Note: I got this in an email and thought this group would enjoy.

FENDER SKIRTS

I know some of you will not understand this message, but I bet you know someone who might.
I came across this phrase yesterday. 'FENDER SKIRTS.'


A term I haven't heard in a long time, and 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.' (AKA) 'suicide knob,' 'neckers knobs.'


Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first.

Any kids will probably have to find some older 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.' Many today do not even know what a clutch is or that the dimmer switch used to be on the floor.


Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the 'running board' up to the house?


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 'world wide' 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 his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.



When was 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.

I always loved going to the 'picture show,' but I considered 'movie' an affectation.


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 'Coffee maker.' 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 'Electrolux.' 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 kids with Castor oil anymore.


Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is 'supper.' Now everybody says 'dinner.' Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.

Good stuff! Tina and I were bummed out when we saw the post coming to an end! So long now!

Here's some good ones from the Sooner State....

The local place where movies are shown is
pronounced, "theee-aa-ter".

Another popular phrase about a very dependable car is, "I wouldn't be afraid to drive that car all the way to California" in reference to many Okies going west during the dustbowl...

I actually had kids from my youth group ask,
"What is that "thang" on the floor", in reference to the dimmer switch on my 50,000 mile 1983 Suburban....also others have commented about the Surburban, "the steering feels funny" .....they aren't used to the full-time, steer with your finger, knumb-feeling power steering....

Or one other...the kids thought it was "so cool" where the rear window "disappeared" down into the tailgate

AHHHHHHH......the joys of yesteryear!!!!

My bus, my truck, and my sports car all have the dimmer switch on the floor. My jeep doesn't.

barly pop (beer) strong arm streering ( no power)
4 window 55 cooling (no air)
roasting ears (corn on the cob )
and of course ankle breaker for the harly riders would be an old knuckle head
from the midwest grew up in No.Dak. family from Iowa

I grew up in the car business......anyone wanna take a shot at what "Shaker with ice" was???

quote:

the dimmer switch used to be on the floor.

...so was the starter switch, on some cars it was moved under the "gas pedal" or maybe it was the clutch. In order to activate the starter you had to put the pedal all the way to the floor. ...OK, OK it was under the clutch pedal, logically, so that you could not attempt to start with the X-mission engaged

we enjoy a subscription to the "Reminisce" magazine, usually full of wonderful pics and stories from yesteryear. Even we grew up in different countries we talk about the times when the phones were all black rotary dial, the colas came in glass bottles, cars had metal bumpers, no cell phone, vcr, fax, email ...
no remote control for Tv. our 1960 bus proudly sported a sticker "air-conditioned", no power steering ... yesterday when I was young

quote:

Originally posted by noble97monarch:
I grew up in the car business......anyone wanna take a shot at what "Shaker with ice" was???

I'll guess that it's a standard shift car with air conditioning???

quote:

I'll guess that it's a standard shift car with air conditioning???

A man with some class! Bingo.

And if it had aftermarket air it was?

uuuhh, just remembered double clutching and it was NOT a semi truck... how did I survive my childhood on the backseat of an Austin with no seatbelts, headrests or airbag?

Starter switches were both under the clutch and under the gas pedal...I think Buick was the primary make under the gas pedal...

Do you remember the 50's Hudsons where you lifted up on the hydramatic gear selector to activate the starter?

quote:

Originally posted by noble97monarch:

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!

I remember Rat Fink from the '50s as an Ed Roth character. Just a bit of Beatnik art, with no negative connotations. Somewhere in the '60s, it became a negative term, with no reference to Mr. Roth. He striped a helmet or two for me, when Von Dutch couldn't be found. Or didn't want to be.

I want to clarify....I don't remember the 1950's Hudson's...they were 5 years before my time!!!

A funny story....About 25 years ago, when I was a bratty, newly married, out of college and just starting my business. I was also an old car fanatic. I had a really neat client, Tom, who was in his 70's, who owned a local salvage yard and also was an antique car junkie....

One day I was out, drove by and stopped at Tom's.
He was always trading antique cars. He had just traded for this 1956 Hudson Hornet. He said, "Go out, and start that Hudson and bring it in the shop." I know he was watching me and after 15 minutes, I gave up and came back and confessed I couldn't find the starter switch. Tom saunters over, PULLS UP on the Hydramatic selector and the old gal fires right up.....

quote:

Originally posted by K&E:
I want to clarify....I don't remember the 1950's Hudson's...they were 5 years before my time!!!

A funny story....About 25 years ago, when I was a bratty, newly married, out of college and just starting my business. I was also an old car fanatic. I had a really neat client, Tom, who was in his 70's, who owned a local salvage yard and also was an antique car junkie....

One day I was out, drove by and stopped at Tom's.
He was always trading antique cars. He had just traded for this 1956 Hudson Hornet. He said, "Go out, and start that Hudson and bring it in the shop." I know he was watching me and after 15 minutes, I gave up and came back and confessed I couldn't find the starter switch. Tom saunters over, PULLS UP on the Hydramatic selector and the old gal fires right up.....

The 56 Hudson Hornet was a Nash. i seem to remember both the Hudson six and the Packard V8 in them. The last true Hudson was the 54. Waaaah.

My Hornet had Three on the Tree, with OD.