Fender Skirts....

Fender Skirts ---days gone by


What a great blast from the past! I haven't thought about fender skirts in years. When I was a kid,I considered it such a funny term.

Made me think of a car in a dress. Thinking about fender skirts started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice.

Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."

`I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed."

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore-"store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "worldwide" for granted. This floors me.

On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered their hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.

When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply"expecting."

Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now. "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.

It's hard to recall that this word was once said in a whisper -"divorce." And no one is called a "divorcee" anymore. Certainly not a "gay divorcee." Come to think of it, "confirmed bachelors" and "career girls" are long gone, too.

Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffeemaker." How dull. Mr.Coffee, I blame you for this.

I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like DynaFlow" and "ElectraLuxe."

Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!" Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening their kids with castor oil anymore.

Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list.

The one that grieves me most - "supper." Now everybody says "dinner".



Save a great word. Invite someone to "supper. Discuss fender skirts.
Someone forwarded this to me, and I thought some of us of a "certain age" would remember most of these

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HI
"Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. "

What about Bra the short version its now something you can put on your car [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]
Thanks for the trip back I my self had forgotten about some of those words and phraises.

Tim [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_spin.gif[/img]
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[quote]
On 2004-11-04 09:04, FEandGoingBroke wrote:
Fender Skirts ---days gone by


Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

[quote/]

Now you get picked on for having curb feelers. But have seen a few of late.


<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."

`I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed."

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I still call it an emergency brake.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img] At one point in the ownership of the Shotrod, it was my only brake.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

My dad still calls it a foot feed and I did when I was still living around home. Had forgotten all about that one.

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On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered their hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I've always hated carpet, but it was ok in a van.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]


<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>

Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I remember my mom calling us kids ratfinks![img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]


<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>

Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffeemaker." How dull. Mr.Coffee, I blame you for this.

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

It was a percolator to me until I was in my teens, at least on camping trips when we used the old metal coffee pot with the glass 'bulb' on top to make coffee.

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The one that grieves me most - "supper." Now everybody says "dinner".

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I've thought of that one also. When talking to my family they still call it "supper" and Don does now and then. It just kind of fades away. Like "pop", "coke" and "soda". Everywhere I've been almost, mostly every where but the upper mid states, people call it "soda". Back home in Oregon it is pop, at least in my family. I remember telling my mom "I wanna pop!" And my mom replying "come over here and I'll pop ya one!".[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] A metal or plastic spatula used to be a pancake turner to me. A spatula you use to scrape the last of the mayo out of a jar or the last of the cake batter into a cake pan which i think these days is called a baking dish.

The english language and it's terms sure gets confusing if you try to think about it!

Deb

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2004-11-04 09:04, FEandGoingBroke wrote:
Fender Skirts ---days gone by

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I believe this changed with the introduction of the dual master cyl.
The powers that be figured that with the split brake system the chance of both the front and rear brakes failing at the same time was very remote and the remaining system would stop the vehicle in an emergency. Then started calling the "emergency brake" the "parking brake".
I would think that they also didn't want anyone to think their new vehicles were so poor that they would need an "emergency brake"
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I've always hated carpet, but it was ok in a van.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]


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Heheheheheeee......[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]

Good one Deb.[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
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ice box

How bout "three on the tree".
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How about hub cap vs. wheel cover [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img]
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drive shaft, drive line.