tend the wounded under fire! "

 

[Trenchfriend]

"Bursitis" "

So, say it in German:

"SCHLEIMBEUTEL-ENTZÜNDUNG"

PS:
And I really know, how that feels, in the (both) knees! I combated it myself with cold Kneipp-affusions at home.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've heard some form of this here and there over the years, usually a sarcastic "That's mighty white of you" when someone unexpectedly does something nice for someone else. But until yesterday I had never heard or read "Free, white, and twenty-one".

"Mighty White" has enjoyed a reivval in recent years in such a sarcastic way, usually in the sense of someone who expects a lot more credit than they're entitled to for doing some small favor for someone they've disadvantaged in the past. An interesting adaptation of an "old timey" phrase.

 

[Deacon211]

First post outside the Outerwear forum, but occasionally seem to find myself here.

Just caught Joe Smith American on TCM and was caught unawares by the "Bellamy Salute" during the Pledge of Allegiance. Wow.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...-no-one-wanted-to-look-like-a-nazi-180960100/


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BlueTrain]

From reading the article, it also sounds like our cherished traditions aren't really all that old. It also sounds like we're being forced to appreciate our freedoms.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep. And it's been controversial as long as it's existed. One of the most furiously-debated domestic issues of the mid-1930s was compulsory flag saluting, with critics arguing that the practice was something right out of the Nazi playbook -- not just the raised arm salute, but the whole idea of forcing children to "pay honor" to the flag.

There was a long string of court cases in the late 1930s stemming from the refusal of Jehovah's Witnesses to salute the flag -- they consider such an act to be idolatry -- and in 1940 there was a coast-to-coast wave of mob actions against them, including cases of arson, beatings, tar-and-feathering, forced marches, castration and attempted lynching, such actions usually led by the American Legion and other "patriots." The rioting got so bad that the Attorney General had to go on the air and demand an end to it. Finally, in 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that schools, or any other Government authority, cannot compel anyone to salute the flag in any way, and that's remained the law of the land ever since.

 

[Upgrade]

Out of the "traditional" Christmas songs, very few are much older than 50, let alone dating from the Victorians.