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I grew up in southern Indiana and we called green peppers mangoes. It was quite a while before I learned what mangoes actually were!
My mom used the term "jakey" to refer to someone who wore mismatched clothing or looked rather disheveled.
"I was just resting my eyes"..........it means I was sound asleep in my chair when you came in and suggested I should go up to bed--but I don't want to admit it. My gram said it, my dad said it and now I say it!
As recently as the early '80's, I heard the term "mango" used in central Ohio to refer to a green pepper. The first time I encountered the term in central OH, I saw it in a pizza shop on the list of toppings. I was thinking that seemed like a funny topping for a pizza, until I mentioned this to the girl working behind the counter and she explained what a mango was, according to that regionalism.
Now back to the topic of expressions from the past: RAGAMUFFIN, meaning someone with a disheveled appearance. I think that may actually be a real, non-slang word. I'm not sure about that, but in any case it doesn't seem to be widely used anymore.
And some are still in use in certain regions of the US.
For example, I've noticed that people in the South, people refer to automobiles as "vehicles" where as in the middle Atlantic, we tend to say "car" - unless it's a truck or an SUV.
In PA and in Eastern Ohio, I've heard Bell Peppers called Mangos.
since I am 70 years of age......my current vocabulary consists of words you might remember your grandparents using.
I certainly remember:
ice box
rubbers and golashes
lap robes
isenglass
bakelite (precursor of plastic)
oleo-margerine called oleo
tin foil
running boards
milk men (who delivered the milk in bottles at your door)
store bought bread (as opposed to the regular home baked bread)
love this thread! and i didn't read EVERY page... but wow, haven't heard most of this stuff in a LONG time.
somebody mentioned "Being overactive was acting like a bull in a china shop." my mother called me that because i'd knock things over.
anybody use the term "stoop" instead of "porch"? i learned "cyclone" fence which i now realize is a brand name for chain link. we always called it "cyclone" so i guess it was the only brand around!
"I was just resting my eyes"..........it means I was sound asleep in my chair when you came in and suggested I should go up to bed--but I don't want to admit it. My gram said it, my dad said it and now I say it!
When I came to this country i heard a lot of words and phrases that I haven't heard in many years. These are the only ones I can remember off the top of my head.
How about "Jumping Jehozophat" (sp?) when people were surprised, "dried up horny toad" an older individual talking about another older individual they didn't like. "watering hole" for a bar. "taking a gander" for taking a look. "Dogs" for feet and of course "the cats meaow" when someone thought highly of themselves.
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