What is life if there is not laughter?
Welcome to the lighter side of flyfishing! We welcome your stories here!
May 31st, 2004
Fender Skirts Sent in by Andy Carr
The other day I picked up a copy of his essay
collection, Tom Dodge Talks About Texas.
Well, one of those little pieces sent me off
on a reverie almost immediately. It was about
Big Jim Tidwell of Whitney - “The Fender Skirt
King of Texas.”
And I thought, “Fender skirts!” What a great
blast from the past! I hadn’t thought about
fender skirts in years. When I was a kid, I
considered it such a funny term. Made me think
of a car in a dress.
Thinking about fender skirts started me thinking
about other words that quietly disappear from our
language with hardly a notice. Like “curb feelers”
and “steering knobs.”
Since I’d been thinking of cars, my mind naturally
went that direction first.
You kids will probably have to find some elderly
person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.
Remember “Continental kits?” They were rear bumper
extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed
to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.
When did we quit calling them “emergency brakes?” At
some point “parking brake” became the proper term.
But I miss the hint of drama that went with “emergency
brake.”
I’m sad, too, that almost all the old folks are
gone who would call the accelerator the “foot feed.”
Here’s a phrase I heard all the time in my youth
but never anymore - “store-bought.” Of course,
just about everything is store-bought these days.
But once it was bragging material to have a
store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.
“Coast to coast” is a phrase that once held all
sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing.
Now we take the term “worldwide” for granted.
This floors me.
On a smaller scale, “wall-to-wall” was once a
magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone
covered their hardwood floors with, wow,
wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces
their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors.
Go figure.
When’s the last time you heard the quaint phrase
“in a family way?” It’s hard to imagine that the
word “pregnant” was once considered a little too
graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite
company. So we had all that talk about stork visits
and “being in a family way” or simply “expecting.”
Apparently “brassiere” is a word no longer in usage.
I said it the other day and my daughter cackled. I
guess it’s just “bra” now.
“Unmentionables” probably wouldn’t be understood
at all. It’s hard to recall that this word was
once said in a whisper - “divorce.” And no one is
called a “divorcee” anymore. Certainly not a “gay
divorcee.” Come to think of it, “confirmed bachelors”
and “career girls” are long gone, too.
Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here’s
a pure-'60s word I came across the other day -“ratfink.”
Ooh, what a nasty put-down!
Here’s a word I miss - “percolator.” That was just
a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with?
“Coffeemaker.” How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you
for this.
I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant
to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words
like “DynaFlow” and “ElectraLuxe.” Introducing the
1963 Admiral TV, now with “SpectraVision!”
Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped
out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore.
Maybe that’s what castor oil cured, because I never
hear mothers threatening their kids with castor oil
anymore.
Originally published May 31st, 2004 on Fly Anglers Online by Andy Carr.