On the train this morning it occurred to me, while eavesdropping on two hipster chicks lamenting the apparent death of a pet lizard, that I might be the only one on the car who knew the significance of the expression, "the rabbit died." Which got me wondering how many expressions have become archaic over the last 30 years. I'm not counting the sun rising and setting-- after all, there are plenty of folks who still think it does exactly that. No, I'm looking for stuff everyone used to say, and know exactly what it meant, that nowadays, would leave your listener scratching his head and wondering if you had reached senility at last.

Go ahead, drop a dime.

...and I may have told this before, but I remember my embarassment at relating the structure of chromosomes to that of a phone cord, and receiving blank stares from my students.

and I've even got a phone cord at my desk.

When I was a kid, and they made us take IQ tests with pictures you were supposed to circle, one of the questions was, which of these things belong in a kitchen? Of course, my family's only phone was in the kitchen, so my IQ dropped considerably that day.

My kids wonder why I say "roll down the window" ... I dunno but "push the button to make the motor slide the window down" just doesn't cut it for me.

I'll do better than that. I promise.

I need to read my old posts. They are full of such things.

used to teach on the island of Ebye, where the native language has almost no verbs, if any. So it took a lot of time to get the kids to understand how they work in English. As an example, he says that in a situation like yours, the Ebye would say, "Up the window..."

saying that I dial a phone number to make a call.

my post is time stamped 1:19 pm, the same as your post. I wonder which one of us hit the enter key first.

Wonder what kids think Dial M for Murder means?

When I first moved to New York, the pace got to me pretty badly. At one point I remember standing in a front of a pay phone (is that another archaism?), trying to remember whether I was supposed to pick up the handset before I dialed? Or did the money go in first? Even now, when I'm stressed out, I dream about panicking in front of a pay phone while the number pad dances around and changes symbols as I try to, well, dial.

Phones are very weird receptacles of archaic references. My kids would like to know what an Operator is.

"Land-line" is even becoming oddly "old."

But we both seem to be dialed in with the same thought.

made a comeback so now my kids know what all those flat cardboard jackets are in the "stereo room" ... how about that one: Stereo Sound. Woo! I remember when it was a big deal!

And films were actually on film. Same with photos.

My daughter recently sent me an email exclaiming about how much fun she is having being a Pen-Pal with her young (8 year old) cousin. They write actual letters, in pen and on paper, and mail them to each other. Both of them see this as a crazy, outrageous, totally-hip activity.

Hmmm.

some of the archaic expressions survive. After all, we still crank our engines to start them.

have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

(Well, unless you pour the egg whites out of a carton.)

Have to get this film developed.

Look it up in the dictionary.

Spin a record.

Go outside & play.

Fill'er up. (gas station)

Kick start it (motorcycle)