# Words that are Seldom Used Today!



## Mike (Mar 9, 2021)

I used to be "Impecunious", but now I am "Gruntled".

Mike.


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## horseless carriage (Mar 9, 2021)

Someone with a conceited type of nature who likes to be centre stage was once described as "vainglorious."
In today's dumbed down society I have heard that type of person is now said to be:"giving it large."
I couldn't think of a more vulgar way of putting it.

I know politics are banned but this just too good to miss. Snollygoster: "A shrewd, unprincipled person, especially a politician." 
Ha! that freaked my spellchecker.


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 9, 2021)

''sock it to me"


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 9, 2021)

actually, a very good topic for discussion

a couple of faves of mine from way back when:


if something was really good we would say,  "wow, that's* boss*"


or if someone was not quite aware of what's going on or was non conformist, we would say he's  '' *square*       ''


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## Murrmurr (Mar 9, 2021)

Then, ostentatious; now, full of herself/himself or bragger. (not braggart, btw; it's now bragger)


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## IrisSenior (Mar 9, 2021)

Feeling Groovy...


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## Pinky (Mar 9, 2021)

snazzy .. as in that (hot) car is snazzy!


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## Feelslikefar (Mar 9, 2021)

Bogart - to hog all the food, drink and hanging on to that 'other stuff' way too long.


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## RadishRose (Mar 10, 2021)

I've never heard it, but I've read it several times- "Land o' Goshen".

*Land* *o'* *Goshen*! old-fashioned A mild exclamation of surprise, alarm, dismay, annoyance, or exasperation. In the Bible, *Goshen* was the region in Egypt inhabited by the Israelites until the Exodus. Primarily heard in US.


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## SetWave (Mar 10, 2021)

Pinky said:


> snazzy .. as in that (hot) car is snazzy!


I use snazzy a lot. Of course I'm far from the leader of the lexicon...


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## Mike (Mar 10, 2021)

Yesterday I suffered badly from "Ennui", today
I hope to become "voluptuary".

Mike.


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## horseless carriage (Mar 10, 2021)

Ennui is a word that I still use. It's often used in context with being out of work. Voluptuary is a great word for articulating physical intimacy. So Mike, yesterday you were on a downer, today it looks like your luck's in.


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## Pinky (Mar 10, 2021)

rapscallion .. I always think of green onions


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## horseless carriage (Mar 10, 2021)

Pinky said:


> rapscallion .. I always think of green onions


Did you know that rapscallion, first used in the 1600's, was originally rascallion, a fancier version of rascal? You will see it in Shakespeare's play: "A Comedy of Errors."


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## Feelslikefar (Mar 10, 2021)

Used the term '*Primo*' a lot in High School to indicate something awesome
and was also the local beer where I lived. 
A Dual Threat!


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## MrPants (Mar 10, 2021)

Please
Thank You


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## Jules (Mar 10, 2021)

What do these young Whippersnappers know.


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## horseless carriage (Mar 10, 2021)

MrPants said:


> Please
> Thank You


Youwot!


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## Mike (Mar 11, 2021)

Some people are "facetious" so
"henceforth" they will be ignored.

Mike.


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## Tommy (Mar 11, 2021)

Other than following the word "no", how often do you hear people use the word "joy" in normal conversation lately?


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## Kathleen’s Place (Mar 11, 2021)

Persnickety


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## Feelslikefar (Mar 11, 2021)

Mom would say, " you boys better not track mud on Grand Ma's kitchen floor or she'll have a  *Conniption Fit*!
Sure sounded scary.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Mar 11, 2021)

Feelslikefar said:


> Mom would say, " you boys better not track mud on Grand Ma's kitchen floor or she'll have a  *Conniption Fit*!
> Sure sounded scary.


Oh yes, conniption fits were definitely not a “Martha Stewart Good Thing!”


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## Ronni (Mar 11, 2021)

These days something that will burn easily is flammable. When I was young, something that would burn easily was inflammable, which term has fallen out of use because the general public misunderstood the word to mean NOT flammable. 



From Merriam Webster: “While *flammable* is the preferred modern term for a material that catches fire readily, *inflammable* has the same meaning. The opposite, a material that won't burn easily, is either not-*flammable* or non-*flammable*. Examples of *flammable* materials include wood, kerosene, and alcohol.”


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## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 11, 2021)

Nip it.  I think that one came from the Andy Griffith show from back it the 50s.


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## Kathleen’s Place (Mar 11, 2021)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> Nip it.  I think that one came from the Andy Griffith show from back it the 50s.


Nip it in the bud


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## ProTruckDriver (Mar 11, 2021)

"Two Bits" which is 25 cents in the US.


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## Rosemarie (Mar 11, 2021)

Penny chews....gobstoppers.....Spanish....whim-whams.....


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## Gaer (Mar 11, 2021)

davenport or linolium


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## Gaer (Mar 11, 2021)

ProTruckDriver said:


> "Two Bits" which is 25 cents in the US.


two bits, four bits, six bits a dollar    Is this old?  I still say this..
hahaha!  Well, I'm old!


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## Pinky (Mar 11, 2021)

Do people still use the word "conundrum" and "scallywag"?


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## StarSong (Mar 11, 2021)

Pinky said:


> Do people still use the word "conundrum" and "scallywag"?



Not sure about conundrum, but I'm going to start using scallywag!


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## Gaer (Mar 11, 2021)

whippersnapper
whiffletree  I actually have one of those!


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## timoc (Mar 11, 2021)

Gigolo.

A male escort wanting to use an assumed name that ladies would remember, came up with the name, 'Dick Everard'.  Brilliant or what.


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## RubyK (Mar 18, 2021)

ice box
groovy
beau
super!
stewardess
bread box


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## RadishRose (Mar 18, 2021)

Pinky said:


> rapscallion .. I always think of green onions


Yes!!!


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## RadishRose (Mar 18, 2021)

Daddie-o


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## StarSong (Mar 19, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Daddie-o


A friend of mine (in her mid-30s) calls her stepfather Daddie-O.  I think it's so adorable.


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## SetWave (Mar 19, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Daddie-o


My son and daughter-in-law have been calling me Daddy-O for years and I love it.


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## dobielvr (Mar 19, 2021)

out of sight....or today it may sound like 'way better'


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## StarSong (Mar 19, 2021)

Anybody remember using "Boss-A"?


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## Pinky (Mar 19, 2021)

ragamuffin


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## StarSong (Mar 19, 2021)

Pinky said:


> ragamuffin


I still use that one!


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## Pinky (Mar 19, 2021)

nincompoop .. I admit to using this term - geez, I must be getting old!


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 19, 2021)

without any doubt, the koolest character in TV history was Kookie of *77 Sunset Strip*:













whenever he liked anything he would call it  "ginchy".  and if it was really good, he'd call it the "ginchiest"


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## StarSong (Mar 19, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> without any doubt, the koolest character in TV history was Kookie of *77 Sunset Strip*:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I remember him well, but didn't recall that term.  
When I moved to Los Angeles one of the first things I wanted to do was go to 77 Sunset Strip.  Such a disappointment to learn that Dino's Lodge was no longer owned by Dean Martin and the address wasn't 77.  
It was rude awakening to the realities of how show business massages reality.


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## dobielvr (Mar 19, 2021)

Pinky said:


> nincompoop .. I admit to using this term - geez, I must be getting old!


This reminds me of 'knucklehead' ^^^^

Kookie kookie lend me your comb


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## horseless carriage (Mar 19, 2021)

Pinky said:


> ragamuffin


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 20, 2021)

StarSong said:


> I remember him well, but didn't recall that term.
> When I moved to Los Angeles one of the first things I wanted to do was go to 77 Sunset Strip.  Such a disappointment to learn that Dino's Lodge was no longer owned by Dean Martin and the address wasn't 77.
> It was rude awakening to the realities of how show business massages reality.





KOOKIE, KOOKIE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? - Sun Sentinel (sun-sentinel.com)


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## Pappy (Mar 20, 2021)

Much obliged, instead of thank you.


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## terry123 (Mar 20, 2021)

My dad used to say 2 bits, etc.  He thought everybody knew what they meant.  I would listen to him and his brothers talk that way and it was a long time before I knew what they meant.


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## StarSong (Mar 20, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> KOOKIE, KOOKIE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? - Sun Sentinel (sun-sentinel.com)


I can't access the article.  Thanks anyway.


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## ProTruckDriver (Mar 20, 2021)

RubyK said:


> ice box
> bread box


I still sometimes use these words.


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 20, 2021)

StarSong said:


> I can't access the article.  Thanks anyway.




here it is in full:


First, the hair. It is still thick, honey brown and styled to perfection.
But Edd Byrnes says all he does is wash and comb his once-famous mane, and that's it. Good genes more than good grooming mean he still has a lot of it. And at 58, that's saying something.
Now he'll have to gray it for his upcoming role in Brigadoon, and that makes him laugh out loud. After all, he's in Fort Lauderdale to do this bit with a group called the Fort Lauderdale Players, and seasoned actor that he is, he still has the hair of his youth.
No big deal, he says of this community theater gig. It's a job, it pays the bills and that's where his life is at the moment.
The fact is that Byrnes' life story is a pop-culture dividing line. If you remember him at the top, you also remember when Elvis was in the Army and Ike was in the White House and the Hula Hoop was the hottest thing going.
And so was Edd "Kookie" Byrnes.
For those who don't remember, or who weren't even born yet, it was 1958 and a hit TV series about two private eyes called 77 Sunset Strip was playing on black-and-white televisions across the country.
Byrnes played a good-looking, jive-talking parking attendant who worked at a restaurant next to the detectives' office. Kookie, as he was called, was a private eye wanna-be who helped the duo on their cases, and when he wasn't, he was combing his ample head of hair. And combing and combing.
He was the guy who caught the public's fancy with his great looks and his slang. "You're the ginchiest" was a Kookie-ism for "You're the greatest." And what set him apart from mortal flesh was that he could say such a goofy thing and make it sound cool. As if that wasn't enough, he and Connie Stevens did a novelty record called Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb. And yes, it really was a smash hit.
The big picture here is that years before The Fonz donned a black leather jacket and decades before Bart Simpson blurted out "Eat my shorts," Kookie was America's favorite juvenile delinquent.
Only now, that juvenile delinquent is just a few years from Social Security. And the hair is about the only vestige of the past.
-- The plan was this: Take the man who had made 77 Sunset Strip famous to Fort Lauderdale's infamous Strip and ask him to chat about the future and reminisce about the past.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, except that Edd Byrnes wasn't buying it. Turns out he doesn't do sun. It ages. And while he's on the subject, he also doesn't smoke or drink or do drugs.
He will do lunch, as long as he can drive. After 40 years in Hollywood, after 40 years of doing what he had to do to keep working, he likes to be in control if given the chance.
No matter that it's a hot, humid day and tailor-made for shorts and sunscreen. Byrnes is dressed in a long-sleeved light blue shirt and tan slacks that protect his fair skin from the sun.
He takes care of himself, he says. The point being that if he doesn't, nobody else will.
Seems he's another chapter in the Hollywoood Story of what happens when you peak fast and fade early, though at least he's still around to do the telling.
"When I was 18, I drove from New York to California to be a movie star. Not an actor, mind you, but a movie star," he says. "Have you ever heard of anything so silly?"
He throws back his head and out rolls a sound that's not so much a laugh as a high-pitched giggle that goes on and on.
The funny thing is, he almost made it.
He changed his name from Edward to Edd, getting into those Hollywood affectations early on. But it was Kookie who got thousands of letters, graced magazine covers and battled his way through thongs of teen-age girls who screamed his name a half-dozen years before the Beatles had 'em swooning on this continent. And he was only 25.
"I went on to bigger and bigger homes, more women and more cars," he says. "But I was too young to appreciate it then. I had all of it, but I really wasn't that happy."
-- No, life wasn't the ginchiest, even for the guy who could say that word and make it work.
And today, nearly 35 years after he created his starring role, he's talking the language of a guy who has traveled the therapy route after his brief trip with stardom.
Byrnes says he does his daily "affirmations" -- simply speaking, a verbal dose of positive thinking. He says that "happiness is an inside job." He has read pop psychologist John Bradshaw, who talks of healing the inner child. The truth is, Byrnes is no different from a flock of escapists who sought Hollywood because their home life was hell. Carol Burnett, for one. Michael Landon, for another.
Byrnes arrived licking the wounds left over from an alcoholic father and an unhappy childhood.
Among his earliest roles was in a stage production with fellow struggling actors Michael Landon and Jack Nicholson. As he remembers, they were all getting it on with the leading lady, a woman in her 30s whose name he remembers but doesn't share.
What happened from there is a textbook example of the precariousness of Hollywood stardom.
After all, before his recent death, Michael Landon was golden on television. Jack Nicholson remains golden in movies.
As for Byrnes: He went on to hit it big, but only briefly, in 77 Sunset Strip. Then he worked in a string of forgettable films and guest-starred in a long list of TV shows. He lived and worked abroad. He returned to the States and was in the movie Grease. And in Back to the Beach, an '80s foray back to the '50s with other icons of that era, Frankie and Annette. He did the obligatory Love Boat and Fantasy Island. Four times on the latter, in fact.
But his publicity hook, then and now, still hangs on the fact that more than a generation ago, he was the hippest of the hip.
Small wonder, then, that he calls acting a job and says he can teach anybody everything he or she needs to know in five minutes. That he discouraged his son, a 23-year-old law student who's his only child from his only marriage, from going into acting. That when he speaks of a movie he made a couple of years ago in the Philippines, he says he has never seen the film and doesn't know the title.
"I was the American mercenary," he says. "A lot of Jeeps, explosions and stuff. It was one of those adventure movies, lots of action but not much dialogue."
-- These days, Byrnes says he's living, not just surviving, and that's an important distinction. His credo: "Less is better. Now I say, keep it simple."
And he does. Though that also might mean doing what's affordable.
He lives in a rented apartment in Los Angeles. He buys Guccis, not so much for the name but because they mean quality and they last. His main indulgence, since he never outgrew his boyhood love for sleek cars, is a BMW. ("I got a good deal on it.")
Even though the made-up Kookie was a parking lot attendant, the real-life Byrnes won't let a valet park his car. They've dinged too many in the past.
As for his future: He would like to do a TV series but speaks of it the way some folks view a government job. Steady work. Decent pay. Decent hours.
And he's still looking for "her." That's his word for the woman who will stand by him no matter what.
Chances are when he finds her, she'll be young. Very young. His last major love affair a couple years back lasted more than five years. She was 19 at the start, 25 at the finish.
In the meantime, he has plans for a book. And even though he has no publisher, he has a title that says it all.
"I'm going to call it Edd Byrnes," he says. "Kookie No More."







Posted under Fair Use Doctrine for informational purposes.  My thanks to Sun-Sentinel for sharing.


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## StarSong (Mar 20, 2021)

Thank you for that, @oldiebutgoody.  It was an interesting read.  Turns out Edd Byrnes died January 2020 at age 87 of natural causes.  

Footnote, though he warned his son away from the business, the advice didn't take completely. Although Logan Byrnes practiced law for several years, he is now a San Diego news anchor.


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## Mike (Mar 21, 2021)

Actress is not used here very much today.

In fact many words that ended in "ess" have
had that bit removed, equality it is called!

Mike.


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## StarSong (Mar 21, 2021)

Mike said:


> Actress is not used here very much today.
> 
> In fact many words that ended in "ess" have
> had that bit removed, equality it is called!
> ...


"Actress" is still very much in use here, though the generic "actor" is increasingly used in newspaper articles when referring to a female. 

The US general public probably uses "actress" 98% of the time.

Has "waitress" been mostly replaced by "waiter" there? (It hasn't been here.) Which other feminizing "ess" suffixes have gone by the wayside in your part of the world?


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## Verisure (Mar 21, 2021)

copesetic


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## RadishRose (Mar 21, 2021)

Ya dig? Can you dig it? Dig it, man.


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## timoc (Mar 21, 2021)

My Mum used to always say to my sisters when they were going to dances, *"Keep your hand on your ha'penny!"* 

I'm still in the dark as to what she meant.


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## SetWave (Mar 21, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Ya dig? Can you dig it? Dig it, man.


I'm still diggin' it.


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 21, 2021)

Gaer said:


> davenport or linolium


ROFLMAO!

I still say "linoleum"! 

Old as dirt I am.


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## dobielvr (Mar 21, 2021)

far-out
catcha later


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## Furryanimal (Mar 21, 2021)

Bibble

Do you bibble when drinking or eating?
(means eating or drinking noisily).


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## MarciKS (Mar 21, 2021)

I don't here the word twit too much anymore. It means silly or foolish. In my case it's usually the silly part. LOL!


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 22, 2021)

Mike said:


> Actress is not used here very much today.
> 
> In fact many words that ended in "ess" have
> had that bit removed, equality it is called!
> ...





gone forever:


teachress

doctress


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## StarSong (Mar 22, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> I still say "linoleum"!


So do I.  Is there another name for it?  If so, I must have not gotten that memo...


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## SetWave (Mar 22, 2021)

dobielvr said:


> far-out
> catcha later


Still saying both.


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## SetWave (Mar 22, 2021)

MarciKS said:


> I don't here the word twit too much anymore. It means silly or foolish. In my case it's usually the silly part. LOL!


Still a favorite of mine.


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 22, 2021)

StarSong said:


> So do I.  Is there another name for it?  If so, I must have not gotten that memo...


I think most people today say "vinyl", but I still say _linoleum_ and _arborite_ (as in arborite counter tops).


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## StarSong (Mar 22, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> I think most people today say "vinyl", but I still say _linoleum_ and _arborite_ (as in arborite counter tops).


Ah yes, right you are.  I still say linoleum.  

I think arborite is a Canadian company.  The US version was Formica.  Remember this pattern?


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 22, 2021)

StarSong said:


> Ah yes, right you are.  I still say linoleum.
> 
> I think arborite is a Canadian company.  The US version was Formica.  Remember this pattern?
> View attachment 156018


I don't remember that pattern, but these I do, and in most home I remember there was a matching kitchen table, or at best, a table with an arborite top.

Oh, the memories.


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 22, 2021)

One thing about the old vintage arborite counter tops and kitchen tables, homemakers rolled out dough on them, set out fresh pans and sheets of cookies on them, and there was no fussing with upkeep.

A quick wipe when done, counters and table tops always looked clean and fresh, you could wash them down with a mild bleach solution, they never stained, and pound for pound, being the economical material that arborite was, it provided homeowners with an array of colourful and durable options when designing their homes.

Kid friendly, too! I know, because we still have arborite counter tops, and when the kids were little they'd bang their bowls and spoons down on the counter and table, and nothing ever changed. Wipe up the mess and all looked brand spanking new. No scratches, no dings, no dents, no nothing.


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## oldiebutgoody (Mar 22, 2021)

golly wolly!

oh jive!

ain't got the Moxie

freak out

oh what a drag




also, the nick names  "Fatso" "Shorty"  "Pretty Boy" "Mama's Boy"


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## MarciKS (Mar 22, 2021)

we use the words freak out all the time here. lol!


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## Mike (Mar 23, 2021)

There weren't many "ess", words to begin with,
Conductress and Murderess come to mind.

Mike.


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## ohioboy (Mar 23, 2021)

Lot of them:
Duchess
Baroness
Lioness
Tigress
Ingress
Egress


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## StarSong (Mar 23, 2021)

oldiebutgoody said:


> freak out
> 
> oh what a drag





MarciKS said:


> we use the words freak out all the time here. lol!


Here, too.  Also, it's a drag or what a drag.


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## StarSong (Mar 23, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> Lot of them:
> Duchess
> Baroness
> Lioness
> ...


More feminized words via "ess" suffixes that come to mind: 
goddess
priestess 
enchantress
princess


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 23, 2021)




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## StarSong (Mar 23, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


>


My crowd must be throwbacks.  We use "splurge" a lot.  Well, we did before the pandemic.  Not so much splurging going on these days...


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## Aunt Bea (Mar 23, 2021)

When I was a kid people used to use the term sawbuck and double sawbuck as slang for a $10.00 or a $20.00 dollar bill but you don't hear it much these days.


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## StarSong (Mar 23, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> When I was a kid people used to use the term sawbuck and double sawbuck as slang for a $10.00 or a $20.00 dollar bill but you don't hear it much these days.


I used to hear that a lot, too.  Also two bits for 25¢.  I think the expressions were more common in the northeast, though they've fallen out of favor now.  

Do you remember hearing "fin" for $5?


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## charry (Mar 23, 2021)

Whippersnapper


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## Pinky (Mar 23, 2021)

"Copper" for our extinct penny.
Scallywag
Conniption


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## StarSong (Mar 23, 2021)

charry said:


> Whippersnapper


I use whippersnapper as a joke with my grandkids.  If one of them beats me at a game I'll say something like, "I'll get you next time, Whippersnapper!"


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## Judycat (Mar 23, 2021)

Washstand and chamber pot.


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## Chet (Mar 23, 2021)

How do you do? They said that a lot when meeting someone in a western I watched from the 1930's. Now its hello, hi or what's up?


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 23, 2021)

MrPants said:


> Please
> Thank You


Don't know where you're from but I'm still hearing these words fairly frequently.

@Mike and @StarSong  I don't like the use of actor when denoting an actress. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.


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## MrPants (Mar 23, 2021)

OneEyedDiva said:


> Don't know where you're from but I'm still hearing these words fairly frequently.


The place I reside in is stated under my profile pic. See to the right of location.  
My profile pic is sort of a clue as to where that might be (and no, it's not Alaska lol).


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 23, 2021)

MrPants said:


> The place I reside in is stated under my profile pic. See to the right of location.
> My profile pic is sort of a clue as to where that might be (and no, it's not Alaska lol).


Well see..going by your profile pic, Alaska may have been my first pick.  LOL   I have no idea where Iqaluit is! Never heard of it. Oh wait...I just "Googled" it. You mean people in Canada are not as polite as we Americans??!!  And I live in the inner city too.


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## Mike (Mar 24, 2021)

OneEyedDiva said:


> @Mike and @StarSong  I don't like the use of actor when denoting an actress. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.


I don't either, in fact I don't like the dropping of all
the differentiating words that I grew up with.

Mike.


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## Mike (Mar 24, 2021)

"Common Law", husband or wife.

Mike.


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## Mike (Mar 24, 2021)

"Excuse Me", is dying here, today people say "Sorry",
then still push past/through you.

Mike.


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## Lara (Mar 24, 2021)

"That's so Rad"


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## RadishRose (Mar 24, 2021)

Chet said:


> How do you do? They said that a lot when meeting someone in a western I watched from the 1930's. Now its hello, hi or what's up?


How do you do in old movies. Never made any sense to me. How do you do...what? What is the reply? I do very well?

Then I guess it got to be howdy-do, or just howdy, LOL.


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## ohioboy (Mar 24, 2021)

Mike said:


> "Common Law", husband or wife.
> 
> Mike.


In the U.S. most states have done away with common law shack up recognition.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 24, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


>


Like @StarSong I still hear, read & say splurge quite a bit.


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## RadishRose (Mar 24, 2021)

Made in the shade
Cruisin' for a bruisin'
Heavy
Shindig
Hootnanny


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## StarSong (Mar 24, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Made in the shade
> Cruisin' for a bruisin'
> Heavy
> Shindig
> Hootnanny


I use a lot of those words and phrases as intentional throwbacks.


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## Mike (Mar 24, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> Made in the shade
> Cruisin' for a bruisin'
> Heavy
> Shindig
> Hootnanny


Hoot'nanny is the name of a music programme
on BBC TV with Jools Holland.

I have heard the others, except "Made in the Shade".

Mike.


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## dobielvr (Mar 24, 2021)

handle it...

Can you handle it?


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## StarSong (Mar 25, 2021)

dobielvr said:


> handle it...
> 
> Can you handle it?


You don't hear this expression anymore?  Interesting... I hear it frequently.


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## dobielvr (Mar 25, 2021)

StarSong said:


> You don't hear this expression anymore?  Interesting... I hear it frequently.


No, i really don't...unless i say it...lol


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## Pinky (Mar 25, 2021)

Flabbergasted

Took the wind out of my sails


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## SetWave (Mar 25, 2021)

StarSong said:


> You don't hear this expression anymore?  Interesting... I hear it frequently.


My dad's favorite expression, "Handle it. Handle it. Handle it."


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 26, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> In the U.S. most states have done away with common law shack up recognition.


People used to use the term 'common law', though I don't think it ever had legal recognition.  In Scotland, there was an 'irregular'  form of marriage by 'habit and repute'.


----------



## ohioboy (Mar 26, 2021)

Capt Lightning said:


> People used to use the term 'common law', though I don't think it ever had legal recognition.  In Scotland, there was an 'irregular'  form of marriage by 'habit and repute'.



Ohio abrogated common law marriage in 1991, see: (B) (1). Exceptions apply. Common law simply means made law by judicial or court rulings, not statute.

https://law.justia.com/codes/ohio/2006/orc/jd_310512-a38f.html.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Mar 27, 2021)

My grandmother used the word *muss* quite often but I don't hear it in conversation these days.

_verb - _make (someone's hair or clothes) untidy or messy.
"she sat down carefully so she wouldn't muss her clothes"

_noun - _a state of disorder.
"no fuss, no muss—nothing left behind except a few little specks of dust"


----------



## RubyK (Mar 29, 2021)

Dowager - Stolen from Word Of The Day Forum. 
I've seen it in novels but never actually heard anyone say it.


----------



## StarSong (Mar 30, 2021)

RubyK said:


> I've seen it in novels but never actually heard anyone say it


Same here.


----------



## Mike (Mar 30, 2021)

Dowager is used by the press here RubyK, usually when
referring to a widow of a member of the "Gentry", another
word, which less used today.

Mike.


----------



## mrstime (Mar 30, 2021)

Some years ago I worked in a convenience store, I caught a little boy of about 12 trying to steal something. My very young boss asked what had happened. I told her I caught the kid trying to filch something, whereupon she asked what filch meant.


----------



## RubyK (Apr 2, 2021)

I'm sure I have never heard anyone use the word Filch. What an interesting word.


----------



## mrstime (Apr 2, 2021)

RubyK said:


> I'm sure I have never heard anyone use the word Filch. What an interesting word.


Well am 81 and I was raised by my grandparents So I probably learned it at their knee.


----------



## Ruthanne (Apr 3, 2021)

Far out

Don't have a cow

Begeebers


----------



## ohioboy (Apr 3, 2021)

Your mama wears combat boots


----------



## Ruthanne (Apr 3, 2021)

Ragamuffin


----------



## horseless carriage (Apr 3, 2021)

Did you ever hear the word: "Blowse?" Not to be confused with the garment: "Blouse." If you’re constantly running out of the house with your hair all askew, leaving your phone forgotten on the kitchen table, and forgetting your keys, you might be a blowse_. _In Ye Olde England a blowse actually referred almost solely to an unkempt woman, but I think in our modern times we can apply it to almost anyone!


----------



## Mike (Apr 3, 2021)

RubyK said:


> I'm sure I have never heard anyone use the word Filch. What an interesting word.





mrstime said:


> Well am 81 and I was raised by my grandparents So I probably learned it at their knee.


Filch is often used here when referring to petty theft, such
as office things like a pen or pencil etc.

Mike.


----------



## StarSong (Apr 3, 2021)

Mike said:


> Filch is often used here when referring to petty theft, such
> as office things like a pen or pencil etc.
> 
> Mike.


I have read "filch" many times and certainly knew its meaning, but it's not part of the broadly used US popular spoken language.  

Never heard "blowse."


----------



## Mike (Apr 3, 2021)

Forlorn is another one, usually only used in books.

Mike.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 3, 2021)

pine - to feel very sad because one wants (something) or because one is not with (someone).


----------



## mrstime (Apr 3, 2021)

horseless carriage said:


> Did you ever hear the word: "Blowse?" Not to be confused with the garment: "Blouse." If you’re constantly running out of the house with your hair all askew, leaving your phone forgotten on the kitchen table, and forgetting your keys, you might be a blowse_. _In Ye Olde England a blowse actually referred almost solely to an unkempt woman, but I think in our modern times we can apply it to almost anyone!


I have used blowsey when describing a certain type of woman.

It seems to me that I am very very old fashioned in my speech.


----------



## horseless carriage (Apr 3, 2021)

Some think that blowse and brass are similar. It's probably more regional to London, an old brass was a vulgar expression to describe a woman of loose morals. Blowsey is more of a scatterbrain.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 3, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> pine - to feel very sad because one wants (something) or because one is not with (someone).


we use the word pine/pining lots.. especially when seeing someone sad.... most often the dogs if I leave them when I've been with them most of the day, they will pine for hours


----------



## ohioboy (Apr 3, 2021)

In England a Fag is a cigarette.


----------



## ProTruckDriver (Apr 3, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> In England a Fag is a cigarette.


In the USA it's something different.


----------



## SetWave (Apr 3, 2021)

Still saying far out AND groovy.


----------



## mrstime (Apr 3, 2021)

The uncles and father as well used to answer the phone with "Kellys pool hall eightball speaking". Grandma didn't appreciate that much.


----------



## Mike (Apr 4, 2021)

"Fantastic" has now been or is being replaced by "Wicked"!

Mike.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 4, 2021)

ohioboy said:


> In England a Fag is a cigarette.


yes but it's hardly ever used today... I can't remember the last time I heard a cigarette being called a fag..


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 4, 2021)

Mike said:


> "Fantastic" has now been or is being replaced by "Wicked"!
> 
> Mike.


Only amongst the young


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 4, 2021)

ProTruckDriver said:


> In the USA it's something different.


We know...

just as fanny  in the USA is absolutely something different in the UK


----------



## Pinky (Apr 4, 2021)

Frock .. my late Scottish MIL used this term a lot - "is that a new frock?"


----------



## StarSong (Apr 4, 2021)

Pinky said:


> Frock .. my late Scottish MIL used this term a lot - "is that a new frock?"


I use "frock" sometimes.  It strikes me a fun word, especially when coupled with "fetching" as in, - "Don't you look fetching in that frock!"


----------



## StarSong (Apr 4, 2021)

Mike said:


> "Fantastic" has now been or is being replaced by "Wicked"!
> 
> Mike.





hollydolly said:


> Only amongst the young


Wicked was a popular adjective for a few years when I was in HS, as in "Wow!  What a wicked car!"  

In the Boston area, but not so much elsewhere to the best of my knowledge, it remains constant use, but has morphed to an adverb: "I'm wicked hungry, how about you?"


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 4, 2021)

This is one that I thought of today when I was doing the dishes.

monkey dish - a small dish used for restaurant sides.  The two lines indicate the amount of food.  The bottom line is at approx. 1/4-1/3 cup and the top rim line is approx. 1/2-2/3 cup.  The lines were important for food workers to be able to judge portion sizes quickly without actually measuring.






Some people believe that the term originated in the homes of important people that actually used live monkeys to test their food for poison.

Another theory is that it came about with the Italian American organ grinders that would ask diners/restaurants for a small portion of food for their monkey.  A portion similar in size to the little tin cup that the monkey used to beg for change.


----------



## RadishRose (Apr 4, 2021)

Mike said:


> "Fantastic" has now been or is being replaced by "Wicked"!
> 
> Mike.


"Wicked" is an old Maine expression in the Northeast US.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 4, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> "Wicked" is an old Maine expression in the Northeast US.


----------



## SetWave (Apr 4, 2021)

RadishRose said:


> "Wicked" is an old Maine expression in the Northeast US.


Also popular on the west coast.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2021)

Pinky said:


> Frock .. my late Scottish MIL used this term a lot - "is that a new frock?"


still used today but not as often as when I was a child


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 5, 2021)

snood 

An ornamental hairnet or fabric bag worn over the hair at the back of the head.

The fleshy appendage that extends over the beak. While it looks like a pint-sized version of an elephant's trunk, the purpose of the snood is to grab the attention of a mate.


----------



## Mike (Apr 5, 2021)

Pad for an apartment or flat or a house.

Fab for fabulous.

Mike.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2021)

Snood...is another word that's in common usage here for the name of a ladies hood type hat


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2021)

Mike said:


> Pad for an apartment or flat or a house.
> 
> *Fab for fabulous.*
> 
> Mike.


I'm getting worried for you people..lol...are you not getting out?

I use Fab all the time, every day probably...


----------



## Mike (Apr 5, 2021)

hollydolly said:


> I'm getting worried for you people..lol...are you not getting out?
> 
> I use Fab all the time, every day probably...


Giving your age away hollydolly.

Mike.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2021)

Mike said:


> Giving your age away hollydolly.
> 
> Mike.


LOL... well I'm 65, I don't care who knows it...


----------



## StarSong (Apr 5, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> This is one that I thought of today when I was doing the dishes.
> 
> monkey dish - a small dish used for restaurant sides.  The two lines indicate the amount of food.  The bottom line is at approx. 1/4-1/3 cup and the top rim line is approx. 1/2-2/3 cup.  The lines were important for food workers to be able to judge portion sizes quickly without actually measuring.
> 
> ...


I never heard the term monkey dish, but have certainly seen lots of dishes with those two lines on them.  It never dawned on me that they served any purpose other than decoration.  Thanks for passing along that bit of trivia, @Aunt Bea.


----------



## RubyK (Apr 5, 2021)

I love the term monkey dish and have eaten from them in diners. What an interesting story @AuntBea!


----------



## Pinky (May 1, 2021)

spazzy


----------



## Glowworm (May 2, 2021)

One word - well it's two words actually that seems to be disappearing fast is

Thank you


----------



## Lewkat (May 2, 2021)

Fiddlesticks.


----------



## StarSong (May 2, 2021)

Diddly-squat


----------



## Aunt Marg (May 2, 2021)

Glowworm said:


> One word - well it's two words actually that seems to be disappearing fast is
> 
> Thank you


Isn't that the truth.


----------



## StarSong (May 2, 2021)

Glowworm said:


> One word - well it's two words actually that seems to be disappearing fast is
> 
> Thank you





Aunt Marg said:


> Isn't that the truth.


Really? I hear please, thank you, you're welcome, and other social niceties on a regular basis.


----------



## Aunt Marg (May 2, 2021)

StarSong said:


> Really? I hear please, thank you, you're welcome, and other social niceties on a regular basis.


What a magical place you live, Star.


----------



## Aunt Marg (May 2, 2021)

Little buckaroo


----------



## StarSong (May 2, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> What a magical place you live, Star.


I guess that's true.  Los Angeles has been a great place to live my adulthood.


----------



## Lara (May 2, 2021)

Boob Tube
Broad when referring to women


----------



## Lara (May 2, 2021)

Nobody uses "queer" when referring to something unusual anymore


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 2, 2021)

_I call shotgun!!!





_

Claiming the right to sit in the front passenger seat of a vehicle on a particular journey.

Probably a result of all the rope operas on television when we were kids.


----------



## Lewkat (May 2, 2021)

Lara said:


> Nobody uses "queer" when referring to something unusual anymore


Sadly, some perfectly fine words used years ago in every day usage are totally unacceptable today.


----------



## Gaer (May 2, 2021)

"Burnin Sunlight!"

My Dad used to say "Cappy Ricks!  Cappy Ricks!"
Does anyone know what that means?


----------



## Ladybj (May 2, 2021)

I appreciate what you did for me.  Thank you.


----------



## Verisure (May 2, 2021)

timoc said:


> My Mum used to always say to my sisters when they were going to dances, *"Keep your hand on your ha'penny!"*
> 
> I'm still in the dark as to what she meant.


I think it means that she was skint.


----------



## Verisure (May 2, 2021)

"Throwing shapes".


----------



## Verisure (May 2, 2021)

Gaer said:


> "Burnin Sunlight!"
> 
> My Dad used to say "Cappy Ricks!  Cappy Ricks!"
> Does anyone know what that means?


*Salt shaker.*


----------



## Glowworm (May 2, 2021)

timoc said:


> My Mum used to always say to my sisters when they were going to dances, *"Keep your hand on your ha'penny!"*
> 
> I'm still in the dark as to what she meant.





Verisure said:


> I think it means that she was skint.


In case you're not familiar with the word "skint" it's English slang for broke or penniless.

A ha'penny or halfpenny was an old English coin in circulation before decimal currency was introduced.

Actually the phrase has nothing to do with money. Ha'penny is a euphemism for the vulva. "Keep your hand on your ha'penny"  is a mother's advice to her daughter to not get into trouble.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ha'penny


----------



## timoc (May 3, 2021)

Emporium


----------



## RnR (May 3, 2021)

Words that are Seldom Used Today!  Quite a few here LOL.


----------



## StarSong (May 3, 2021)

Aunt Bea said:


> _I call shotgun!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We still use that term.


----------



## SetWave (May 3, 2021)

StarSong said:


> We still use that term.


Riding around some parts of town that might not be such a good idea, albeit necessary . . .


----------



## StarSong (May 3, 2021)

SetWave said:


> Riding around some parts of town that might not be such a good idea, albeit necessary . . .


We use the word, not the shotgun!


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 5, 2021)

My grandmother used to use the word *togs*.

Sometimes it was a reference to our clothes in general and at other times it referred to specialty clothing like a snowsuit or bathing suit.


----------



## Ruthanne (May 6, 2021)

For cryin out loud:  my parents used to say that.


----------



## StarSong (May 6, 2021)

Ruthanne said:


> For cryin out loud:  my parents used to say that.


I still say that one sometimes!


----------



## Mike (May 31, 2021)

Posthaste.

Mike.


----------



## RadishRose (May 31, 2021)

What's your bag?

That's my bag.


----------



## Pappy (May 31, 2021)

Kilroy.
During the Second World War, it was popular to say Kilroy was here.


----------



## debodun (May 31, 2021)

"Land o' Goshen!"
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Land+o'+Goshen!


----------



## StarSong (May 31, 2021)

Fortnight (rarely used in the US anymore)


----------



## debodun (May 31, 2021)

Flag Day is in a fortnight.


----------



## Mike (Jun 1, 2021)

Delectation.

Mike.


----------



## Pinky (Jun 1, 2021)

Mortified


----------



## StarSong (Jun 1, 2021)

Pinky said:


> Mortified


I still use mortifies.  Also aghast.  Am fond of the word shenanigans and I even say nincompoop occasionally.  Probably comes from reading a lot of books that were written in the 20th century or earlier.


----------



## Gaer (Jun 1, 2021)

nincompoop.

Burnin daylight.


----------



## Mike (Jul 17, 2021)

Flail.

Mike.


----------



## Lara (Jul 17, 2021)

Everything is hunky dory


----------



## Alligatorob (Jul 17, 2021)

"_Rarer than hen's teeth_."  But maybe not many ever said that.  My grandfather used it a lot.


----------



## horseless carriage (Jul 17, 2021)

StarSong said:


> I still use mortifies.  Also aghast.  Am fond of the word shenanigans and I even say nincompoop occasionally.  Probably comes from reading a lot of books that were written in the 20th century or earlier.


And I wouldn't mind betting that you might just start using the word, bespoke.


----------



## StarSong (Jul 17, 2021)

horseless carriage said:


> And I wouldn't mind betting that you might just start using the word, bespoke.


You'd be correct!  I embrace fun words.  

Until a friend pointed it out, I hadn't realized that my daughter and I rarities among Americans because we say "Blimey" on a regular basis. 

I've started to incorporate "y'all" into my vocabulary despite it being very much a Southern US term and I'm not in any way a Southerner. Still, y'all has a certain charm and is far preferable to the easy-to-misinterpret plural "you," and miles better than "you guys," which has largely replaced that plural you. Don't get me started on "you guyses" as a further plural or possessive plural in place. I want to go screaming into the night when I hear statements like, "I think you guyses coats are over there." or "I think your guyses coats are over there." 

My most irritation with the English language surrounds the lack of a gender neutral pronoun for creatures who have genders. The bizarre, awkward, solution has become they/them to describe a single human whose gender is either unknown or fluid. 

Rather than devising a couple of new words, the solutions to these two fuzzy areas is to introduce confusion to two pronouns that had heretofore been unambiguous. Blimey!


----------



## Mike (Jul 17, 2021)

StarSong said:


> You'd be correct!  I embrace fun words.
> 
> My most irritation with the English language surrounds the lack of a gender neutral pronoun for creatures who have genders.


This is not the case in Scotland, or it wasn't in the past,
they produced a plural form of "You", quite simply it
is "Yous".

Maybe not all over Scotland, but certainly in the West,
around Glasgow.

I have never seen it written, so maybe it ends with an E!

Mike.


----------



## StarSong (Jul 17, 2021)

Mike said:


> This is not the case in Scotland, or it wasn't in the past,
> they produced a plural form of "You", quite simply it
> is "Yous".
> 
> ...


That was also used in certain areas of NY when I was a kid, but I'm not sure if it's still popular.


----------



## JustBonee (Jul 17, 2021)

'Please'   and   'Thank  You'    seem to be missing in a lot of  conversations these days.


----------



## Chet (Jul 17, 2021)

Mike said:


> This is not the case in Scotland, or it wasn't in the past,
> they produced a plural form of "You", quite simply it
> is "Yous".
> 
> ...


When I was young, the plural for you was said as yous, as in _*yous guys*_. It was frowned upon as incorrect English but we nostalgically use it from time to time anyway.


----------



## JustBonee (Jul 17, 2021)

Chet said:


> When I was young, the plural for you was said as yous, as in _*yous guys*_. It was frowned upon as incorrect English but we nostalgically use it from time to time anyway.



I say that  to my  grandkids  all the time..


----------



## StarSong (Jul 17, 2021)

Chet said:


> When I was young, the plural for you was said as yous, as in _*yous guys*_. It was frowned upon as incorrect English but we nostalgically use it from time to time anyway.


I haven't heard it said seriously in the US in decades.  Agree with @Chet and @Bonnie, at least in the US it's mostly fallen into nostalgic or ironic use.


----------



## Pinky (Jul 17, 2021)

You do your thing, and I'll do mine.


----------



## horseless carriage (Jul 17, 2021)

StarSong said:


> Until a friend pointed it out, I hadn't realized that my daughter and I rarities among Americans because we say "Blimey" on a regular basis.


Using Blimey at my Catholic school in the 1950's would get you into serious trouble. Blimey is a euphemism (specifically a minced oath) derived from 'God blind me'.

Blimey is first recorded in print in Barrère and Leland's _A dictionary of slang, jargon and cant_, 1889. The extended version was used, by Arthur Morrison in _A Child of the Jago_, 1896: "Gawblimy, not what!"

It's probably why strewth became so commonly used as an alternative. Blimey & strewth are both a way of expressing surprise or adding emphasis.


----------



## Lara (Jul 17, 2021)

Haven't seen Hide nor Hair of him


----------



## StarSong (Jul 17, 2021)

horseless carriage said:


> Using Blimey at my Catholic school in the 1950's would get you into serious trouble. Blimey is a euphemism (specifically a minced oath) derived from 'God blind me'.
> 
> Blimey is first recorded in print in Barrère and Leland's _A dictionary of slang, jargon and cant_, 1889. The extended version was used, by Arthur Morrison in _A Child of the Jago_, 1896: "Gawblimy, not what!"
> 
> It's probably why strewth became so commonly used as an alternative. Blimey & strewth are both a way of expressing surprise or adding emphasis.


Never heard of strewth before so I looked it up.  Apparently it's a contraction of "God's truth."  
Thanks for the explanation of Blimey - I had no idea.


----------



## GAlady (Jul 17, 2021)

*Well, blow me over.*


----------



## GAlady (Jul 17, 2021)

It will be hell and high water.


----------



## horseless carriage (Jul 17, 2021)

StarSong said:


> Never heard of strewth before so I looked it up.  Apparently it's a contraction of "God's truth."
> Thanks for the explanation of Blimey - I had no idea.


I do hope that you can see this video of an advert for a beer known as Fosters Lager.
It's Paul Hogan, pre-Crocodile Dundee years, absolutely hilarious.




Strides? Aussie for trousers.


----------



## GAlady (Jul 17, 2021)




----------

