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The long, low piece of furniture that had drawers where you stored the silverware and table linens was called a "buffet" at one time. If you put a cabinet on top of it that had shelves and glass doors and stored the "good china" in it, the whole thing was then called a "hutch".
We carried our books to and from school in a "satchel". Today that "satchel" has turned into a "back pack".
So many of these are still in use. Just because you don't use the words or phrases doesn't mean that the usage is extinct.
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Originally Posted by Tia 914
some of the examples may be less about time/generations than about regional differences
Yes, like mangoes for green peppers, which is quite common in southern Ohio, especially among country folk. The first time someone in Cincinnati told me they were growing mangoes in their garden, I was speechless!
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Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach
A menstrual period was called a "period" or "the curse".
You mean it still isn't?
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Today these undergarments are anachronisms.
I hope you're wearing a skirt made out of a thick, dark and dense fabric!
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"Night stand" for a bedside table.
What else would you call it?? And "nightstand" has fewer syllables.
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Originally Posted by in_newengland
Sleeping porch
I'd kill for one of these!
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Originally Posted by TracySam
So I got to college and asked someone for a magic marker, and they're like "Tracy, it's a marker. And it's not magic."
They were when they first came out! It was a brand name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cunucu Beach
The long, low piece of furniture that had drawers where you stored the silverware and table linens was called a "buffet" at one time.
I haven't heard a menstrual period called "the curse" or "monthly" for 50 years. I've heard the medical term "menses" used more and more in recent years.
I hope you're wearing a skirt made out of a thick, dark and dense fabric!
I don't own a single "petticoat" or "slip" today but 60 years ago I wore one every single day. Not even sure if you can still buy them anymore. Come to think of it, I own only a couple of skirts and neither of them are thin enough to need something underneath.
What else would you call it?? And "nightstand" has fewer syllables.
"Bedside table"
It still is.
Last time I heard someone refer to that piece of furniture, it was called a "lowboy", not a "buffet". Hmmmm......maybe "lowboy" is the anachronism.
One phrase my grandmother used occasionally to describe a pesky person was to call them "a pain in the drain". She was too much of a lady to say "*****". I guess that is one phrase that will never go out of style.
What I'm noticing from our posts, is that we still have all the same furniture as they did in the old days, but it's just called something different based on geography and individual family history, and we seem to be attributing the different names to old-fashioned grandparent terms.
I have a buffet, you might have a sideboard. My grandma might have called my buffet a sideboard, but your grandma probably called your sideboard a buffet. Ditto for chest of drawers, bureau, highboy, dresser. Ditto for cupboards, cabinets, closets. Side tables, end tables, bedside tables, etc.
"Britches"? As in "too big for your britches"??? That's what my grandmother used to say about one of us kids when were getting sassy or not behaving well.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 03-01-2011 at 09:42 AM..
Reason: Edited quoted text
Was Chesterfield a brand or style of sofa? I guess it would be similar to calling the fridge the Frigidare. Or a tissue a Kleenex.
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I hope you're wearing a skirt made out of a thick, dark and dense fabric!
It was a brand name.
