Does this bring back any old memories!!!! Judy of Just Ask Judy sent these to me. I remember them all and I still use many of them.IF YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE 50'S
Words and phrases from our childhood.
Mergatroyd! Do you remember that word? Would you believe the spell-checker did not recognize the word Mergatroyd? Heavens to Mergatroyd!
The other day a not so elderly (I say 75) lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy; and he looked at her quizzically and said, "What the heck is a Jalopy?" He had never heard of the word jalopy! She knew she was old ... But not that old.
Well, I hope you are Hunky Dory after you read this and chuckle.
About a month ago, I illuminated some old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology. These phrases included: Don't touch that dial, Carbon copy, You sound like a broken record, and Hung out to dry.
Back in the olden days we had a lot of moxie . We'd put on our best bib and tucker , to straighten up and fly right.
Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy Moley!
We were in like Flynn and living the life of Riley ; and even a regular guy couldn't accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China!
Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when's the last time anything was swell? Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A.; of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and pedal pushers.
Oh, my aching back! Kilroy was here, but he isn't anymore.
We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say, "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!" Or, "This is a fine kettle of fish!" We discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent, as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards.
Poof, go the words of our youth, the words we've left behind. We blink, and they're gone. Where have all those great phrases gone?
Long gone: Pshaw, The milkman did it. Hey! It's your nickel. Don't forget to pull the chain. Knee high to a grasshopper. Well, Fiddlesticks! Going like sixty. I'll see you in the funny papers. Don't take any wooden nickels. Wake up and smell the roses
It turns out there are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has liver pills. This can be disturbing stuff! (Carter's Little Liver Pills are gone too!)
We of a certain age have been blessed to live in changeable times. For a child each new word is like a shiny toy, a toy that has no age. We at the other end of the chronological arc have the advantage of remembering there are words that once did not exist and there were words that once strutted their hour upon the earthly stage and now are heard no more, except in our collective memory. It's one of the greatest advantages of aging!
Leaves us to wonder where Superman will find a phone booth...
See ya later, alligator! Okidoki
You'll notice they left out "Monkey Business"!!!
WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE FABULOUS 50'S .. NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AGAIN ... WE WERE GIVEN ONE OF OUR MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS: LIVING IN THE PEACEFUL AND COMFORTABLE TIMES, CREATED FOR US BY THE "GREATEST GENERATION!"
Wow! I love this post. Yes, the kids and I mean from the 30 somethings and younger really don't know the cool words and sayings we used.
ReplyDeleteMom used the word "moxie" to describe spirited females.
ReplyDeleteEvery night when my dad came into my room to tuck me in after prayers he would say "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite, and I'll see you in the funny papers"
This brought back sweet memories
Ah what comfort those words hold. At least we still have them in are memories to haul out occasionally to make the younger ones shake their heads.
ReplyDeleteWonderful memories!
ReplyDeleteDang, the Dad here knew all of those!
ReplyDeleteThat was a great post. I know a lot of those but not all, I imagine some are specific to the US. I've never heard of moxie & swell is one I've heard but we didn't use although I remember James Stewart using it a lot in films. Our equivalent in the North East of Engand would be "champion" but I haven't heard that in donkeys years.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories.
I never heard Gee Whillikers or Jumping Jehoshaphat for real, only in American movies, but I remember most of the others and we still have quite a bit of Monkey Business going on.
ReplyDeleteOh good grief! I've heard all of them and even use some of them still!
ReplyDeleteThey all sound familiar except "best bib and tucker."
ReplyDeleteMy Latin teacher in high school used to use the word Mergatroyd often. She was from the Deep South, a white women, so I found her humorous. I often wondered why she came here to Hawaii to live.
ReplyDelete