Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Words I've heard or used that have gone out of style


  • Poodle skirts (I remember seeing this exact shade of pink in the 1950s)
  • hunky-dory
  • You sound like a broken record
  • Hung out to dry
  • Having a lot of moxie

  • Pedal pushers (which came just below the knees; if they stopped above the knees, they were Bermuda shorts)
  • Heavens to Betsy
  • Gee Whillikers
  • Jumping Jehoshaphat
  • Holy Moley
  • In like Flynn
  • Living the life of Riley
  • Being a knucklehead, a nincompoop, or a pill
  • Beehive hair styles (illustrated above)
  • Not for all the tea in China
  • That would be swell
  • Wearing spats, knickers, fedoras, or saddle oxfords
  • Kilroy was here
  • Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle
  • Pageboy haircut (illustrated above)
  • Heavens to Murgatroyd!
  • Don’t touch that dial
  • Carbon copy
  • Straighten up and fly right
  • This is a fine kettle of fish
  • Pshaw
  • jalopy (like this one above)
  • Hey, it’s your nickel
  • Knee high to a grasshopper
  • Well, fiddlesticks!
  • I’ll see you in the funny papers
  • Don’t take any wooden nickels
  • More of [whatever] than Carter has little liver pills
  • See ya later, alligator (to which a person would reply, "After while, crocodile.")
These words are heard no more, except in the collective memory of old folks like me.

Oops!  There's a children's book using that last one as a title:  See You Later, Alligator by Sally Hopgood, illustrated by Emma Levey, 2015, children's picture book, 32 pages.

Are you old enough to remember hearing any of these words or phrases?  I've worn pedal pushers and Bermuda shorts.  Did you ever sport a pageboy or beehive haircut?

What does it mean to sport something?  To sport is a transitive verb meaning to have or wear something in a proud way.  Example :  "He sported a beard."  Another example:  "All the bridesmaids sported beehive haircuts at Mary Jane's wedding."

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