Fenderskirts
I came across this phrase in a book yesterday "FENDER SKIRTS". A term I
haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts" started me
thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly
a notice.
Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my
mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find
some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.
Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire
covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.
When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking
brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with
"emergency brake."
I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the
accelerator the "foot feed".
Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could
ride the "running board" up to the house?
Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore -
"store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But
once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag
of candy.
"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now
means almost nothing. Now we take the term "world wide" for granted. This floors
me.
On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the
'50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall
carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood
floors. Go figure.
When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" It's hard to
imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a
little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all that talk about
stork visits and being in a family way" or simply "expecting".
Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it he other day and
my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now. "Unmentionables" probably
wouldn't be understood at all.
I always loved going to the "picture show", but I considered "movies" an
affectation.
Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure 60s word I came
across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!
Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what
was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for
this.
Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper.
Fender Skirts
Fender skirts, known in Australia as spats, are pieces
of
bodywork that cover the upper portions of the rear tires of an
automobile. They are typically detachable to allow for tire changes. They are implemented for both
aesthetic and
aerodynamic reasons. Rather than air flowing into and being trapped
in the rear wheel well, it flows smoothly over the bodywork. Automakers
have also experimented with front wheel fender skirts, but with success
limited by the fact that the front wheels must pivot for steering. Fender skirts were first seen on the
Chrysler Airflow and spread to many American cars in the 1940s. By
the 1970s, they began to disappear. Fender skirts remained for some time
longer on a few cars, particularly large American luxury cars.