words?

My mothers generation talk of putting away the delft ( cups and saucers ) or of having a mineral ( coke/orange/7up ) or of listing to the wireless ( the radio ).
No one is every fat they are stout! and when a some died she might say its a pity they never had any family ( meaning they didn't have any children )...I think we are going to lose a uniqueness of expression when that generation go.

OldGoat

"Put the messages in the press" is one that springs to mind from my mums generation.
Also 'Dial'ing someone on a phone is just about gone and the youff have never seen a rotary dial phone.

teacherspet

As a child all my neighbours were called Mr or Mrs as a sign of respect. That is certainly gone.

sgb

You could call a happy man a gay feller, not anymore

Bearhunter

sgb wrote: »

You could call a happy man a gay feller, not anymore

And a gay man wasn't gay; he was "very good to his mother."
No one ever had cancer, they were "riddled with it. Riddled."

dubtom

teacherspet wrote: »

As a child all my neighbours were called Mr or Mrs as a sign of respect. That is certainly gone.

I still live in the house I was reared in and I still call the old neighbours Mr or Mrs.
Shaking hands when greeting is something I only really see happen now when introduced to someone for the first time, it used to be a common thing when meetings friends or whoever. Eastern Europeans still seem to do it though.

OldGoat

Have to say that I always shake hands or hug/cheek-kiss friends on meeting them or on leaving their company. Strangers can be a bit arkward as they are unfimilar with the practice but that arkwardness is a nice oppetunity for starting conservations as you put them at their ease. A suitable thread for the Gentlemans club would be "The Art and Practice of the Handshake".

Meanwhile, back on topic...
I have family in laws over in Liverpoo; and I've always been facinated by the small differences in speach between them and us (as we are essentially the same city divided by a bit of water). My favourite is where we would use the word 'gurrier' they use 'scally'. Love that term. "Go on ya scally!"

policarp

My mother used to use the term "scally-wag", wherever she picked it up.

Condatis

teacherspet wrote: »

As a child all my neighbours were called Mr or Mrs as a sign of respect. That is certainly gone.

Not in my experience.

Condatis

Nowadays people are spoken of as having dementia or Alzheimers.

When I was growing up they were referred to as 'doting'.

chucken1

What about the local raging alcoholic who was "fond of the drink"

shedweller

I always wanted some star wars toys but i vaguely remember getting one or two storm troopers. I have never owned a star wars toy!:eek:
I did get some lego though so it wasnt too bad!

cucbuc

My mother used to say " Do what I bid you!" (usually as a final warning before ye olde wooden spoon was taken out..:eek:)
That was in the seventies. I Always thought it sounded more like the middle ages though.

Gary ITR

My OH (who'll probably batter me when she sees this) uses some 'older' terms like 'divil' and 'bipping the horn'.

They always make me laugh

Clareboy

In times past, a person suffering from arthitis would say - " the old rhumatics are at me ". A person not looking too well would be described as " very shook lookin'" . A person who was getting on in years would be described as ' crabbed' .

Feeded

What about the old favourite ''it'd be more in your line. . ''

cml387

My late father, when we were young and being bad,describd us a "scutchers".

Bearhunter

"very shook looking" - Brilliant, I haven't heard that in years.

Or what about the most Irish of all illnesses/diseases/disorders: nerves.

"Sure he can't work with his nerves, God love him."

cml387

Bearhunter wrote: »

"very shook looking" - Brilliant, I haven't heard that in years.

Or what about the most Irish of all illnesses/diseases/disorders: nerves.

"Sure he can't work with his nerves, God love him."

"Took to the bed" another one.

Bearhunter

And is there any word as evocative as coortin'? As in: "He was coortin' a wan fr'm out beyant Tomhaggard, but she turned turk on him and he was left bet and battered by the whole affair."

itac

A courting couple would be "Doing a line"....
rather different connotations nowadays, have just about persuaded my Mum to stop using it!

The word "vexed" seems to have disappeared too....often dependent on the person and their level of anger; but when someone in our family was vexed with you, you knew you'd done a major wrong!

OldGoat

Bearhunter wrote: »

And is there any word as evocative as coortin'? As in: "He was coortin' a wan fr'm out beyant Tomhaggard, but she turned turk on him and he was left bet and battered by the whole affair."

Thats just pure culchie.

Beruthiel

OldGoat wrote: »

Thats just pure culchie.

Culchie Gold Mr!

Kalimah

I'm laughing reading all of this! It reminds me so much of my grandparents and mother especially. All of them now dead. My mother used to say someone "had a puss on them" if they were sulking. Someone a bit dim was a "dah" which I believe is a Waterford expression. I use it myself!
A dog was a "bowler". My grandfather used to refer to romantic books as "bodice rippers". I don't know who was doing the ripping!
A woman careful of her virtue had "the two legs in the one stocking". I've used that with great effect the odd time.

stargazer 68

Yeah my mum always said - get the puss off you!
'two legs in one stocking' - never heard of that one - its brilliant!!! Not much of that now though lol

Ash.J.Williams

My bogger girlfriend asking me to get something out of "the dresser".....resulting in me looking in the bedside locker....

OldGoat

OK, my bad (I'm scarlet) for pushing the thread off course with an ill concidered regional quip. Lets keep the thread to words and phrases that have or are being eroded by time rather then those of just a regional difference.


Does anyone ever answer the phone now reciting the phone number? "xxx8560, Hello?"

Ash.J.Williams

i'm sure kids now are confused when we discuss "getting a video"

Beruthiel

I whistled a lot as a kid. My Gran used to say to me all the time:

A whistlin' woman and a crowin' hen,
drives the devil out of his den.

Kalimah

OldGoat wrote: »

OK, my bad (I'm scarlet) for pushing the thread off course with an ill concidered regional quip. Lets keep the thread to words and phrases that have or are being eroded by time rather then those of just a regional difference.


Does anyone ever answer the phone now reciting the phone number? "xxx8560, Hello?"

I do!!

Rubecula

OldGoat wrote: »

OK, my bad (I'm scarlet) for pushing the thread off course with an ill concidered regional quip. Lets keep the thread to words and phrases that have or are being eroded by time rather then those of just a regional difference.


Does anyone ever answer the phone now reciting the phone number? "xxx8560, Hello?"

Too many calls to sell insurance, double glazing, whatever, so now I just answer "Yeah" Hopefully they don't know the number by heart and wont call back.

Dunno how widespread it was but when us kids were a bit naughty, gran used to tell us that "Mr Jones" was coming to collect us. I was terrified of anyone called Jones for years. Just in case......

Strangely I don't remember many folks using swear words of any great note while I was growing up. The odd "Bloody Hell" seemed to be about the end of it.

First time I used the 'F' word was when I saw it chalked on a wall and I said to my mum. "Mum what does F*** mean?" I was clattered around like never before. "That is a wicked thing to say I will never let you say it again or I will knock the smile onto the other side of your face."

(Next time she heard me say it I was in my 20's and she fell over laughing at me.....Mothers eh?)

Oryx

My gran used to say 'secula seculorum' when she meant something would happen eventually.

She would tell you to 'hawld yer whisht' when you were to shut up.

In 'auld gods time' meant ages ago.

OldGoat

Love 'hawld yer whisht', I still use it all the time.

Penny Dreadful

itac wrote: »

A courting couple would be "Doing a line"....
rather different connotations nowadays, have just about persuaded my Mum to stop using it!

The word "vexed" seems to have disappeared too....often dependent on the person and their level of anger; but when someone in our family was vexed with you, you knew you'd done a major wrong!

When my mother was "very vexed" you knew you were in a whole of trouble. "I'll malavogue you" was another. It wasn't as bad as very vexed but was a step up from ordinary vexed.

Oryx

A 'poor creathur' was an unfortunate person, a 'drop of the creathur' was a small whiskey.

Bearhunter

AS my mother used to say after deciding she'd be quicker doing a chore than getting the brother or me to do it: "Ah sure, tis the ould dog fer the hard road and the pup fer the path..."

There was also something very canine about my youth. If you were bad you called a pup or a whelp or a cur. "God yer a pure cur today whatever's wrong with ye."

And my auntie had a lovely phrase for when things were going well, in a "now we're sucking diesel" kinda way: "Begod we have it be the hasp o th' arse now."

OldGoat

Bearhunter wrote: »

And my auntie had a lovely phrase for when things were going well, in a "now we're sucking diesel" kinda way: "Begod we have it be the hasp o th' arse now."

"Fartin' through silk"

chucken1

My nana never went to the doctors surgery..she went to the dispensary.
The garda station was the barrack.

Never send a boy to do a mans job!

Beruthiel

OldGoat wrote: »

"Fartin' through silk"

Can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

looksee

My mum would clean up after dad's diy efforts muttering 'do a job and make a job'.

And there was the favourite - 'its a bit black over Bill's mothers'', meaning the sky had darkened and it was going to rain. We never did establish who Bill was, much less his mother.

Feeona

Ideas above his station=Someone who thinks he's great (feckin' begrudgers :pac:)
Fired with the drought=thirsty
Be back before you're there=Hurry up
Get the messages=Get the shopping
Mistress=Teacher :eek:
Frock=Dress

My father regularly called us little ******s and little fairies if we did something wrong. He also used to put the emphasis on 'fic' in the word 'certificate' (he was from an era when certificates weren't handed out willy nilly)

star-pants

Onkle wrote: »

My OH (who'll probably batter me when she sees this) uses some 'older' terms like 'divil' and 'bipping the horn'.

They always make me laugh

Yeah yeah! :P

I'm not sure which is worse, him laughing at me, or the fact I use some of the phrases in this thread.

Does no one use 'getting the messages' anymore?
I put the messages away in the press
And I dial numbers sometimes

We also have a dresser in the kitchen.... we used to have two

Yep I put things in the press.. and I have said put your top coat on... I had people laughing when after a long steep hill walk I sat down and said I am bet altogether...

I think a lot of the way older people talked was about being discreet/kind... thats why people were stout instead of fat or suffered with there nerves instead of being mentally ill or were fond of the drink instead of being an alcoholic and so on. On the other had we as a race are great at sweeping things under the carpet and ignoring things so perhaps we developed a way of expressing our selves that reflect that?

Bizzi Lizzy

I was born in England along with four other siblings, and before we moved back to Ireland we used to come "home to Ireland" for our holidays, and if we were naughty my nan used to call us "very bold", this had us very confused as kids, because in England Bold was washing powder

anewme

For someone small -

He could walk under the bed in a tall hat.

If someone died -
Did you hear John Smith died.
What did he die of?
He died of a Thursday!

Das Kitty

Oh dear, I say well over 50% of these things still.

A few more, an egg was a guggy

And you were never sweating because,
"horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glow!"

My granny used to wear a roll-on which was basically control pants to hold in the gut.

Wizzbit

Das Kitty wrote: »

Oh dear, I say well over 50% of these things still.

A few more, an egg was a guggy

And you were never sweating because,
"horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glow!"

My granny used to wear a roll-on which was basically control pants to hold in the gut.

OMG I am lovin this thread...bringing back so many memories of my childhood and all the sayings my mum used and still uses today. My mum says 'roll-on' also about underwear..

My parents still call trousers 'slacks' which I think is hilarious. And as some other poster said, neighbours were called by only Mr & Mrs. Even in school we called our teachers Ms. or Sir... In my sons schools it's all on a first name basis. In fact I don't even know his teachers surnames... oh how times have changed..
Another classic word is 'grand', everyone or everything is 'grand'. Its such an irish saying.

Rubecula

My granny used to call me a "Little Sconehead" if I did something naughty. Dunno if that was a word used in Ireland.

anewme

Das Kitty wrote: »

Oh dear, I say well over 50% of these things still.

A few more, an egg was a guggy


My granny used to wear a roll-on which was basically control pants to hold in the gut.

For us a "guggy egg" was an egg boiled somewhere between soft boiled and hard boiled, chopped up in a cup with lots of salt and butter.

My granny was always saying to me - do you want a guggy egg in a cup. Make it now and again for myself. Yum.

Another old saying - someone who talked too much was deemed to be "like the clappers of a bellas (bellows)" My mam still says that about people.

And speaking of addressing people as Mr./Mrs. etc, where we lived, your dog had the same surname as the family.

"I was walking down the road and Spot Kelly ran out after me" Just laughing here to myself thinking of some of the names!


We also got "goody", which was bread soaked with hot milk and sugar. We usually got that for dinner the day before payday!

My mam had a roll on - I remember thinking yuk! I'll never wear one of them - oh how the mighty have fallen!!

Condatis

My mother:

"He has notions above his station."

For a family which liked to hold themselves as better than others but were of no substance.

"All lace curtains and no dinner."

Das Kitty

"did you meet anyone better than yourself?"

Still don't know if that means anyone in general or a possible suitor!