What expressions do you use that are no longer in vogue?

[DawnM]

I have a friend is is always saying, "That is so neat."  I have another friend who says, "Totally Rad" about anything she likes.  And yesterday I was listening to an older (former) surfer refer to something as "gnarly."

I am sure I use some, but I would have to ask a friend because I don't think I am aware I am doing it.

What older phrases do you still use or do your friends still use?

Would you find it odd to hear a 40+ year old using current teen terms multiple times in a conversation?  Someone did this with me the other day and it just struck me as odd, but that might just be me.

[moonflower]

I say that things are neato but I don't know that it's out of date necessarily

 

I don't get out much

[Bluegoat]

Yeah, I find it kind of odd when older people use teen expressions - especially when they do it a lot.  It seems like they are trying to seem cool, although I think some people are probably just inclined to pick up what they hear a lot.  My dd13 and her friends are always talking about things being "triggering" and I know I can annoy dh if I say that to him.

For myself, the only one I think of off the top of my head is "bugger me with a fishfork" - I am not sure where I picked that up - possibly from my grandfather who might have learned it in the navy - he had quite a few odd expressions.  Oh - actually, the other thing I say that he said was when he'd see a naked kid around the house - like running away from a diaper or getting changed - he'd say "Oh!  It's a brazen hussy!"  I thought it was something he'd made up when I was little.

I'm not sure if they were ever really popular though.

[marbel]

I probably use the terms I grew up with - "cool", "neat."  I do say "rad" sometimes. I've also picked up some things from my kids - like "same" and "salty."  There are probably others but I'd have to ask.  My daughter, who is very tuned into things like this, LOL, says that little expressions sprinkled here and there don't bother her, it's when older adults try to use teen language all the time. We were discussing this a few months ago after I attended a presentation at work in which the middle-aged woman just used too many "young" terms, like "on fleek" and a several others I can't remember now.  I actually started taking notes; it was so excessive, and it just felt really deliberate.

I don't know how people can help using terms they hear all the time.  Words creep into our brains and out of our mouths.

[teachermom2834]

I don’t use the expression regularly but the other night I said “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a merry Christmas” and my kids thought it was absolutely hysterical. My 10th grader was on a quest to use the expression in one of his online classes. He finally worked it into a government class. 😂

I say “whoa Nellie” sometimes. 

Edited December 7, 2018 by teachermom2834

[Selkie]

Probably most of the words that come out of my mouth are outdated...🙂

I do think it sounds "off" when older people use trendy teen expressions.

[shawthorne44]

"Whippersnapper"

[Mbelle]

Wow, i did not "neat" is out of fashion.  I learn something everyday here on the forums.

1 hour ago, Bluegoat said:

"bugger me with a fishfork"

Roflol..that does sound like he learned it in the navy. 

[KungFuPanda]

I think some people just pick up current expressions more naturally than others. They’re not necessarily trying to sound hip. Also, other people are much slower with their own language evolution so they may miss, or even protest, modern speech patterns. 

I’m having a little trouble with that millennial “uptalk” thing where every sentence almost sounds like a question.  It feels cringy to me, but it’s creeping in everywhere. It bugs me more than any phrases do.  It’s probably only a matter of time before it takes over and the hold-outs date themselves as old, but for now my ear is still a little offended. 

[Farrar]

"a mess in a whirlwind."

I also use "wicked" a good bit.

[Lady Florida.]

I'm sure there are some but I can't think of them offhand. There are also expressions whose meanings change. The one I still have trouble with is hooked up. To me it always meant meet up or get together. I've known for a long time that it has a different meaning yet I still have to stop myself from using it. 

19 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

 

I’m having a little trouble with that millennial “uptalk” thing where every sentence almost sounds like a question.  It feels cringy to me, but it’s creeping in everywhere. It bugs me more than any phrases do.  It’s probably only a matter of time before it takes over and the hold-outs date themselves as old, but for now my ear is still a little offended. 

Uptalk used to be mostly a southern U.S. thing. I remember it from when we first moved to Florida and it was common among people not just from here but who came from other parts of the south. I don't know when it began to spread but it was the topic of an NPR piece several years ago. When I did a search however, I got California and Southern England as the origins of uptalk. Still, I first heard it in the 70s in Florida and Georgia. 

[Scarlett]

I say cool a lot.  Shrug.

Is it better to say outdated sayings or too young for us sayings?

 

[mom2scouts]

My teen usually thinks teen expressions are silly and he hangs out and shares interests with old men, so I have no idea about current trendy expressions.😂

[stephanier.1765]

I recently told my DIL that the burp rag we had been using for the new grand baby was grodie/grody (or however that word is spelled). It just came out and even I was surprised it was the word I had chosen. Luckily she knew what I meant.

[maize]

I use neat and cool. If they mark me as the generation I am...well, can't see anything wrong in that.

I'm not even sure what younger folks use instead.

[KungFuPanda]

8 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm sure there are some but I can't think of them offhand. There are also expressions whose meanings change. The one I still have trouble with is hooked up. To me it always meant meet up or get together. I've known for a long time that it has a different meaning yet I still have to stop myself from using it. 

Uptalk used to be mostly a southern U.S. thing. I remember it from when we first moved to Florida and it was common among people not just from here but who came from other parts of the south. I don't know when it began to spread but it was the topic of an NPR piece several years ago. When I did a search however, I got California and Southern England as the origins of uptalk. Still, I first heard it in the 70s in Florida and Georgia. 

I believe you, but I lived in Georgia and I don’t remember this pattern being so extreme, or so female-specific. Maybe I just hear it more clearly in higher voices. I’m sure my ear will stop hearing it as odd in time, but right now it just seems to be spreading more. 

[marbel]

11 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm sure there are some but I can't think of them offhand. There are also expressions whose meanings change. The one I still have trouble with is hooked up. To me it always meant meet up or get together. I've known for a long time that it has a different meaning yet I still have to stop myself from using it. 

Uptalk used to be mostly a southern U.S. thing. I remember it from when we first moved to Florida and it was common among people not just from here but who came from other parts of the south. I don't know when it began to spread but it was the topic of an NPR piece several years ago. When I did a search however, I got California and Southern England as the origins of uptalk. Still, I first heard it in the 70s in Florida and Georgia. 

I always thought uptalk originated with the "valley girl" of SoCal.  But I have no idea why I thought that.   Movies, tv... who knows?  

I hate it too.  

[Targhee]

Perhaps a live in a time vacuum, but many things posted (cool, neat, grody, same) are still in common usage amongst younger kids around me, and not just my own.  There are new terms I don’t use, many I dislike (because they’re merely truncation of actual words and it sounds lazy to me), but I never get weird stares, sniggering from teens, and even a second glance if I say “cool” “neat” or even “awesome.”  Perhaps, where I live, if I were to say “radical” or  “stoked” or  “cool beans” I might get a response.  I definitely get responses when I use all the farming phrases I learned from my dad 😂

[Lady Florida.]

9 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I recently told my DIL that the burp rag we had been using for the new grand baby was grodie/grody (or however that word is spelled). It just came out and even I was surprised it was the word I had chosen. Luckily she knew what I meant.

That's one i haven't heard in a long, long time. 😁

5 minutes ago, maize said:

I use neat and cool. If they mark me as the generation I am...well, can't see anything wrong in that.

I'm not even sure what younger folks use instead.

I still use cool but I've also heard my 21yo use it. Not as often as dh or I do but he does say it. That one seems to have held up even if it isn't used a lot. I don't hear neat and I do sometimes catch myself saying it, but I think cool comes out of my mouth more often than neat.

 

[MercyA]

Awesome. 😎

[Garga]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I think some people just pick up current expressions more naturally than others. They’re not necessarily trying to sound hip. Also, other people are much slower with their own language evolution so they may miss, or even protest, modern speech patterns. 

I’m having a little trouble with that millennial “uptalk” thing where every sentence almost sounds like a question.  It feels cringy to me, but it’s creeping in everywhere. It bugs me more than any phrases do.  It’s probably only a matter of time before it takes over and the hold-outs date themselves as old, but for now my ear is still a little offended. 

That’s not millennial.  It’s been around since at least since the 80s if not before. And also note that sometimes I’ve seen Australians get confused when we talk about uptalk, because uptalk is used a lot in Australia. The impression I get is that it’s a normal part of their speech pattern and completely acceptable.  (Sorry to any Australians if I’m totally wrong.  I’m basing this on conversations here in the past about uptalk and a few Australian shows I’ve watched on Netflix, so I could be laughably wrong.) (ETA: It comes across more as a lilt when I hear an Australian use it—maybe it has Irish roots?  Don’t they have an uptalk lilt sometimes?  Not sure...)

I don’t like it in America.  It’s more commonly used by women than men, though there was a time when my son was in middle school where ALL his friends talked like that.  I made a big point of making him repeat anything he said in uptalk the “right” way.  It makes the speaker sound unsure of him/herself.  I remember listening to a radio interview of a bunch of college students back in the 90s, and all of the girls used uptalk and the boys didn’t and the girls sounded like they were so unsure of themselves.  I vowed I’d never be like that.  

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm sure there are some but I can't think of them offhand. There are also expressions whose meanings change. The one I still have trouble with is hooked up. To me it always meant meet up or get together. I've known for a long time that it has a different meaning yet I still have to stop myself from using it. 

Uptalk used to be mostly a southern U.S. thing. I remember it from when we first moved to Florida and it was common among people not just from here but who came from other parts of the south. I don't know when it began to spread but it was the topic of an NPR piece several years ago. When I did a search however, I got California and Southern England as the origins of uptalk. Still, I first heard it in the 70s in Florida and Georgia. 

 

Hooked up!  I hate it that the meaning has changed on that one!  My dh used hooked up the old way for way too long.  I finally had to tell him the meaning had changed and it was sounding like everyone he knew was out having s@x together and he needed to stop using it.  “Coworker A hooked up with Coworker B.”  No!  They didn’t hook up!  They just had lunch!  

I wish that one hadn’t changed, because I liked to use it to mean, “got together to hang out.”  I have to stop myself from using it.

 

I think I use awesome a lot, and I’m pretty sure that it’s getting more and more dated to use it. 

A friend of mine used the term “lit” the other day and I didn’t know what she meant.  I was thinking, “Did something catch on fire...?  Does she mean it like, ‘It lit a fire under me,’ and that she felt inspired to do something?” I pondered about that conversation for a while.  About a week later I heard young people using it and realized it’s a new (to me) slang term that means something is....awesome.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Garga

[sassenach]

4 hours ago, DawnM said:

I have a friend is is always saying, "That is so neat."  I have another friend who says, "Totally Rad" about anything she likes.  And yesterday I was listening to an older (former) surfer refer to something as "gnarly."

I am sure I use some, but I would have to ask a friend because I don't think I am aware I am doing it.

What older phrases do you still use or do your friends still use?

Would you find it odd to hear a 40+ year old using current teen terms multiple times in a conversation?  Someone did this with me the other day and it just struck me as odd, but that might just be me.

 

Rad and gnarly are regional. I picked them up again when we moved back to California and they definitely aren't outdated here.

Is it still cool to say cool? I feel like it's not.

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I play with language all the time. So I say all kinds of things from past to present. I say them with a smile and I have never known someone to not know that I am playing.   Teens especially like ones like “heebie jeebies” and “the cat’s pajamas”.

When I first started teaching public school high school many years ago the kids were giving me “ current slang lessons “. We had a blast. (I guess having a blast is slang...). Now dd keeps me current. I use current slang ironically. I think that makes me a hipster. 😉

[Scarlett]

29 minutes ago, Garga said:

That’s not millennial.  It’s been around since at least since the 80s if not before. And also note that sometimes I’ve seen Australians get confused when we talk about uptalk, because uptalk is used a lot in Australia. The impression I get is that it’s a normal part of their speech pattern and completely acceptable.  (Sorry to any Australians if I’m totally wrong.  I’m basing this on conversations here in the past about uptalk and a few Australian shows I’ve watched on Netflix, so I could be laughably wrong.)

I don’t like it in America.  It’s more commonly used by women than men, though there was a time when my son was in middle school where ALL his friends talked like that.  I made a big point of making him repeat anything he said in uptalk the “right” way.  It makes the speaker sound unsure of him/herself.  I remember listening to a radio interview of a bunch of college students back in the 90s, and all of the girls used uptalk and the boys didn’t and the girls sounded like they were so unsure of themselves.  I vowed I’d never be like that.  

 

Hooked up!  I hate it that the meaning has changed on that one!  My dh used hooked up the old way for way too long.  I finally had to tell him the meaning had changed and it was sounding like everyone he knew was out having s@x together and he needed to stop using it.  “Coworker A hooked up with Coworker B.”  No!  They didn’t hook up!  They just had lunch!  

I wish that one hadn’t changed, because I liked to use it to mean, “got together to hang out.”  I have to stop myself from using it.

 

I think I use awesome a lot, and I’m pretty sure that it’s getting more and more dated to use it. 

A friend of mine used the term “lit” the other day and I didn’t know what she meant.  I was thinking, “Did something catch on fire...?  Does she mean it like, ‘It lit a fire under me,’ and that she felt inspired to do something?” I pondered about that conversation for a while.  About a week later I heard young people using it and realized it’s a new (to me) slang term that means something is....awesome.

Me too!  

[Bluegoat]

Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten about "not" in the Mike Myers sense.  I occasionally have found myself saying that and then felt old when my kids looked at me like I was nuts.

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, Garga said:

 

A friend of mine used the term “lit” the other day and I didn’t know what she meant.  I was thinking, “Did something catch on fire...?  Does she mean it like, ‘It lit a fire under me,’ and that she felt inspired to do something?” I pondered about that conversation for a while.  About a week later I heard young people using it and realized it’s a new (to me) slang term that means something is....awesome.

I'd always known lit to mean drunk or high. "Look at that guy stumbling. He must be really lit." In a similar vein, when I was a young adult partying just meant going out to clubs dancing. I had a friend from upstate NY come to visit. My local friends and I wanted to show her a good Florida time so we let her know we'd  all be going out to party that night. She got very quiet and seemed upset. After some discussion we found out that partying in her part of the country meant doing drugs. 

[shawthorne44]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I believe you, but I lived in Georgia and I don’t remember this pattern being so extreme, or so female-specific. Maybe I just hear it more clearly in higher voices. I’m sure my ear will stop hearing it as odd in time, but right now it just seems to be spreading more. 

 

I live in Texas and I'd never heard that before the Kavanaugh hearing.  I don't generally judge based on accents or verbal habits.    But, that one makes me despise the person, as long as it is an adult.   My thought is, "If you are uncertain about everything you say, Why do you even speak?"   

 

[fairfarmhand]

From my favorite comic, Zits.

by the way, my kids say that I’m definitely “Walt” So I do use the phrase “getting jiggy with the lingo” every now and then... why not embrace old fogey hood?

[KungFuPanda]

24 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

 

I live in Texas and I'd never heard that before the Kavanaugh hearing.  I don't generally judge based on accents or verbal habits.    But, that one makes me despise the person, as long as it is an adult.   My thought is, "If you are uncertain about everything you say, Why do you even speak?"   

 

I’ve been watching some tiny luxury homebuilding show on Hulu. It’s located in the Pacific Northwest somewhere. The wife in the show seems to say every sentence with this cadence. It’s a bit distracting and makes it a little difficult to take her seriously. She’s not doing anything “wrong” and is clearly managing her life despite my hang-up, but it’s still unsettling to hear her speak.  

[Liz CA]

1 hour ago, sassenach said:

Rad and gnarly are regional. I picked them up again when we moved back to California and they definitely aren't outdated here.

Is it still cool to say cool? I feel like it's not.

 

 

Rad and gnarly may have been resurrected, like groovy.

I like to use: "It behooves us..."  This expression just works so well in so many situations.  😊🙂☺️

Edited December 7, 2018 by Liz CA

[sassenach]

31 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

Rad and gnarly may have been resurrected, like groovy.

I like to use: "It behooves us..."  This expression just works so well in so many situations.  😊🙂☺️

To be honest, it’s probably because we landed in Santa Cruz. 🏄‍♀️

[Stacia]

Cool

Neat

Dude

[Moonhawk]

"Seriously" to Agree

"Totes obvs" for totally obvious

"Awesome" for awesome

"Awesomesauce" for really awesome

I tell myself that I use all of these ironically so that I am not out of touch, I'm retro chic.

[unsinkable]

3 hours ago, MercyA said:

Awesome. 😎

Same

[Garga]

23 minutes ago, Stacia said:

 

Dude

 I say Dude entirely too much.

[DawnM]

4 hours ago, sassenach said:

Rad and gnarly are regional. I picked them up again when we moved back to California and they definitely aren't outdated here.

Is it still cool to say cool? I feel like it's not.

 

 

Huh, they weren't used a whole lot when I was living in CA 10 years ago.  They were used in the 90's a lot.  

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

When dd16 has a bit of the PMS I've been known to say "what's your damage, Heather?!" but she's seen the movie so she gets it. 

 

I loved that movie.   It fit with my twisted sense of humor.

[DawnM]

5 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I think some people just pick up current expressions more naturally than others. They’re not necessarily trying to sound hip. Also, other people are much slower with their own language evolution so they may miss, or even protest, modern speech patterns. 

I’m having a little trouble with that millennial “uptalk” thing where every sentence almost sounds like a question.  It feels cringy to me, but it’s creeping in everywhere. It bugs me more than any phrases do.  It’s probably only a matter of time before it takes over and the hold-outs date themselves as old, but for now my ear is still a little offended. 

 

Are you talking about that almost vocal fry thing?   A coworker at my school does it all day long and it drives me CRAZY.  

[DawnM]

5 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I vote for outdated. Too young has a hint of desperation- particularly when paired with too young clothes and other behaviors you see creep in with some Mothers in their 40’s. And I guess Dads too lest I be sexist, but I notice it more on women. Men show desperation in other ways- like buying excellent sports cars and Harleys. 

 

That is kind of what I was thinking when the 45+ year old mom posted that she had ordered from an off the chain store, that delivered on point, is now her favs.

🤣

[teachermom2834]

I admit I use current sayings (or even better the ones that were current a year ago) with my kids to amuse them or with my mom friends or dh in a silly way...but then they slip in when I wouldn’t want them too and I am embarrassed.

[bethben]

Hunky dory has escaped my mouth at times...As in, That plan sounds hunky dory to me!”

[shawthorne44]

1 minute ago, bethben said:

Hunky dory has escaped my mouth at times...As in, That plan sounds hunky dory to me!”

 

I'd been talking to some customer service person and I'd had the thought they weren't in an English-First-Language country.   I don't really care either way, but they claimed to be in Minnesota.  I used that phrase, and she had idea.   She'd never even heard it before.  

[WendyLady]

A couple years ago I attended a parent meeting for families of students preparing to apply for college.  The presenter worked in admissions at Yale.  She said that you wouldn't believe how many parents  call in to check on the admin process and pretend to be their child.  Saying "Awesome" and "Cool" is the dead give away that "Hannah" calling to check on her application is actually "Susan" her mom.... Hahaha!

But if I'm not supposed to say Neat or Cool or Awesome, than I have nothing to say!!

* "so Extra" seems to be the new thing here with my teens... I'm not planning to say it, but I have heard it a few times!

 

 

[alisoncooks]

I use "dude" too often...

Awesome-sauce -- I don't even know where this came from...but I say it. 

I say things are "Legit" - (but at least I don't say "too legit to quit," yeah?) 

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

 

I loved that movie.   It fit with my twisted sense of humor.

My niece born in 1988 is named Heather. She grew up with two other girls named Heather on her street and they all became friends. We called them The Heathers and it wasn't until they were older (in their teens) that they got the reference after being allowed to watch the movie. They all turned 30 this year and are still great friends. 🙂 

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

 

Are you talking about that almost vocal fry thing?   A coworker at my school does it all day long and it drives me CRAZY.  

Vocal fry is the new uptalk in that it's the new thing to rail against when it comes to radio personalities. Again, NPR covered it. They seem to like covering things that are related to their own. 🙂 

[Lady Florida.]

20 minutes ago, Plum Crazy said:

 

Cool beans, dude, super, okie dokie, okies, and awesome have all been uttered by me. 

 

I say okie dokie or okie dokes but only when the listener knows I'm playing around/joking. I've been known to use some expressions from my parents' time in silliness too, like jeepers creepers or jumpin' jimminy cricket.

[Robin M]

Cool beans, awesome, excellent.  I use 'like' way too much.  Rad slips in every now and then as well as a hunky dory, too.  Have a tendency to call other woman friends chick.  Things are peachy or just Jim dandy.   Think I've reverted back to the 70's. or maybe never left.  😀 

[Robin M]

8 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

I say okie dokie or okie dokes but only when the listener knows I'm playing around/joking. I've been known to use some expressions from my parents' time in silliness too, like jeepers creepers or jumpin' jimminy cricket.

How about jeeze louise,  Jumping Jehoshaphat , or just jeeze.  😉

[Lady Florida.]

3 minutes ago, Robin M said:

How about jeeze louise,  Jumping Jehoshaphat , or just jeeze.  😉

Yes to jeeze louise or jeeze. Not the middle one, though I've heard it. 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I think some people just pick up current expressions more naturally than others. They’re not necessarily trying to sound hip. Also, other people are much slower with their own language evolution so they may miss, or even protest, modern speech patterns. 

I’m having a little trouble with that millennial “uptalk” thing where every sentence almost sounds like a question.  It feels cringy to me, but it’s creeping in everywhere. It bugs me more than any phrases do.  It’s probably only a matter of time before it takes over and the hold-outs date themselves as old, but for now my ear is still a little offended. 

Strangely enough, I still remember three important things from a speech improvement program I did in the early 90s. It cautioned against three thing:

1. Rising intonations (“uptalk”), especially if you are a lady. The program said it makes you sound childish and uncertain. 

2. Dropped finishing vocalizations. This happens when people sink breath support on the end of their vocalizations, so it is hard to hear or understand their last word or two. I still make a concerted effort not to do this when I am spelling my name or giving a phone number. Some people say, “Oh, my number is 867-5mumblemublesomething.” Or “My name is Jenny Frmumble.” 

3 Vocal fry. Thank God I learned not to do that before the Kardashians ruined the speech patterns of an entire generation of young women. That blonde haired lady who got divorced on Flip or Flop - Christina - I cannot stand her voice and it is because of the incessant vocal fry.