And now it’s time to play. . .
FUN WITH WORDS!
Ye-e-es, it’s that goofy game in which we
discover words that no one uses any more. Words that are retired. And a
few once-popular phrases, which means they’re more than one word that isn't used any more!
I was going to put these in alphabetical
order, but to hell with that. I sort of grouped them into categories.
Ready?
Sociological
terms:
Problem child (today called ADD, PTSD,
QRST, evolving queer, or whatever the combination du jour is. Back then, they
were just plain bad and had to go out behind the woodshed to be taught a
lesson.)
Broken home: “He comes from a broken
home.” (Knowing looks, nodding heads.
Ahhhh, that explains it.)
“Put him away” (as in “have him committed”,
but it sounds more like closet clutter).
Sexual
terms:
Nymphomaniac: I always thought this sounded
like a long-winged insect, a dragonfly or something. Anyway, there aren’t any left,
though people do go to Sex Anonymous and talk about how awful they are.
Frigid: Like a frigidaire. No hope of sex here.
Impotent: Always purely psychological. Now,
purely physiological. Ain’t science grand?
Hymen: Does anyone have one of these any
more?
Disease
terms:
Grippe: Sort of like a flu, I think.
Lumbago: I love this word! It’s some
sort of arthritic condition in your back.
Chilblains: An
inflammation followed by itchy irritation on the hands, feet, or ears,
resulting from exposure to moist
cold. Usually treated by rubbing snow on the afffected area. Ow.
Consumption: No, this has nothing to do
with eating.
Ague: Jesus, I don’t know.
Psychiatric terms
Oedipus complex: Loves Mommy, kills Daddy,
etc. Only in the Ozarks.
Penis envy: This was supposed to be universal among women, until science realized it afflicts mainly men.
Nerves: Nerves could mean anything, but it
generally worked to get you out of gym class.
High-strung: We didn’t say bipolar then.
Candy
terms:
Humbug: Hard boiled sweet, normally peppermint-flavoured, cushion-shaped. (And awful.)
Horehound: 1. an Old World bitter perennial mint (Marrubium
vulgare) with downy leaves 2: an extract
or confection made from the dried leaves and flowering tops of this plant 3: any of several mints resembling the
horehound
Pepsin:
a digestive enzyme in the gastric juice of
stomach secretions that catalyzes the splitting of proteins into
smaller, more absorptive peptides; an extract of pepsin from the stomachs of calves, pigs, etc.,
formerly used as a digestive aid. A popular flavoring used in chewing gum,
Lifesavers, etc. (Yum!)
These must be holdovers
from the days of patent medicines.
Drunk
words:
Sot
Crapulous
Bibulous
Not very flattering.
Miscellaneous:
Gay: this meant festive, flamboyant, even
gaudy, and definitely happy. No one knows when the other meaning came into play.
Dandy: Not as in “just dandy,” but
referring to a young man who was always just ahead of fashion and a bit of a poppinjay. Now mostly replaced by "metrosexual".
Hoary: Snowy or beardy or otherwise old and
obsolete.
Self-pollution: This had nothing to do with
going green, believe me!
Hankie (a related term): A piece of linen
cloth that you blew your nose into (or worse), then stuck back into your pocket. You can see
how Typhoid Mary got her start.
http://margaretgunnng.blogspot.ca/2013/04/the-glass-character-synopsis.html
http://margaretgunnng.blogspot.ca/2013/04/the-glass-character-synopsis.html
