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."