Colloquial expressions, idioms, and slang once common, now archaic…

[horseless carriage]

In a while, crocodile!
Don't care. Mix 'em up. They will all be passe sooner or later.

Maybe, but some do last a very long time. When I lived in London I remember a monkey was a popular slang term for £500. It was derived from the 500 Rupee banknote, which featured a monkey. The British empire's control of India led to a number of phrases making their way to our shores, with a 'monkey' perhaps the most famous. Referring to £500, this term is derived from the Indian 500 Rupee note of that era, which featured a monkey on one side. Although the ape has since been replaced, the phrase lives on.

 

[JBR]

A few more that have come to mind...

1970s: "don't mention that turkey to me!"
"dream on, dreamer" (said to someone deemed unrealistic... a Pollyanna)

Mid 1980s "Blew [it] out of the water!"

1990s & earlier? "Totally!" a single word to mean 'that's right' or 'I completely agree'
"brain fart"
And, from those irritable, readily upset or offended guys: "go piss up a rope!"

Early 2000s (I think) "factoid"

 

[Capt Lightning]

It's not over till the fat lady sings.

The 'bitter end' - this is a nautical term and refers to the rope, cable etc that remains inboard after it is secured to the 'bitts'. Hence - to the 'very last'.

 

[Pinky]

See you later, alligator - after awhile, crocodile

 

[JBR]

Colloquial in my region...
Early 2000s: "Lizzy and Peter have been 'an item' for years, right?" "That's ancient history. They 'parted the velcro' quite a while ago."

 

[Rakaia]

See you later, alligator - after awhile, crocodile

Not too soon, baboon.

 

[dobielvr]

Make like a tree...and leave.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

Talking about expressions that seem archaic, I remember those Bob Hope TV specials, where he'd come out dressed in a leather jacket, like Fonzi, with greasy black hair, and say "HEYYYY". But, by then, 'Happy Days' had been off the air for ten years.

 

[Capt Lightning]

A 'Brummie screwdriver' is a hammer. This is a rather unfair joke aimed at the inhabitants of Birmingham, UK. It implies that they use a hammer to drive in screws, rather than a screwdriver.

 

[Rae]

Everything is going to hell in a handbasket (it means that a situation is. rapidly deteriorating)

As fast as grease lightning (Something that is incredibly fast)

 

[sixstringman]

Your use of slang and similar expressions once popular but now obscure can date you pretty quickly. Most of us can remember “cool,” “far out!,” and “groovy, baby!” from the 1960’s, but how many remember the expression, “Now you’re cooking with gas!” This meant that you were on to something, or doing the latest, greatest thing…

What are some expressions from your past that you don’t hear people using much anymore, or it dates you if you do? Please translate their meaning if they’re likely to be obscure in today’s world…

Some expressions I've heard that are gone forever. "Funny as all get out" (line from a Ronald Raegan movie "King's Row") and "I can't kick". My mother told me that people used to say that instead of "I can't complain." Also, "that fish is old enough to vote" and "deaf as a haddock."

 

[JBR]

Some expressions I've heard that are gone forever. "Funny as all get out" (line from a Ronald Raegan movie "King's Row") and "I can't kick". My mother told me that people used to say that instead of "I can't complain." Also, "that fish is old enough to vote" and "deaf as a haddock."

"That fish is old enough to vote" is a great one! I think I found an example of that deep down in our freezer chest one time.

 

[Jules]

The funniest thing about some of these archaic expressions is that I still use them.

 

[JBR]

Another expression from the '90s occurred to me this morning: "Cut me some slack, will ya!" (Don't be so intolerant & rigid, or demanding.)

 

[stretch5881]

"I'm gonna swat you right in the snot locker."

 

[gruntlabor]

"I'm gonna swat you right in the snot locker."

Knuckle sandwich

 

[Fyrefox]

If everything's fab, we can have a gas. But if you blow some grass, watch out for the fuzz, or we might have to split. - - Can you dig it, foxy lady?

 

[Fyrefox]

The cast of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In themselves explain some of the changes in language that the 60’s brought. I kinda miss these guys…

 

[helenbacque]

If I had my druthers which means I’d rather have something else.

 

[TennVet]

Around where we live, if someone takes issue with something they have an expression for it. "that dog won't hunt"

Then again in the south you can basically call anyone out for doing something foolish if you follow it with, "bless his heart"

 

[RadishRose]

Your mother wears combat boots.

 

[gruntlabor]

Your grandmother wears a girdle.

 

[Raven]

She has a hard row to hoe.
Meaning a hard life to cope with.

 

[MarkD]

Started reading the first two pages but realized I’d forget what I was going to share if I kept that up.

Along the same lines a as “cool” earlier there was “neat” and “nifty” or neat-o and later “fresh”.

All express approval.

 

[Paco Dennis]

Started reading the first two pages but realized I’d forget what I was going to share if I kept that up.

Along the same lines a as “cool” earlier there was “neat” and “nifty” or neat-o and later “fresh”.

All express approval.

And as time marches on so does the idiom...because the very opposite means approval now. It's all in the delivery of the idiom. Like "I am really down with that". or "I think that new song is super bad." You got to be showing gestures that are approval orientated. We could almost replace any words if we had the right props to change it's meaning.