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Sorry if these have been mentioned, but I'm new to the thread and don't want to read 90 pages of posts:
Women used to always say "brassiere" instead of just "bra," and "hosiery" instead of nylons. You bought these things in a department called "foundations."
I can remember going into Dillard's once with my mom, who was born in 1913. We were looking for the restrooms and she said, "They're probably not too far from the ladies' "ready-to-wear." I had to laugh. I said, "Mom, it's all 'ready-to-wear' these days."
This just came to mind: older folks who needed to use a restroom would ask for the "little boy's room" or the "little girl's room." I had no idea what it meant when I first heard it!
When I was a child, I occasionally heard my mother (who was born in 1911) refer to somebody as "a jackanapes", but it was only many years later that I understood the meaning of that term.
Re: satchels - trumpet virtuoso Louis Armstrong was known to the public by the nickname "Satchmo", which was short for "satchel mouth". Wikipedia lists a couple of possible origins for the nickname.
Re: satchels - trumpet virtuoso Louis Armstrong was known to the public by the nickname "Satchmo", which was short for "satchel mouth". Wikipedia lists a couple of possible origins for the nickname.
I remember that from Jazz Appreciation class in my University days. Good reference and thanks for the reminder.
Cool post! Many words I've already seen mentioned while skimming the thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Docendo discimus
"pocketbook" for "purse" or "bag"
Quote:
Originally Posted by SandyCo
"Dungarees" for blue jeans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elston
my grammy said:
"cunning" for cute; as in the little baby was so cunning.
"tin foil" instead of aluminum foil
Quote:
Originally Posted by saucywench
Frigidaire
Quote:
Originally Posted by mom2justynsarah
Carriage for baby stroller
Dame for woman
Quote:
Originally Posted by saucywench
Let's go uptown to the Five & Dime.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach
Menstrual pads were all called "Kotex" because for many years that was the only brand there was.
A menstrual period was called a "period" or "the curse". "Monthly" was another term.
"Brassiere" for "bra".
My grandmother called hers a "petticoat". I called mine a "slip". Today these undergarments are anachronisms.
"Old maid" for a woman who never marries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach
Good one.
"Bureau" for "chest of drawers". (Don't ask me to explain that one.)
"Lounge chair" for "recliner".
"Night stand" for a bedside table.
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland
I still call it a waste basket. Maybe the older form was waste paper basket?
tv set
hall for entryway--we had a front and a back hall
(This game is so much fun but it's a real brain breaker)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach
It certainly is. I've dredged up phrases I had long since consigned to the "dust bin". That's what my grandmother called a waste basket.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes
Oh yes ... "material". Forgot about that one. My mom still calls fabric "material".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach
"bonnet" - still a good word but was once used to refer to any hat a woman wore
"a bee in her bonnet" - upset
Quote:
Originally Posted by NinaN
Full of p1ss and vinegar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elston
"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!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 5thgenSF
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katzpur
Sorry if these have been mentioned, but I'm new to the thread and don't want to read 90 pages of posts:
Women used to always say "brassiere" instead of just "bra," and "hosiery" instead of nylons. You bought these things in a department called "foundations."
I can remember going into Dillard's once with my mom, who was born in 1913. We were looking for the restrooms and she said, "They're probably not too far from the ladies' "ready-to-wear." I had to laugh. I said, "Mom, it's all 'ready-to-wear' these days."
"Pupil"- another word for Student- like "how many pupils are in your class"
Not sure how to spell this- "aught" instead of Zero
Not exactly a word, but the way older generations used to abbreviate names-
William was Wm.
Charles was Chas.
Thomas was Thos.
James was Jas.
etc.
I've also heard "naught" for "zero".
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That's what my grandmother called a waste basket.
