What Old-Fashioned Words do you Rarely Hear Anymore?

[ShesAPirate]

LOL at dungarees... my mom still says it and I cringe

Tin foil -- I still say that one.

And I think a "high ball" is actually referring to the type of glass the drink is served in, not the drink itself.

My paternal grandma used to say "valise". I've never heard anyone say that other than that part of my family.

I can't think of anything right now, but I love this thread

 

[PollyannaMom]

OP - One of my grandmothers always said davenport, as well! And my other one called hands "patties" - as in "go wash your patties for lunch".

AmazingGrace - That is so funny about "dreadful"!

ShesAPirate - I think you are right about "highball" coming from the kind of glass, and I still say "tin foil," too!...What are we supposed to be saying?

 

[indimom]

deep freeze instead of freezer

hanky (my grandmother ALWAYS carried her pretty hankies)

having your hair "set" instead of getting a perm

the secretary (a desk used for paperwork/bills/mailing, not a person)

spectacles or eyeglasses instead of glasses

a flat (when you step on the back of someone's shoe and it pulls off their heel.) I used this on my daughter the other day and got a look.

housecoat and house slippers (my MIL still wears hers around the house)

laying out. awww, the good ole days before tanning beds.

 

[DisneyFirefly]

We had a davenport, and my mother used to wear a babushka (sp?) and my father wore goulashes (sp?).

We sometimes wear babushkas in my house, but the bolded part cracked me up because I just had this image of a guy wearing giant bowls of soup on his feet Yay typos

 

[wdwgal]

soda crackers - saltine crackers

My dad uses this word just to drive my mom crazy!

wdwgal

 

[Jennasis]

Some of these words must be regional because I hear A LOT of them on a daily basis. lol

The fiance and I are determined to get the word "bully" back in to circulation.

Instead of saying "awesome" or "cool", we try to say "bully!" LOL

DH and I love Bully!

 

[pyrxtc]

My Grandmother referred to my nephew's baggy jeans as "hobo pants". When was the last time you heard the word "hobo"?

I had to reply to this one. My 13 yr old DD uses this all the time to refer to anything she has worn before and cannot wear again cuz her friends know it is from last year. Too bad she will look like a "Hobo" a LOT this year ! She wants a whole new wardrobe....

I have heard and still hear a lot of these things around. A lot, I use still.

And what are we supposed to say instead of "tin foil" ? Isn't that what it is ?

 

[Tinijocaro]

Just about everything I say is old fashioned, according to my kids!

 

[Tinijocaro]

I like AlaskaMOM's answer of "please" and "thank you"

I know there are times I use some words and my kids are like, "huh?" but I can't think of them off the top of my head~

I make my kid's friends say please and thank you when they forget. I do it nicely, but they are starting to get the message. Actually, all the older kid's friends (11,12,and 15) say please and thank you automatically now, just my youngest has a few that will forget. They're getting better though. It just needs to be taught and re-taught, sometimes by people other than their parents.

 

[BonnieA]

oleo for margarine
pedal pushers - capries
pocketbook - purse
hot pie - pizza

 

[Tinijocaro]

Babo for Comet Cleanser

 

[Tinijocaro]

frankfurters as in hotdogs.

patties for hamburgers

 

[Jennasis]

oleo for margarine
petal pushers - capries
pocketbook - purse
hot pie - pizza

Every woman I know calls their bag a pocketbook (these are women on Long Island).

Every human in the NY metro area calls pizza a "pie". However, when I moved to NC and called our local place to order "one large pie" the lady on the other end of the line was confused and indignant and started ranting about how they don't serve pie.

 

[LBAK]

Every woman I know calls their bag a pocketbook (these are women on Long Island).

Every human in the NY metro area calls pizza a "pie". However, when I moved to NC and called our local place to order "one large pie" the lady on the other end of the line was confused and indignant and started ranting about how they don't serve pie.

You are 100% right. I went to school in Kentucky and they had no idea what a large pie was. After I explained it I received the answer of "I still don't get it". Umm, ok.
I am the only person I think under 90 in my community that calls a pocketbook a purse. I must have picked that up when I was in college and I get made fun of it all the time.
Dungarees are still used by us 40 somethings. Again our children made fun of us. Nice kids huh!

 

[mommykds]

Great thread!!!

I was raised by my grandmother so I tend to say alot of "old fashioned" things because I heard her say them.

I still say -

Pocketbook
Tin foil
Bed clothes (sheets, blankets)
Clam diggers (capris)
Coolots (Skirt with shorts underneath)
Record (CD)
Vestibule (entryway to home)
Front room (Formal living room)
Housecoat (my mom wears one)

My mom still says "regular coca-cola" when she orders a soda & we always laugh at that.

My grandma always called my lunchbox a "lunch pail" & me a "hellion" when I was misbehaving.

 

[coneygoil]

I love the word "knickerbockers"! Too bad those don't exist anymore.

My husband says "cool beans" every once and a while. That really dates us to the decade we were teens in!

I still call recording home movies "video taping". My husband is like "You're recording, not video taping. Video tapes don't exist anymore." I do it just to bug him and also out of habit.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Floods - what you wore to school after you'd grown a couple of inches...

 

[mjkacmom]

Many people here refer to the elementary schools as grammar schools, where we hold teacher appreciation luncheons and spring musicales. My parents have a living room, family room, and a palor.

 

[Becky2005]

the secretary (a desk used for paperwork/bills/mailing, not a person)

I have one of those and even knew it was called that, comes from having parents that collect antiques and things. Which reminds me here is something you don't hear about anymore "Moustache Cups" -- my parents have a several.

And what are we supposed to say instead of "tin foil" ? Isn't that what it is ?

Aluminum foil? That's what I always call it. I suppose some people might shorten it to foil?

I am the only person I think under 90 in my community that calls a pocketbook a purse.

I've always called it a purse. It took me forever to figure out what a pocketbook was when I heard someone use it once because "pocketbook" in the past had also been referred to wallets (i.e. you put your pocketbook in your purse)....so I was picturing them just carrying their wallets around.

Some of this stuff is also regional I do believe.

 

[MIGrandma]

I thought of another one this morning as I was reading everyone's answers.

My grandmother used to pack her "train case" when they went away for a few days. They had a suitcase for their clothes, but she also had a very small one she called her "train case" for toiletries, hair curlers, etc. I've never heard anyone but her call it that.

About the high ball, some said it was the type of glass used. Not according to my mother. She and Dad used to go out dancing almost every Saturday night for a few years while I was growing up and she always drank wine high balls.