Words that you don't hear anymore.

[BeautyNBeast]

Supper must e a regional thing. I did not realize since that. My grandparents used to say supper every now and then. To me supper is dinner.

 

[jbmom]

I say supper and I'm a northerner.

 

[countingthedays]

Patronage, you don't hear a lot of patronage anymore.

The word 'patronage' is alive and well in Chicago politics. That's what most of our scandals/lawsuits are about. Their are political job titles called "Patronage Chiefs" and we even have a law about it -"The Michael Shakman Decree."

 

[Philagoofy]

percolator

big mahaf

 

[NotUrsula]

I just did a search of these boards for the word "behoove". I got eight pages of results for posts containing the word. I'd say that proves that it isn't dead just yet. I use the word all the time.

"Trousers" was mentioned earlier. That one would probably be regional. In British English, "pants" means underpants. The ones that you wear on the outside are trousers. My mother would come down on me like a ton of bricks if I called trousers pants -- she always maintained that it was impolite to mention underwear in public.

 

[piglet too]

Supper? Like the last meal of the day? It's used very much in my family household in Arkansas. It confuses my poor husband because he uses the word dinner for the last meal of the day but at home dinner is lunch. We just ring a bell so he knows it's time to eat

We (I grew up near Chicago) call it breakfast, lunch and dinner. My in-laws (live on the western side on Illinois, just a few miles from the Mississippi River) call it breakfast, dinner and supper. My poor kids get so confused because their grandpa refuses to acknowledge the way we say it and tells them that "there is no such thing as lunch, so I guess you are just not going to eat" or "dinner was hours ago, guess you are not going to eat." He is trying to be funny, but after 15 years, it just isn't.


I seldom hear "occupation" anymore, it is "job" for the most part.

 

[Ride Junkie]

Here's another vote for davenport (couch). My grandmother used to call the fridge the "ice box", you never hear that anymore. Honestly, I've never heard anyone use the word "supper", I've only heard it in movies & on TV.

 

[KelNottAt]

I wish we could still use "gay" in it's former meaning.

Other than the Flintstone's theme song and "Deck the Halls" it's rarely used to mean happy or fun.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

uncouth

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My boys laugh whenever I say "parka" or "vehicle". They think those words are so old fashioned.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Geeze I still say most of these words--and so do my kids (yes including behoove)

We have moved around frequently so I have heard all variations of breakfast, lunch, supper, dinner. Growing up in the south it was breakfast in the morning, dinner at midday and supper in the evening and lunch was any meal you packed as a picnic and ate cold (you might pack a lunch for dinner or for supper ).

I admit to hardly every hearing "davenport" anymore in any region. Likewise for "ottomon" (though my DMiL still uses that instead of footstool).

 

[Mrs.Toad]

"Lavatory" is a word I haven't heard since I left Catholic school. Thank heaven.

They still use that at my dd's preschool, and on airplanes.

Is "supper" more of a regional word?

I think so.

How about carport, pocketbook, hobo, score (as in 4 score and seven years ago), and fortnight?

 

[legalsea]

Well, back thenadays, when I was apprenticed to the Master of the Rolls, I would gormandise myself on donuts.

One day the Master referred to me as being nothing but a whilt and offered to tell my old lady. Of course, it made me woad as the dickens. I acted like I did not care a jot, but I was worried what the apple of my eye would think. She would think me feckless.

Well, in thrice the time it takes me to tell it, I was bookin’ for the home 20 in my crop duster, hoping to land before the fink told my chick and so cause a gnarly situation. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Master was scarfing the rest of the donuts and being all skuzzy. Turns out the old lady didn’t go all ape on me because skuzz never called. I should have figured he was all show and no go, and so by and by she and I got blitzed and everything was copasetic.

I realize a mix of different decades, but then, I have lived through five decades and working on my sixth.

 

[Disney Ella]

"Lavatory" is a word I haven't heard since I left Catholic school. Thank heaven.

The first day of third grade, the teacher said we were going to the lavatory. I got very excited because I didn't know the school had a labratory. It was a disappointment when she took us to the restrooms.

My grandparents said slacks, davenport, dungarees, pocketbook and cellar. Also expressions like "a peach of a man" and "she hated him with a passion" and "I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him." We always said supper, but I say dinner now.

 

[Fizzgig]

We use "pantaloons" as a joke around here. I said "console" (as in a piece of furniture that customarily held your dinner plates in your dining room) this weekend and DH looked around for an XBox.

You almost never hear "rue" anymore; it has become a joke. "Should" is rarely used properly, I've noticed.

It is amazing how many words Shakespeare created and we still use daily, though.

legalsea: woad is a dye or a plant. It didn't make sense in your usage.

 

[Ride Junkie]

Well, back thenadays, when I was apprenticed to the Master of the Rolls, I would gormandise myself on donuts.

One day the Master referred to me as being nothing but a whilt and offered to tell my old lady. Of course, it made me woad as the dickens. I acted like I did not care a jot, but I was worried what the apple of my eye would think. She would think me feckless.

Well, in thrice the time it takes me to tell it, I was bookin’ for the home 20 in my crop duster, hoping to land before the fink told my chick and so cause a gnarly situation. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Master was scarfing the rest of the donuts and being all skuzzy. Turns out the old lady didn’t go all ape on me because skuzz never called. I should have figured he was all show and no go, and so by and by she and I got blitzed and everything was copasetic.

I realize a mix of different decades, but then, I have lived through five decades and working on my sixth.

That was the cat's meow of unused words.

 

[Philagoofy]

The word I don't hear anymore is "miss", instead I hear "ma'am".

 

[legalsea]

Back in Olde England "Woad" meant 'mad' or angry. I believe that usage of that word in that particular sense came about due to the irritable behavior, etc., of those who engaged in dyeing clothes as a profession (due to the leaching of chemicals from the plants, minerals, etc). Much like "mad as a hatter" came about due to the hatters' exposure to mercury, causing rather bizarre behavior at times.

 

[NHdisneylover]

We use "pantaloons" as a joke around here.* I said "console" (as in a piece of furniture that customarily held your dinner plates in your dining room) this weekend and DH looked around for an XBox.* You almost never hear "rue" anymore; it has become a joke.* "Should" is rarely used properly, I've noticed.It is amazing how many words Shakespeare created and we still use daily, though.legalsea: woad is a dye or a plant.* It didn't make sense in your usage.

Brandie I have never heard console used for a china hutch/sideboard either. I am thinking your DH had right to be confused there.As far as missued words go, when did "literally" cease to refer to something not being an exageration but being actually factual and just become a quailifier meaning "very" (ie someone is quite hungry so they say they are "literally starving"--uh NO you are just very hungry.)

My DD11 is always refereing to things as "grand." As in "It would be grand if so and so could come over to play." I have no idea where she picked that up from.

 

[Tantor]

I always want to use the word *thongs* for flip flops (my DD does the ) but of course that now means something else........