Topic Wiki

The idea of this thread is to list phrases that are still used in the same context, but refer to cultural or physical objects that are, for all intents and purposes, obsolete.

For example: "I'll cc you on that" - the original CC refers to carbon copy, which indicates that this memo was copied and given to those people on the list
Another example: "Here's a dime/quarter call someone who cares"- refer to the cost of a call on a payphone. The phrase is still used, but very few working payphones exist in today's world

Two examples of things that don't fit the criteria:
- "A penny for your thoughts" - because people still have pennies and occasionally use them.
- "Beam me that app" - both the method and the phrase are more or less obsolete.

Examples pulled from the thread:
That and a token will get you on the subway
Here's a dime/quarter, call someone who cares.
V'Nafal li Ha'Asimon (Hebrew)
You sound like a broken record
Hang up the phone
Off the hook
Dialing a number
Rewind the tape / Be Kind Rewind
Leave me a message on my machine
Let's go to the video tape / roll the tape /The highlight reel / show me the clip* (Clip can refer to a modern video, but literally refers to a cut piece of film)
Getting clotheslined
Put something on the map
Roll down the window
A music 'Single'
"You've got mail"
"Mind if I borrow the sports section?"
"Do you have change for a dollar?"

Note - not a definitive list, and very subjective. Feel free to edit.





« Last edited by Yonah on January 29, 2020, 11:24:01 AM »

Author Topic: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well  (Read 37302 times)

Offline chevron

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 2552
  • Total likes: 543
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #80 on: January 28, 2020, 12:32:47 AM »
We did the pay phone thing always, collect call to mom "imathemallpickmeup"

Of course she might not be able to pick you up when you have to wait an hour, call back or even bum a quarter

"Did anyone see the phone" when we would keep losing the house cordless phone and have to page it


Online yuneeq

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jan 2013
  • Posts: 8611
  • Total likes: 4000
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: NJ
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #81 on: January 28, 2020, 12:39:52 AM »
Hang up the phone...it’s off the hook.
Visibly Jewish

Online yuneeq

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jan 2013
  • Posts: 8611
  • Total likes: 4000
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 10
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: NJ
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #82 on: January 28, 2020, 12:54:51 AM »
It’s the beginning of the end.
This is a turning point.
The walls are closing in. 
Bombshell.
Visibly Jewish

Offline Definitions

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jan 2018
  • Posts: 1748
  • Total likes: 480
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #83 on: January 28, 2020, 12:56:00 AM »
It’s the beginning of the end.
This is a turning point.
The walls are closing in. 
Bombshell.
?
My Tapatalk notifications don't always work.

Offline whYME

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 3213
  • Total likes: 1241
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #84 on: January 28, 2020, 12:59:12 AM »
?
I'm pretty sure there are more complete ones, but this is what I found

Offline Definitions

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jan 2018
  • Posts: 1748
  • Total likes: 480
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #85 on: January 28, 2020, 01:11:39 AM »
I'm pretty sure there are more complete ones, but this is what I found

I don't get it. I thought those phrases are still used.

 (the politics thread has a alert every page or two)

My Tapatalk notifications don't always work.

Offline whYME

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 3213
  • Total likes: 1241
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 3
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #86 on: January 28, 2020, 01:16:27 AM »
(the politics thread has a alert every page or two)
And they tend to not "age" very well :)

Offline Yammer

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Posts: 3695
  • Total likes: 217
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #87 on: January 28, 2020, 01:58:39 AM »


My dad did a gap year in Israel long before it was a thing (in 1968, one year after the 6-day war). He would tell stories about how his friends would make collect calls, but instead of saying their names, they'd use a short yiddish phrase to send their parents a message. He said the most common thing was a collect call from "Shick Gelt" (Send Money).

So a kid would call their parents collect from "Shick Gelt" and the parents would reject the call and send him some money.

Every once in a while, they'd get a yiddish speaking operator who would jump into the game - i.e. the kid would say "Collect call from Shick Gelt" and the operator would ask them "Viful? (How much)"

We did it in camp all the time .. we would say the last 4 digits of that camp phone ( there was a paper near the telephone at home with all the phone calls. ) And would get a call back.

Hey, who remembers dialing without an area code??? I'll never forget the day I kept calling people only to hear the annoying "please press 1 and then the area code to complete your call" >:(

In Monsey you still don't need to dial the area code...

Have any good apps to beam me?

The Palm Pilot... totally forgot about that.

Offline Dan

  • Administrator
  • Dansdeals Lifetime 50K Diamond Elite
  • **********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 67601
  • Total likes: 16913
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 16442
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: CLE
  • Programs: UA GS, AA EXP, DL Dirt, Hyatt Glob, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, DD Diamond, Blocked By @NeriaKraus
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #88 on: January 28, 2020, 07:22:16 AM »
The Palm Pilot... totally forgot about that.

:)
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #89 on: January 28, 2020, 08:42:17 AM »
Was it really that long ago that this changed?

 In Connecticut, I could dial 7 digits until 2009, and in westchester, until I switched to VOIP service (as recently as 1 year ago), I could still dial 7 digits.

Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #90 on: January 28, 2020, 08:44:09 AM »
This one’s for the highlight reel

... or the line made famous by Warner Wolf - 'Let's go to the video tape'....

Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #91 on: January 28, 2020, 08:45:23 AM »

Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #92 on: January 28, 2020, 08:46:01 AM »
Stopping at a gas station to ask for directions

Or keeping an atlas in your glove compartment.

Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #93 on: January 28, 2020, 08:52:39 AM »
How about Pagers - anyone remember smartbeep? Pager "codes".

When I was a sophmore in college, someone's pager went off in the front row of class. The professor got upset, he told the person to go call their dealer. The person was flabbergasted. The professor said "where I come from, only two kinds of people have pagers, doctors and drug dealers - so if your actually a physician who's back in school getting a degree in computer science, please accept my apologies"

If we're being more nostalgic, how about this article I wrote a few years ago: https://medium.com/@yonahwolf/1994-vs-2009-vs-2017-94ce7a7b6e53


Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #94 on: January 28, 2020, 08:54:34 AM »
Of course, we still use the phrases 'Single', 'Album', 'LP', and 'EP' in describing music (the latter terms not as much anymore), which all essentially have to do with the size of the vinyl record.

Offline aygart

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 17404
  • Total likes: 14340
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 14
    • View Profile
    • Lower Watt Energy Brokers
  • Programs: www.lowerwatt.com
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #95 on: January 28, 2020, 09:26:03 AM »


... or the line made famous by Warner Wolf - 'Let's go to the video tape'....



Let's go to the video tape...

Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline bb1836

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Dec 2013
  • Posts: 3429
  • Total likes: 434
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 154
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #96 on: January 28, 2020, 09:35:01 AM »
"Hello and welcome to MovieFone. If you know the name of the movie you'd like to see, press 1 now"
As @davidmal says: "Likes" feed the family

Offline as2

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Mar 2013
  • Posts: 5671
  • Total likes: 917
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 24
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #97 on: January 28, 2020, 09:37:12 AM »
"You've got mail"
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

Offline Yonah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Mar 2014
  • Posts: 608
  • Total likes: 386
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #98 on: January 28, 2020, 10:04:38 AM »
... or the line made famous by Warner Wolf - 'Let's go to the video tape'....

Let's go to the video tape...

That's the problem when you reply to a message on page 4, not having read page 7 :)

Or to keep with the theme - "I didn't get the memo"

Offline Yehuda57

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jan 2014
  • Posts: 4891
  • Total likes: 14686
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
    • Squilled
  • Location: Brooklyn
  • Programs: Official Dansdeals salad correspondent
Re: Phrases that Haven't Aged Well
« Reply #99 on: January 28, 2020, 10:23:26 AM »
"Hello and welcome to MovieFone. If you know the name of the movie you'd like to see, press 1 now"

Why don't you just tell me what movie you want to see