Sayings on the show you don't hear anymore

[grittys457]

I doubt I worded the thread title correctly, but oh well.

One that I always notice when I hear it is when they are in another city and they are talking about staying in a hotel, it's always "Where are you living?" or "I'm living at the Acme Hotel". Not sure when the word "living" stopped being used to say where you are staying at a hotel, but I don't ever remember hearing it in my lifetime.

Nuts to you is a good one and I'm going to bring that back in fashion.

Oh brother is too obvious but used a lot

Anybody else on the beam?

[speedy]

It seems to me that when the cast is on the road, the vast majority of the time they talk about where they are "stopping", not "living". As in, "where are you stopping Don? The little woman and I are stopping at the Ritz Carlton Jack." The use of "stopping" is something you never hear anymore. A few others off the top of my head:

The use of "boy" to address one delivering a telegram or selling a newspaper, even if the person is an adult. Mel Blanc is often the "boy", who gets a cheap tip for his services and cracks wise to Jack about it.

Another is "your right name". Since many in the cast had adopted stage names (Jack, Dennis, Mary, Phil to name a few), they sometimes reference the fact, talking about their "right name". Don't hear that any more. It seems that changing your name in Hollywood is not as prevalent as it used to be, but when the subject is discussed now, I hear "real name" instead of "right name".

Don Wilson, telling the ladies in the audience about a new Jello recipe book, urges them to right for it "tonight if possible, tomorrow sure".

Don is also the source of some archaic pronunciations such as pronouncing the word menu as "mainyou".

There are many more of course, but as I said, these popped into my mind right off the bat.

[Brad from Georgia]

Jack's pronunciation of "drama" with an "a" sound like the one in "bat" sounds strange to me, but that might just be the difference between Southern and Midwestern.

Don's all-purpose adjective, "grand," isn't much used anymore: "You can make a grand dessert with cherry Jell-O, gefilte fish, walnuts, and mayonnaise."

I get the feeling that a great many Yiddish-intoned phrasings aren't around nearly as much today: "HIM I don't need." "For this I came to rehearsal?" and so on.

The cigarette commercials that promise "Luckies lift you up and let you down" sound a little strange--to me something that lets you down disappoints you, but I suppose it's "let you down easy." Those medicinal smokes, you know!

[speedy]

I like that Jello recipe Brad. Funny! Some of the real concoctions are downright comical, but they were delivered by Don with utmost seriousness as a delectable dessert that you would be proud to serve your guests. It sure was a different time.

[grittys457]

"It seems to me that when the cast is on the road, the vast majority of the time they talk about where they are "stopping", not "living". As in, "where are you stopping Don? The little woman and I are stopping at the Ritz Carlton Jack." The use of "stopping" is something you never hear anymore. A few others off the top of my head: "

Stopping is used a lot too but living is def used just as often.

Well, gotta throw it out there, but "gay" is used quite a bit, especially in the jello ads.

[grittys457]

It's also pretty weird to hear the word "japs" thrown around back during the wartime episodes.

[scottp]

Not in the Benny show, but I've heard "tomorrow sure" just a couple of times, regarding mail-in offers, in the thousands(?) of radio shows I've heard.

[JohnM]

"It seems to me that when the cast is on the road, the vast majority of the time they talk about where they are "stopping", not "living". As in, "where are you stopping Don? The little woman and I are stopping at the Ritz Carlton Jack." The use of "stopping" is something you never hear anymore. A few others off the top of my head: "

Stopping is used a lot too but living is def used just as often.

"Stopping" (as in I'm stopping at my parents house for the weekend) is still used frequently in northern England, for what it's worth.

"Grand" is still used very frequently in Ireland.

I still think it's strange the way Jack and the cast say "violin".

[grittys457]

Don used it the most, but I think I've heard a few of them saying "Good to know you" right after being introduced to somebody.

[Jack Benny]

Yes, please. - Dennis day

Does Phil's "Yeah, man" equal "You go girl" today?

P.S. There is a flip side to this coin. What about sayings that you thought were fairly current, that you hear on otr from the 20's, 30's, or 40's. For instance I didn't realize the term "shut up," had been around so long.

[epeterd]

I'm pretty sure I've heard the word "hep" a couple of times, probably from Phil. It of course turned into "hip" which really isn't used anymore either.

On a similar note, I find it interesting how many products were so big back then that don't even exist anymore. Luckies were a major brand then, but now you don't see them anymore. And from another show, Lux soap. It's funny that Jello has been a big deal for 75 years or more, and Grape Nuts Flakes are still around, but Luckies have essentially disappeared. Sorry to hijack this thread, BTW.

peter

[helloagain]

Yes, I like 'nuts to you', or 'nertz to you' even better. Jack always accented the first syllable when he pronounced 'violin'.

[grittys457]

The one that I don't know if it was a running gag or something that was used back then was "you're not, eh?"

Using it like this

Jack- I'm not that cheap Mary

Mary- You're not, eh? (continues on to insult)

They seem to use that in some form on every show.

I am shocked how shut up is used sometimes. Maybe it wasn't as insulting then because it seems like it would be too harsh.

[mrdj]

Auto court for today's motel.

[Maxwell]

When I was a kid in the '50s there were "shut up" jokes, usually of the semi-sick variety.

"Mommy, mommy, why is daddy so pail?"
"Shut up and dig."

Shut up (or its variant shaddap) go WAY back.

I remember "stopping at" in a Marx Brothers movie.

Woman: "I'm (so and so). I stop at this hotel."
Groucho: "I'm (whatever his name was in the movie). I stop at nothing."