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Tuesday
Nov172009
Ten Common Phrases That Could Soon Be History
Young Urban ProfessionalEarlier this week Oxford University Press declared "unfriend" its word of the year. This got me thinking... now that we are entering an era of media reforestation what common phrases could soon be history? Here's 10 that I came up with. You may disagree but I believe all of these have faded or will be gone soon. (All images are from Flickr via Creative Commons and are credited.)
Reader Comments (45)
I'll say you're 40%, maybe 50%, correct here.
Enjoyed this very much (as usual). Those are great examples. One thing that occurs to me though is we use phrases today without really understanding the origin...dressed to the nines, bite the bullet, flash in the pan... So even though your great examples may not make sense to the next generation, they may still be used. Will be interesting to see which ones stick!
What about "It's busy, I'll call back later"?
very good :)
I think you're on the money for things like the pay phone, but as Katy points out, some of the phrases are sayings that may outlast common knowledge of their meaning (maybe the broken record?).For example, people often say "too many cooks spoil the broth", but how many of them actually make or eat broth, or even know what it is?
You think signatures on legal documents are going away?
I wonder if we will continue to say "google it" should there be a new search engine that outranks Google...
Mr Hancock, eventually.
These sayings really make me feel old. Kids born in the 90's will have no clue what any of these mean. Crazy..
These are quite right. I often think of the companies that own or USED to own pay phones. It WAS a cash cow. They probably never imagined that there would no longer be a need for a pay phone. Talk about taking innovation for granted. I always stare when I see someone on a pay phone...I also stare when I see someone using a portable cd player on the subway. What's their deal?
Down our way, we still talk about "Hoovering the carpet". Everybody I know has a Dyson, but the phrase lives on!
DJ--you are soooo right about the busy signal. I recently referred to my cat's purring as a busy signal and my 12 year old didn't have a clue what I was talking about! LOL
We now have an entire generation who hasn't "dialed a telephone."
Nice. "A walking Encyclopedia" could become "a walking Wikipedia"...
I wonder if the next generation will tell their kids they had to walk to school 10 miles uphill, in the snow, both ways! Or will they say things like 'I had to go to the library and find a book, on a shelf, and it may or may not have been checked out! Wait, the kids already stopped doing that. I remember when rotary phone were the norm and you didn't buy phone, but rent them from the phone company. {sigh}
Cute, but very informative. I know you getting ready to launch something very big-What is it?
Hi Steve. Well, I know some people that may be a little bit upset of not having their 'pen pal friends' in the future. They are called 'postcrossers'. You can check for yourself at this website: www.postcrossing.com.Yes, Steve, I still keep my pen pal friends!!Greetings from Rio de Janeiro.Ah, and hope you can make it to come to the Olympic Games 2016!
These are great. Too bad I can't think of anything witty to share...[insert wittyness here]
Steve, thinking about a similar list -- technology that mimics "the old school." Examples:- Digital cameras that make a shutter sound - Album artwork and liner notes in iTunes - The little white dot that disappears into the center of the screen when you shut down Joost software client, like old tube TVs - And of course analog clock faces on every screen in my house!
Yikes,now I feel old - thanks! LOL :)
Oh man.. I am feeling really old.... I remember these things. My digital camera produces that synthetic 'shutter sound' that 'boikej' mentions!. Oh.. brother.... the pace of change accelerates!
Something I've thought of recently: "He's all thumbs." We use thumbs for everything now!
How about that rite of passage of making a "mix tape" for someone you have a crush on in jr high school? haha
Occasionally, mortifyingly, I refer to my iPod as a "walkman".
The encyclopedia one might just turn into, "she's a walking Wikipedia!" (Though with internet access everywhere, that might be more a disclaimer about the person's phone than their knowledge!) lol