What words or phrases from your youth have disappeared from the English language?

I remember calling boys "spunky". I haven't heard that term for a long time.

by Ivana Katz

Oh yeah, me too. 80's nostalgia.

I remember referring to a swimming costume as "togs", haven't heard that in a while.

by Sarah Bell

You must be a Queenslander. I am, but I find myself saying "swimsuit" or "swimmers" these days and I don't really know why. I'm also saying "suitcase" instead of "port". There, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

I've never heard of swimwear refereed to by any of the above except maybe in books written by authors that aren't from North America. Here (in Canada) we typically call it a bathing suit or swimsuit for a woman (or just a bikini if it's a two piece) and swim shorts or trunks for men. I find it very interesting how the language changes over time and space.

I've never heard of swimwear refereed to by any of the above except maybe in books written by authors that aren't from North America. Here (in Canada) we typically call it a bathing suit or swimsuit for a woman (or just a bikini if it's a two piece) and swim shorts or trunks for men. I find it very interesting how the language changes over time and space.

Oops, sorry for the double post. Not sure how that happened :)

It sure does change dependent on location. I'm not from Queensland, but my father was from Inverell which is near the border of NSW and Queensland. He also used to say port instead of suitcase. I think he's converted to suitcase now too.

I think it is a matter of Both!

They have been replaced with a more simple way of speech.
They have disappeared, due that very reason.

Now we have words like 'selfie'? ....which means someone taking a picture of
you by you.
I don't really mind it too much, after all I'm on the way out...and the new kids on the block are here!
What can we do, all part of life changing .

by jonaja

I can't think of a specific example right now, but when I was doing my children's writing MA, I was writing dialogue for one of my child characters, and my teacher told me that children don't use those words anymore. There are a lot of words like that I used to use that I don't think are around that much now.

by Bryony Harrison

Swimmers as cozzies. The only word that comes to mind right now. Duchess for table cloth as well.

by Justine Crowley

In my family the duchess was the "dressing table" in the bedroom.

We used to also call what you call a swimming suit, "togs" but we also was off at with the word "bathers" . "Togs" were said to the boys but if it was said to girls or even adults too, we would all know eat was meant including the word "bathers". Bathers, is used more today here tho.

If someone said to you, " don't forget to bring your swimmers or swimsuit, I would then be alerted to the fact that that person was definitely from or grew up in NSW or Queensland, predominately and not from Melbourne.

Gosh I haven't heard "Spunky" for a very long time, now I think about it and along with "Hunk". Like he's a bit of a Hunk! That's been changed to, He's Hot!
SORRY
Calling a woman a "Sheila" was used by men if they were speaking about a unknown named woman, either said affectionately or not so affectionately. It was very much and Aussie colloquialism, like most of our language back in my parents and grand parents time.

char lady for house keeper or now "Cleaner" which covers all areas of Cleaning ie house, industrial etc.

"Dosh" is an old word for money I haven't heard bandied around for areas very long time as young kids teenagers don't used that word any more.
I'll have to give this topic a bit more thought.....interesting topic!

by summer

You have given my memory a jog. Many sayings were related to the old currency - "zac" for "sixpence", "I'll betcha two bob", and what was a "deena"? Threepence was a "tray bit" for who knows what reason.

yes you're right. I never used those words growing up by Id heard them spoken.

Then upon thinking, what about going to the 'pictures' rather than going to see a 'Movie' like we do now.
Then we went to the Picture House used long before I was here. Then it became a theatre which was generic for anything other than going to the movies. Then we went from that to Cinema. oh and decades and decades ago was Nickelodeon

Movies went from reel to reel and then celluloid to whatever then to digital
People who acted in a movie were called a female actor or male actor but now they are all called
Actors. So if they have a name that either a male or female could be known as, we could be stumped.

Then there has been a huge change in the word as we know it now as Toilet...bathroom is never regarded as the toilet back then but i have heard it used now. Out house was a small square building that didnt at alll look like our kind of toilet at all. All made of timber.
That in Australia was called apart from the Out house which was Outside only so it was affectionately called The Dunny.
I hear it from time to time even today esp by men.

lino for linoleum.. who calls it linoleum? they did eons ago..its just cut down to LINO

Coolgardie - fridge, refrigerator for fridge too, ESKY is a new word too from Ice Box but with Esky you can take it on the move.

spectacles for glasses you read with.

wrap around is a piece of material you toss on when its hot or after swimming.

Long play records, turning into LP's to smaller size records..I forget their name now... then all of that went on to TAPES
THEN we got tape recorders, and from TAPES we arrived at CD'S

Cameras too have changed and evolved from clunkers. From box Brownies to Digital. Same with videos you would use separately but now days they are all within your mobile but you can still by a small video camera rather than a huge clunker.

then there is the English language from eons ago

Thee, thou, art etc.
last but not least is

getting someone in a post office to send a message to someone in another country or state via tapping the message but it wasnt morse code or perhaps it was.... back then it was called a telegram, now days its called an email and back then we didnt have computers at all.

purse for wallet and hand bag hasnt changed I dont think but in USA they call a handbag a purse where as here we call it a hand bag and I dont know and a wallet is what men use not women we use purses but<<<< some say wallet lol..... its way too funny that one

bras were brassiers
corsets have gone by the wayside but I think theyre called something else.

gramdparents never wore thongs on their feet either nor on their bodies but now days thongs can mean undies and also what you wear on your feet but in usa theyre called FLIPflops which is a new invented word.

ok I ll stop and think a bit more




Then back when a radio was called a wireless and or a twelve gauge radio to a radio, to a transister called a trannie.
then the trannie which you could walk around with and used batteries b/c a CD thing with ear plugs. The name escapes me Sony?
ah yes thats it WALKman...yes thats it, then we got to small digital things you can put on your arms and stick ear buds in your ears.

Then there are head phones that became ear bids

Telephones became phones and then mobiles or cells and not called BRICKS

I referred to my shoes as a bit "daggy" recently and no one knew what I meant. And in the 80s, we used to say, "That's rad, dude." No one says that anymore.

by Lucy

Wireless - which is a funny name cos it did have wires!
Tuppence/Twopence - it bought a tiny pack of 4 pieces of chewing gum
By Jingo; By crikey, Holy Moly - no swearing allowed.

by lynne