Sayings on the show you don't hear anymore

[helloagain]

Don't forget that Mary got one of the show's longest laughs just by telling Jack to shut up.

[Jack Benny]

Of course, one of the best word meaning mix ups has got to be "Making love." It apparently meant kissing back then. From Dennis singing "Make Love With A Guitar," to Jack saying the director kept saying cut just when he was in the middle of making love to his leading actress, it always gets more of a chuckle out of me than it was ever intended to .

[grittys457]

Caught a couple more from two shows I listened to last night.

Rubbers for rain boots. Yeah, I know people still sometimes use that, but with the current meaning of the word they would have never used it.

Also the phrase "What happened to him shouldn't happen to a dog". Not only did I hear that in one of the shows last night, I just watched an episode of Tom and Jerry with my kid and that phrase was written on a book.

[helloagain]

Another word that got a lot of use back then was 'swell', to refer to something really good. Don used it often in the Jello commercials...'What a swell dessert!' Now it's just what your thumb does when you hit it with a hammer.

[grittys457]

Many threats back then to "punch you right in the nose". Heard that on the show and old movies from that era.

Mary usually told Jack "If you weren't wearing glasses I'd punch you right in the nose".

Then of course he taunt her and take them off.

[epeterd]

There's at least one instance where it's mentioned Mary punched him right in the nose with his glasses on. When they're at the horse race and he convinces her and Mr Paley to bet on the horse he picked while he changes his to Mr Paley's horse. Mr Paley even mentions something about him having glasses on after she's punched him.
That reminds me of Jack's, "I'm gonna thrash you to within an INCH of your life." Seems like I've heard that somewhere else before, but I'm not sure where.
And It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog is a movie title.

peter

[helloagain]

Here's another antiquated phrase...'He had it coming to him.'

[kbbl]

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.

My theory on "stopping" and "living" is more to do with the era. When they did shows on the road (NY, Palm Springs etc) they would not just stay for a few nights, but live for weeks on end. Now they probably would only do one show, fly out for a few days, and fly back when it would be done. Maybe a few nights top.

I know I have a few pronunciation differences. Once I get back into listening, I'll have to take note. Actually my next time around, I plan to take more notes.

[Yhtapmys]

My theory on "stopping" and "living" is more to do with the era. When they did shows on the road (NY, Palm Springs etc) they would not just stay for a few nights, but live for weeks on end. Now they probably would only do one show, fly out for a few days, and fly back when it would be done. Maybe a few nights top.

Locally, it wasn't unusual for people to live in hotels instead of apartments at one time (pre World War One). Travelling salesmen, and newcomers waiting for houses to be built, especially.

Yhtapmys

[kbbl]

Thought of two pronunciations:

1) vaudeville - the "uh" in the middle always throws me. I'm pretty sure today's more common pronunciation is "vawd-vil" (though I do see the other at dictionary.com, just not as the main one)

2) ration - I've always heard it as "rash-uhn" as opposed to "rey-shuh"

B.

[LLeff]

1) vaudeville - the "uh" in the middle always throws me. I'm pretty sure today's more common pronunciation is "vawd-vil" (though I do see the other at dictionary.com, just not as the main one)

I'm too lazy/tired to look it up right now, but I believe I was told that the word "vaudeville" was a derivation of a French term "Vau de Vire" for a Normandy region where that style of theatre had its first roots. So if that's true, then having a separate syllable of "de" in the middle would be a closer representation of its parent term.

[Moose Hatrack]

What a CHICKEN. I think I'll see if I can date her up.

[Maxwell]

The word "chick" is derived from this. Chico Marx, according to Groucho, got his nickname because he was a "chicken chaser."

[grittys457]

Yep, reading a Groucho book now. He was called chicko at first but somebody wrote his name chico by mistake in one of the vaudeville programs and they liked it better and went with that spelling

[helloagain]

And because of that spelling many people mispronounce his name as 'Cheeko'.