![\"Things](\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/05\/Things-People-Say-350x350.png\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\n\u201cConsarn it!\u201d one of my friend\u2019s grandfathers used to say. He rarely cursed and this was as close as he got to it. It seemed like a funny expression to me. Now when my mother talks to young people, they think she has some funny phrases.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s surprising the staying power of some slang expressions. My mother is still cool when she says, \u201cCool,\u201d even among the teenagers. This word has been around for decades though I\u2019ve never heard my grandma (who is in her 80s) say this word. Even language specialists don\u2019t know what makes one slang expression survive for generations and others disappear after only a year or two.<\/p>\n
My mother used to say \u201cNeat\u201d or \u201cBitchen\u201d \u2013 as young people we would lovingly look at her as though she was a dinosaur. Bitchen may have been popular in 1945 and again in 1965, but it hasn\u2019t been popular since then.<\/p>\n
When her friends used to ask her, \u201cGet it?\u201d she always did. No one had to tell her to \u201cGet with it!\u201d They even played around with this quick dialogue: \u201cGet it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGot it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood!\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody gets her anymore. But she can still dig it!<\/p>\n
Back then, when there was a part of a car or other machinery and you didn\u2019t know what to call it, you could always fall back on dingus, frammus, or thingamabob. These are distinctly low tech words that the youth of today want nothing to do with.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s Boomers got their kicks on Route 66. But when today\u2019s teens say that they are \u201cKickin\u2019 it,\u201d they mean that they are relaxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSlang establishes membership in a group,\u201d according to linguist Tom Dalzell.<\/p>\n
Having spoken to a few older friends, a few of their responses were: \u201cI\u2019m definitely not part of the group that is \u201cKickin\u2019 it,\u201d but I do it every day after lunch when I have a chance. I call it, \u201cSiesta,\u201d or a nap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another elderly friend commented, \u201cIf I tell one of the grandkids that they look like a really cool helpcat, they think I\u2019m square. That\u2019s not what they say, but I know that\u2019s what I used to say. When I tell them their drawing is weirdsville, they look at me wondering what I mean. If I tell them to cool it, they sometimes will \u201cchill\u201d – their word, not mine. But at least it has a similar meaning. If we were having a gas (a fun time) nobody wanted to book it or to bug out. We would hang around the bash until the wee hours. But I don\u2019t know about this younger generation. I can hack it, but I\u2019m not sure they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amazing how slang words can help steer a great conversation around the dinner table. The next time you find yourself searching for things to talk about with your loved one, try asking about what slang or hip words they used while growing up! Chances are they\u2019ll not only tell you the key words that were in style, but they\u2019ll also dive into some amazing stories about their past that revolved around those phrases and key words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Things People Say… \u201cConsarn it!\u201d one of my friend\u2019s grandfathers used to say. He rarely cursed and this was as close as he got to it. It seemed like a funny expression to me. Now when my mother talks to young people, they think she has some funny phrases. It\u2019s surprising the staying power of some slang expressions. My mother […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2267,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,161],"tags":[609],"class_list":{"0":"post-5072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-memories","8":"tag-memories"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n