Quote:
Originally Posted by bfrabel
The term will still stay the same. It will be like how we still "roll" down the windows and "turn" up the volume on the radio. The only thing that might change is that we probably won't have to "crank" the starter anymore.
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I agree, There are many phrases still in use today that were coined decades or even centuries ago.
"The whole 9 yards" (ww2 ammo belt lenght)
"Hold a candle to" (Apprentices in the 1600's would hold candles for their masters so they could work)
"Off the record" (appeared in the 1920's when records were a popular media format)
"The acid test" (method of testing gold by prospectors in the 1800s"
"Bring home the bacon" (in the early 1100's, a popular English business owner would supplement wages with bacon)
"baker's dozen" (Midieval bakers would give an extra loaf because short changing by weight was a punishable offense)
"ball and chain" (1800's imprisonment method)
"basket case" (ww1 term for those who got arms/legs blown off and needed to be carried around)
"cut of your jib" (sailing term)
"Getting sacked" (17th century term for tradesman getting fired and taking their "sack" of tools home)
"dead ringer" (1800's horse racing term for a cheater)
"In the limelight" (19th century stage lighting)
"Keeping up with the Jonses" (1920's comic strip)
"Mad as a hatter" (early 1800's, hats made with Mercury resulting in mercury poisoning)
A lot of these phrases are regularly used today, even though many don't know the origins, nor were alive when the phrase originated.
I believe "firing on all cylinders" will become a phrase like the above. I use it frequently, and not always referring to an internal combustion engine. In fact, I probably use it more to describe a lot of manufacturing processes I manage running efficiently. I couldn't even tell you the last time I used it referring to a vehicle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarolinaMoon1
What do people say now instead of "turn up the volume?" (or just "turn it up")
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I've never owned a vehicle with roll up windows, nor ridden in one, but I say "roll down the window" when in a car. I also still say "turn up the volume" no matter what i'm listening to. TV, radio, computer, etc.
Just because someone might not use such phrases doesn't mean they are dead. They might fall out of use. My kids will likely grow up using phrases like "roll down the window" or "firing on all cylinders" because it's what I say. But someone elses kids might never hear those terms and thus never make it part of their usual vernacular.
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