As we all know, nothing falls out of fashion like fashion. History has relegated thousands of adornments to the ash bin, from togas to bustles to turbans. Yet, somehow these "glad rags" always manage to stage comebacks, sneaking into our modern wardrobes in various guises. Once-fashionable words, on the other hand, have far less comeback savvy. Once a word or phrase is regarded as passe, it usually stays on the "Don't" list forever, with little hope for redemption. It seems dreadfully unfair, but as our grandparents used to say, "That's just the way the cookie crumbles."That's the opening paragraph of this book. The sub-subtitle of this book is "A Collection of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful Words, Phrases, Praises, Insults, Idioms, and Literary Flourishes from Eras Past." And here's part of the online description of the book:
From all-overish to zounds, the vintage vernacular collected here will make any reader the cat's meow among friends, relations, and acquaintances.Book Riot asked people to share the good old-fashioned words and phrases they would want to bring back into common use. Can you think of others to add to this list they collected?
bee’s kneesHuh! I'm so old I'm still using some of these. Didn't know they were extinct — or nearly so. I'm not extinct yet, but today IS my 73rd birthday. You whippersnappers should respect your elders and be nice to me, at least for today.
betwixt
caddywompus
cat’s pajamas
druthers
fiddlesticks
flibbertigibbet
fop
gadzooks
guttersnipe
hither
hootenanny
hot diggity
huzzah
noddycock
persnickety
poppycock
pulchritude
tomfoolery
untoward
vittles
you’re darn tootin’
whippersnappers
zounds!
Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.
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