Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
I've been having a discussion with some friends regarding older words that we personally still use. I am not sure if we are being grumpy old farts, having an anti-slang counter-revolution, or if we just find the words fun and descriptive so refuse to give them up. I thought I would share some and give others a chance to add on their favorites. Think of this as a word preservation society.
trousers (most people today wear pants occasionally alternating with slacks)
tobacconist (a lovely profession word that harkens back to an aromatic artist)
haberdashery (I recently asked where this department was in a W***mart. The silence was deafening)
pocketbook (This may just be a stylistic variation, but it seems to be called a clutch now)
five-and-dime (maybe a sign of the times since they are now dollar stores)
cold cuts (I don't know if this was a regional variant, but everyone calls it lunch meat now)
shall (I always draw looks with this one, but I sha'nt let it get to me)
nor (we still use neither, but rarely the full conjunction)
grocer (we still go to the grocery store, but maybe the people who work there are not grocers)
sneakers (like tennis shoes, they have been replaced by athletic footwear)
I'll confess to sneakers, nor, and shall, but the other words have never been part of my every day vocabulary. My mother still uses "foot-feed" to refer to the accelerator. I always assumed that term dates from a time when the accelerator was hand operated, or that it's a ruralism, since I know she learned to drive a tractor before she learned to drive a car.
I heard a complaint from someone upset that she kept hearing people saying "sneakers", when they clearly meant "tennis shoes".
I don't know anyone that says "athletic footwear" (or tennis shoes, for that matter). I think I'll keep on saying sneakers.
I use nor, shall, pocketbook (people say clutch now?), tobacconist (if I'm referring to a tobacconist or quoting Monty Python).
I'd use five-and-dime if there were any stores of the sort still around. I fondly remember those from my youth.
I get my stylish hats from a haberdasher, since the clothing section of the local department stores seem to be lacking.
I use so many antique words. Of the ones you mention, “shall,†“nor,†“sneaker,†“cold cuts,†are all pretty common for me. Mind you, I still have actual sneakers — as well as athletic shoes which I call "walking shoes." The sneakers really have canvas uppers:
I even start sentences with “nor.†To quote Martin Luther: “Sin boldly.â€
I'm not making it up. Nor am I taking it out of context. (Note the Nor) He means it. Well, he did write it in German, not English.
13.â€If you are a preacher of Grace, then preach a true, not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly. For he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.
Hey, let's get really old.
I'd like to bring back a few middle english words that were once very common.
One is the very useful single-word adjective hight. It means "to be named" and is used somewhat like we use "called." The brave knight Sir Gareth hight Beaumains. The suggested pronunciation is the same as height, but I bet it was once more like hikht.
The other is a very nice Old French term used in middle english. Gramercy, from grand merci, and so of course means "thanks a lot."
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)