Idioms that Need to be Retired

[More Cowbell]

Wysiwyg

 

[More Cowbell]

"Pump the brakes."

In a spin, both feet in!

 

[Alan]

This phrase triggered a humorous episode from my past. 40+ years ago DW and I were visiting London during what was her first time in the UK. She developed a urinary infection and went to a private physician who, once she described her symptoms, told her she would need to "spend a penny" so that he could run some tests. The confused look on her face was priceless!

I'm not surprised she was confused I don't suppose she'd have understood better if he told her that she needed to "skip to the loo", which is another common expression here to avoid the rather vulgar "going to the toilet".

We were in a place called Skipton, in Yorkshire recently, and the public toilet in the market place there said 20p to use it. My wife and I rarely carry any coins these days but I do keep a small bag of them in the car which was close by so I went back to retrieve two 20p coins. When we went in it was free, no sign of the turnstile that obviously used to be there.

In days of old when men were bold and toilets weren't invented, they'd dig a hole beside the road and sit there, quite contented.

 

[folivier]

Carbon paper brings back memories of my dad. I inherited his old wooden desk, where I'm typing this now, which belonged to his dad. I can still remember sitting on my grandpa's lap as a little kid while he worked at his desk.
Anyway dad had stacks of used carbon paper in one drawer of the desk. Whenever he needed a copy he shuffled through them and found one with enough carbon left to make his copy. That generation did not waste anything!
To stay on topic: "rubber", to a young teenager that meant condom but to grandpa that was a rubber band.

 

[Montecfo]

Fact is many of these meaningful phrases have a forgotten origin:

Take a different tack (from sailing. Often misstated as "tact".)

Strike while the iron is hot. (Ranching)

A stitch in time saves nine. (Sewing).

I wanted to touch base with you baseball. Sometimes misused as "touch bases".

Don't lead with your chin (boxing)

It's like "Ned" in the first grade (an easy task, refers to simple book in elementary school.

Ok I admit that last one was a fave of a hs coach. Probably no longer in widespread use even then.

These phrases tend to fall out of use over time but language becomes less interesting.

 

[skyking1]

As to the OP, my nearly daily driver at work is pre-anti lock and I do carefully apply the air brakes in small pulses. My genZ replacement will learn that one.
My one ton service truck has anti locks, but still has cranky windows.

 

[rk911]

"The point is that a Gen Z'er would likely have no clue as to what these idioms mean."

Yeah..and that's half the fun".

 

[Ronstar]

...Strike while the iron is hot. (Ranching)...

Very important in blacksmithing. Doesn't do much good to strike a cold piece of iron with a hammer.

 

[Ronstar]

MIL always says "For Pete's sake"

I asked her who Pete was. She didn't know.

 

[braumeister]

Very important in blacksmithing. Doesn't do much good to strike a cold piece of iron with a hammer.

And another expression from blacksmithing: "going at it hammer & tongs"

 

[HawkOwl]

The rabbit died. With modern laboratory technology, the rabbit doesn’t die, it doesn’t even exist.

 

[frayne]

That'll play.

 

[ERD50]

I recall a meeting with my counterparts from Germany, and all of them spoke excellent English.

I had a kind of half-baked idea to throw out for feedback, and I said "This may sound like it's coming from out of left field, but...", and I got a lot of inquisitive looks.

Fortunately, it occurred to me what I had said, and apologized, and said "Oh, sorry, that's an American Baseball term".

The UK guys had a lot of funny expressions - "Well, that's looks like a doggy's dinner" (a mess), so "we will have to tart it up a bit" (that was understood, just seemed funny). And they say "Touch wood", where we would say "Knock on wood".

-ERD50

 

[Car-Guy]

The rabbit died.

That would put the fear of God in a young unmarried man. Same as, I'm late, I have a craving for a pickle, I got sick this morning, and a thousand others. Heard most of them at one time or the other in my "younger days".

 

[Car-Guy]

How about that's the "Real McCoy" or "Penny for your Thoughts".

I don't hear those anymore.

 

[euro]

MIL always says "For Pete's sake"

I asked her who Pete was. She didn't know.

I always figured that it came from the original "for God's sake". Certainly in the Catholic faith, one is not supposed to use "God's name in vain", so I figured someone substituted Saint Peter in for God to make it more acceptable but still keep the idea of a pretty high power (popes are obviously right up there, though not at the VERY top)?

 

[braumeister]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first written instance of for Pete’s sake is from 1903, with for the love of Pete appearing around the same time. By that point, as NPR’s Michigan Radio reports, for the love of Mike had already been in the English lexicon. Since Mike is thought to have been a nod to St. Michael—and the phrases clearly have a religious connection—some have suggested that the mononymous Pete is really St. Peter.

Who is Pete?

 

[Ronstar]

^^ Thanks for the link. Gives me a little comfort on why Mil doesn't know who Pete is.

 

[Qs Laptop]

The UK guys had a lot of funny expressions - "Well, that's looks like a doggy's dinner" (a mess), so "we will have to tart it up a bit" (that was understood, just seemed funny). And they say "Touch wood", where we would say "Knock on wood".
-ERD50

I've picked up quite a lot of Brit sayings over the years but one that really flummoxed me is the addition of "... and Bob's your uncle" at the end of a long explanation.

I understand its meaning, but like the saying, "for Pete's sake" I don't know the origin.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm not surprised she was confused I don't suppose she'd have understood better if he told her that she needed to "skip to the loo", which is another common expression here to avoid the rather vulgar "going to the toilet"..[/I]

How about just stating that they need a urine sample? Followed by directions to the WC.

 

[CaptTom]

In 1887, British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil appointed his nephew Arthur James Balfour as Minister for Ireland. The phrase 'Bob's your uncle' was coined when Arthur referred to the Prime Minister as 'Uncle Bob'. Apparently, it's very simple to become a minister when Bob's your uncle!

It can get even more confusing when they say things like "Robert is your father's brother" or some such. I watch enough old BritComs to know most of these now.

 

[Montecfo]

With regard to to OP, "tap the brakes" still makes a lot of sense.

 

[Walt34]

How about that's the "Real McCoy" or "Penny for your Thoughts".

I don't hear those anymore.

Here's an interesting story about the origin of the phrase "The Real McCoy". The short story is a guy invented a better oiler for steam locomotives, which was a major (and therefore costly) maintenance item that had to be done manually, oiling the many moving bearings. He invented an automatic oiler, and the lack of patent enforcement being what it was in those days, there were many copies, mostly of inferior metals and looser tolerances that didn't work as well. So the question asked if the origin/quality of a given item was in doubt was "Is that the real McCoy?" At least that's the story according to Mike Rowe:

 

[Amethyst]

My first "real" job in 1979 involved making actual carbon copies! So it wasn't quite the anachronism you thought

Carbon copy. And bcc (blind carbon copy).

At my first j*b in the early 1980s I was digging through old files and came across an actual carbon copy. Even then, it was a real anachronism.

 

[euro]

My first "real" job in 1979 involved making actual carbon copies! So it wasn't quite the anachronism you thought

I felt really old when I read GalaxyBoy's post...... good to know, I'm not the only one...
My dad ran a tire busienss when I was growing up. All his receipts and invoices were generated in duplicate or triplicate using carbon papers. That was very common in the 60-ies and 70-ies