Re: pocketbook. One of my first clients was the owner of an adult book store and he mentioned that pocketbooks were a big seller at the store. He meant little smutty paperback novels, but I could only picture purses and I was so confused.
Re: oleo. In Wisconsin, it was illegal for a time to sell yellow oleo because the state was trying to protect Big Butter. Hence the yellow dye capsules that had to be worked in the otherwise white oleo.
No, but DH’s girlfriend before me was Canadian and her parents called their couch a chesterfield.
That’s pretty common in certain regions in Canada. I alternate between chesterfield and couch/sofa. Also, I think that for me, a chesterfield is more of an old school style, like something that would have been covered in plastic at an elderly relative’s house.
Samesies. I use couch/sofa/chesterfield fairly interchangeably.
Oh, I thought of another one. I call the vacuum the sweeper. H makes fun of me endlessly for that one. As in "I'm going to run the sweeper". Thanks Grandma LOL
Post by cinnamoncox0 on Aug 7, 2020 9:24:52 GMT -5
I want to start calling the couch the Davenport and see how long it takes for dh or any of the kids to notice. Good test to see if anyone even listens to me lol.
Oh, my grandma called underwear “step-ins.” And my good friend (who is younger than me) calls them drawers! 😳
On the dinner/supper thing. Definitionally, dinner is the largest meal of the day, and supper is a light evening meal. This has been an issue in our house on holiday, because, to me, holiday dinners are 2-4pm. But only holiday dinners. Otherwise, dinner is at night. H is in the mindset that dinner is always at night, so when I say Christmas dinner is at 2, he is so confused.
Post by followyourarrow on Aug 7, 2020 10:25:54 GMT -5
I still say supper. I grew up in a farming community where dinner was the noon meal and the biggest meal of the day. Supper was lighter and in the evening.
My understanding is men had billfolds (as their wallets are pocket-sized so fold up and fold the bills inside them) and women had pocketbooks (which were long enough to hold bills uncreased on one side and cards etc on the other, and visually opened like a book).
I had not heard davenport but the brand name thing like la-z-boy makes sense to me.
Oh, I thought of another one. I call the vacuum the sweeper. H makes fun of me endlessly for that one. As in "I'm going to run the sweeper". Thanks Grandma LOL
I call it a sweeper, too! I'm in Western PA and thought it was part of our weird vernacular.
Oh, I thought of another one. I call the vacuum the sweeper. H makes fun of me endlessly for that one. As in "I'm going to run the sweeper". Thanks Grandma LOL
I call it a sweeper, too! I'm in Western PA and thought it was part of our weird vernacular.
My grandmothers family is from Erie, so that probably explains it LOL
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Aug 7, 2020 13:24:24 GMT -5
My grandmother (born in 1926) used a lot -- pocketbook = purse oleo = margarine icebox = refrigerator billfold = a ladies' wallet (which never made sense to me since they are often larger than a men's wallet, so you actually don't have to fold the bills in them!!) slacks = pants
My mom still uses billfold and slacks. Slacks may not be totally old fashioned, but I know I never use the term.
My mom always referred to “gals” and “fellas.” The word “guys” stuck in her throat, lol. One of her favorite insults was to call someone a “dizzy gal.”
Icebox for a fridge makes sense, because before electric refrigeration they used to literally have an ice man come around and put a giant block of ice into the icebox to keep things cold. Old timey iceboxes are kind of neat looking.
Also now that it's not 1 am I looked up my claims.
Davenports were a series of sofas made by the A. H. Davenport company, and the name got genericized. (There is also apparently a type of writing desk called a Davenport, not made by this same company. They have an angled lift top, and lots of drawers.)
Chesterfields are actually a style of sofa, not a brand, with high arms and tufted backs, like this:
Post by amandakisser on Aug 7, 2020 13:59:16 GMT -5
In college my friends laughed at me because I called tights "stockings," and in my early professional days a guy I worked with laughed at me for using the term "housecoat" instead of "robe."
My grandma (97) calls her sofa a Davenport, slacks are not denim, pants are denim. Breakfast is in the early morning, lunch is any small meal served during the day, including midnight and supper is at 5ish. She calls her wallet a billfold because it does fold and she calls my longer wallet a pocketbook. Ice cream from DQ is ice milk.
Icebox for a fridge makes sense, because before electric refrigeration they used to literally have an ice man come around and put a giant block of ice into the icebox to keep things cold. Old timey iceboxes are kind of neat looking.
This is fun. But I'm also a nerd.
Nonny, my parents had an icebox just like the one in your picture. I liked it so much as a kid, when I bought my forever home, I went to an auction in MD to buy one. It sits right outside my kitchen, and we keep fireplace supplies in it.