Terms Which Have Disappeared

My dad did not part with a dollar casually, but at some point in the '70s, he had a TV antenna installed on our roof and it was no less amazing than the parting of the sea. The rabbit ears provided so-so reception that required constant adjusting (usually by me) and, occasionally, somebody holding them in a certain position for the entire show or game (always me) just to get modestly acceptable reception.

But with the roof-top antenna, all the major channels (back then, the three networks, two local stations and PBS) came in perfectly. Within ten or so years, most people (not us) in the NY-metro area would have cable and none of this would matter, but at the time, the difference between rabbit-ears reception and roof-top-antenna reception was almost magical.

 

"You crab lice!"

Still common in the 90s, but disappeared.

 

Fit to be tied

 

That’s seen something of a resurgence recently, leastwise in my circles. It’s commonly abbreviated “boho” when referring to interior decor and attire and other such superficial matters.

A rug merchant friend, who also peddles vintage and antique furnishings, is all for it, of course.

If it were only artistic and literally types who adopted the fashion, I fear my friend would be driving Uber.

 

I love your last comment!

 

From the days of the 'British Raj' (the colonial era in India): a person who was a bit flaky (the equivalent of an anti-Vaxxer or a Brexiteer today) might be defined as 'not quite sixteen Annas to the Rupee'.
This was based on the currency of the day.

 

A momentary variation on a theme: what about words or expressions that go out of fashion and then suddenly, inexplicably, come back?
In the 70s, I remember that people were always 'popping in', but that phrase gradually disappeared, perhaps because it conjured up visions of Amyl Nitrate (poppers). Now suddenly it's everywhere again. As a property manager, I now find that tradesmen say that they'll 'pop in on Thursday'. Administrators of various kinds promise to pop things in emails or the post. TV chefs 'pop it in the oven'. Etc.
At work I have come to identify the phrase as a sign of inefficiency. When someone uses it, I know that they will be late or not do the job properly.

 

„Fräulein“

Being a formal form of address up to the 60s of last century, you are lucky not to get a nice slap in the face nowadays calling a young woman a „Fräulein“...

 

In England many years ago if someone was in financial difficulty or struggling they were said to be 'in queer street'. If they were so badly off there looked like no way out, they were 'a long way up queer street'. The American equivalent would be up shit creek, and up shit creek without a paddle.

 

The American English version of this would be, "A few cans short of a six-pack." The number of cans missing can be changed depending upon the severity of the insultee's condition, but it essentially means that person is somehow deficient (i.e., "comes up short").

 

Funnily enough I remember this phrase and I always think of it when I see Quality Street chocolates. The phrase went out of use because the word queer became a frequent homophobic slur applied to gay men. However it has now been ‘reclaimed’ so that we have queer film festivals, queer art, etc.

‘In LGBTQI Street’ wouldn’t have the same resonance, I suspect.

 

‘You need to pull your socks up’: said to someone being lazy or inefficient.

 

That's interesting. I wonder if it was one of the Entebbe movies.
Amin would have picked up that phrase from his British military training. When he came to power, he appeared to be Anglophile and pro-western (as his background and training would have suggested) and so the direction he took came as a surprise to many.

 

I'm sorry I missed the link. I remember this movie. We have benefited a lot in the UK from the presence of the Ugandan Asians, many of whom were expelled from the country by Idi Amin (although the policy actually started under Milton Obote).

 

You're correct, that would be a bit of a mouthful.



Yeah, I know what I said. Write your own jokes.

 

Wheel for bicycle and wheelman for a bicycle enthusiast. I believe this was current slang in the late 19th C and I heard it used by some very old relatives.

In a similar way, here in Canada any small imported car was an English car in the late forties and early fifties

 

‘Buck your ideas up.’

Similar meaning to ‘pull your socks up’ (see above).