Going Out Of Style

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is David from Poway.

Well, David, what’s on your mind today?

Well, I have an interesting question.

I was listening to NPR on the way to work, which is my usual mode of operation.

And the local segment for KPBS was talking about the fact that an organization in Tijuana had gone down to fight AIDS.

And the person doing the story said they were giving away condoms like they were going out of style.

And I thought, that doesn’t make any sense.

Because if you’re giving something away, like it’s going out of style, why would somebody want it?

I mean, that’s yesterday’s style.

Because they’re not fashionable?

Yeah, I mean, it’s not fashionable anymore.

Who would want that?

And I was thinking, you know, these people are asking for them.

They’re getting them.

They’re acting like they’re coming into style.

They’re the thing to have.

And so it sort of made sense to me that, you know, that’s not going out of style.

That’s the thing that’s coming into style.

But what about the giver?

What’s the mindset of the person giving this stuff away?

Maybe they think differently.

It could be that, yes.

But I was thinking about the person who was receiving it.

And I was thinking, going out of style.

Well, no, it’s not going out of style.

It’s the thing that’s coming in.

Maybe it’s the person giving it away.

I don’t want it because it’s yesterday’s thing.

But to my mind, it just didn’t make any sense.

Because it was very clear the person who was giving it away wanted people to have it,

And the person who was getting it wanted to have it.

So in both sense, I think that they were thinking that this is the thing you want to have.

This is today’s style.

This is the thing that’s new.

It’s interesting.

So it wasn’t the condom part so much as the actual phrase.

Yeah, it was the fact that it was going out of style.

And I thought, no, wait, this is something that people want,

So it’s not going out of style.

It must be coming into style.

And that’s what got me was that dichotomy between going out and coming in.

Wow.

Well, David, this is certainly food for thought.

I would guess that it’s like when you go into a department store in July, and they’re already selling the winter clothing.

They’re selling the summer clothing like it’s going out of style.

And that makes sense, because it’s in fact going out of style.

And they don’t want it anymore, so they’re pushing it every way they can to get rid of it, right?

Yeah, that makes sense.

That’s yesterday’s stuff.

But this is a like.

They said like it’s going out of style.

That’s a key part of the idiom there.

So they’re not actually saying that it’s going out of style.

They’re saying it’s like it’s going out of style.

Yes.

Well, I think the bottom line is that we want condoms to stay in style.

Yes, we do.

Well, David, have we helped you at all?

I guess.

Or at least given you something to think about.

I think that that phrase simply means exactly what Grant was saying.

Yeah, it’s yesterday’s fashion.

I’m a retailer.

I want to get rid of those clothes.

So I’m selling them cheap.

I’m selling them at a discount.

In the end, I’m giving them away to Goodwill because they are going out of style.

And I just want to get rid of it and make room for the new stuff.

Yeah.

I think in respect to what it’s usually used for, it makes sense,

But in the particular context, it didn’t.

I see.

Well, you know, the first uses that we found were from the 1940s,

And they were talking about giving money away like it was going out of style.

I don’t think money is ever going to go out of style.

Exactly.

So that kind of makes the point here.

So remember, it’s just a simile.

Yeah.

Even more ironic, yeah.

Money going out of style.

Okay.

I’ll think on that, too.

Well, we will, too, David.

Thanks for giving us the…

Thanks, David.

You’re welcome.

I love your show.

Thanks.

Bye-bye.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Gosh, Grant, I never quite thought about it that way.

Well, if you’d like to bring us some food for thought, the number is 1-877-929-9673,

Or email us.

The address is words@waywordradio.org.