Do you remember trains with cowcatchers? They were on the front of the train engine to scoop cows standing on the tracks. It supposedly stopped a lot of crashes.
If you walked rather than rode your horse you went shank's mare. It is sometimes called shanks pony.
Widderdhins is s Low German term for against the way. It usually means to go counter-clockwise.
Belly bands were wrapped around a new baby's middle. It was believed to prevent a hernia.
Rubbering in was what snoopy people did on a party line. There used to be more than one telephone on one line all connected to each other. Etiquette was to not listen to conversations on another phone or rubber in.
An early jukebox was called a nickelodeon because it took a nickel to operate.
Beginning in the 1920's 'Hepcats' (meaning someone who listened to jazz) wore zoot suits.
Quicksilver is another name for liquid mercury.
Homes used to have a chamber pot. It was kept under the bed and used if the person needed to relieve themselves at night so they did not have to walk all the way to the outhouse.
Peanuts are a good snack. Did you know they are Goober Peas?
When I was in high school the sack dress was popular. It was dress that had no waistline. It was just straight up and down. It is sometimes called a chemise.
A western saddle has a saddle horn. It is an extension of the pommel of the saddle that a cowboy uses to anchor his rope when roping cattle.
Sinister means on the left. No wonder people who were left-handed were considered to be sinister. Sinister has also become to be associated with evil. In the past left-handed people were considered to be evil. Often a left-handed person was persecuted as a witch.
Shmoos loved humans. They were more than happy to provide us with eggs, leather, and butter from their own bodies. They would even be thrilled to become a nice steak dinner.
Are there any obscure terms you have a fondness for? I would love to learn them.
thecontemplativecat here. My goodness, girl. I never knew what those meant. Such a part of the past.
ReplyDeleteI will bet you have a few of your own too.
DeleteI knew all of them except one, never heard of widderthins. Shmoos were invented by cartoonist Al Capp, I think, in his Li’l Abner comic strip.
ReplyDeleteRight you are. I loved it when the Shmoo would show up periodically.
DeleteThese are wonderfully Wonderlandish.
ReplyDeleteThey truly are. Alice would love them.
DeleteShmoos! They were so eerie.
ReplyDeleteI thought they were cute.
DeleteWow,this is full of very very interesting knowledge post dear Emma 🤗👍♥️
ReplyDeleteI learned lot what was what back then
The left handed men were considered evil was very shocking
Thank you so much for adding so much 🥰
My uncle is only 3 years older than me. He is left-handed. When he started school they made him learn to write with his right hand. He still has problems writing. I am also left-handed. When I started school Mom gave them strict orders to let me use my left hand. I did the same with the two of my children who are left-handed.
DeleteOh! I am remembering the belly bands for babies! I must look that up, I wonder when they stopped doing that?
ReplyDeleteThey stopped in the late 50's. It was discovered that they made no difference.
DeleteAdmittedly, I was not familiar with most of these terms, Emma, so this was an informative and also amusing post, Emma. I did know about cowcatchers😀 for some reason.
ReplyDelete