Page 3 | To ask for words and phrases you no longer say?

namezchangez · 2026-02-21T11:24:57+00:00

Not really an AIBU, but I wanted a good list! DH and I were talking about words and phrases we used to say frequently as children in the 80s and which now we rarely use or hear. Some of these refer to things that no longer exist, or which have become rare, some have fallen out of fashion, some now seem tasteless or prejudicial. Would love to hear some more! (And doesn’t need to be from the 80s.) ozone layer polystyrene crybaby wicked (as a term of approval) teacake space race Indian summer gooseberries

Notmyreality · 22/02/2026 18:38

CrayonCritic5 · 22/02/2026 17:49

The term ozone layer is generally not still in use.

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Oh really, what do you call it then?

CrayonCritic5 · 22/02/2026 17:49

Notmyreality · 22/02/2026 17:27

Haha what??

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The term ozone layer is generally not still in use.

Silverbirchleaf · 22/02/2026 17:38

Acid rain - a term you don’t hear anymore, but it was a buzzword in the eighties.

Notmyreality · 22/02/2026 17:27

CrayonCritic5 · 22/02/2026 17:26

Ozone layer isn’t

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Haha what??

CrayonCritic5 · 22/02/2026 17:26

Notmyreality · 21/02/2026 12:27

What an odd list OP. Still say all those terms and they are all still in use.

Ozone layer isn’t

Biggles27 · 22/02/2026 16:55

Three which thankfully have gone

spaz
hottentot
half caste (always used distainfully)

and one that still makes my teeth go on edge - slacks (frocks too I don’t hear anymore)

I grew up in the 70’s and heard the top 3 a lot ☹️

Biggles27 · 22/02/2026 16:52

.. double posted

losttheplot25 · 22/02/2026 14:11

Butteredtoast55 · 21/02/2026 21:06

On the subject of gooseberries....or goosegogs to me....you do not hear people referred to as gooseberries any more. I've just asked DS and he'd use 'third wheel'.

Sorry @Nosejobnelly I've just seen your earlier post!

Edited

omg my dad used to call them goosegogs but I thought he'd made it up himself as ive never heard anyone else say it and dad was famous for making his own silly words up!

Netcurtainnelly · 22/02/2026 13:18

SunnieShine · 22/02/2026 08:11

Just thought of a couple from my school days. "In the club" for pregnant". And if the girl was pregnant and married, "In trouble".

Bun in the oven, with child.

TakeTheCuntingQuichePatricia · 22/02/2026 12:46

Silverbirchleaf · 22/02/2026 08:18

Slip, meaning petticoat.

I mentioned to a (much older) friend recently about wearing petticoats as a child. It was relevant to the conversation. She was very quick to tell me that I was talking about a slip, and that I was wrong to call it a petticoat when it wasn't.

Glaspeated · 22/02/2026 11:04

“Heavy petting”

sugarandcyanide · 22/02/2026 10:44

Bathers instead of swimming costume. I heard someone say it recently and I haven't heard anyone else use it since my nan when I was little!

Sunloungerhogger · 22/02/2026 10:37

love this thread, as there are things which remind me of my childhood, but then older things which remind me of my grandparents.
forty winks - my grandpa always used to have forty winks after lunch
spend a penny - my grandmother always used to say this if we were out or going out, and before leaving the house my auntie would always say ‘have you been’?
pull the other one (it’s got bells on)
rub it with a brick - my grandad’s inevitable response if you said you had a tummy ache

Sunloungerhogger · 22/02/2026 10:25

What’s a loan lady? (Or provie)?

getting off with someone
wicked / mint
tarmac - something we got from the tuck shop - was essentially cornflake crispies but made I think with treacle / cocoa powder - not sure if it was a northern thing or just my school

deck someone
tiggy on high
giving someone a backy

Legomania · 22/02/2026 10:17

Silverbirchleaf · 22/02/2026 09:47

Also didn’t know the other meaning of white-wash (just looked it up). You have to be so careful nowadays, and someone could use the term innocently, in for example a sporting context, but then be accused of racism.

Why would someone accuse you of racism if you referred (I am assuming) to whitewashing history (ie having awareness of the issue)?
Afaik the other usages are still widely known and accepted.

Legomania · 22/02/2026 10:15

Silverbirchleaf · 22/02/2026 09:43

That’s interesting regarding Chinese/Lunar new year. It’s only this year that I’ve been aware that it’s been referred to as Lunar new year - it’s always been Chinese new year in the past. I did wonder briefly whether it was something different, then realised it was the same thing, and the reason is because it’s not just celebrated amongst the Chinese people, but by other Asian cultures as well.

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At my corporate workplace it has been 'renamed'. Among the people of Southeast Asian heritage I know personally it is still very much Chinese New Year

KimberleyClark · 22/02/2026 09:54

I grew up in the 60s and 70s and can remember when tranny meant a small portable radio. Short for transistor.

Silverbirchleaf · 22/02/2026 09:47

Also didn’t know the other meaning of white-wash (just looked it up). You have to be so careful nowadays, and someone could use the term innocently, in for example a sporting context, but then be accused of racism.

Silverbirchleaf · 22/02/2026 09:43

Neurodiversitydoctor · 22/02/2026 08:43

A white wash- in the context of a sporting wipeout, different meaning now.
Chinese new year, I say lunar new year.

That’s interesting regarding Chinese/Lunar new year. It’s only this year that I’ve been aware that it’s been referred to as Lunar new year - it’s always been Chinese new year in the past. I did wonder briefly whether it was something different, then realised it was the same thing, and the reason is because it’s not just celebrated amongst the Chinese people, but by other Asian cultures as well.

Harrietsaunt · 22/02/2026 08:54

I’m trying to bring back “wangler” as it’s such a good word!

Continental quilt

Four eyes (yes, I wore glasses from age 9)

Queer is a tricky one. I inwardly cringe when I hear it as it was so pejorative growing up, but I accept it has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community.

mum2jakie · 22/02/2026 08:44

There's a good list here. Think I still use most of these!

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-26/the-50-saying-at-risk-of-being-lost-from-our-language-and-what-they-mean

Neurodiversitydoctor · 22/02/2026 08:43

A white wash- in the context of a sporting wipeout, different meaning now.
Chinese new year, I say lunar new year.

PistachioTiramisu · 22/02/2026 08:36

You never hear people say they are going for '40 winks' now - my father was always saying it!
Or if he didn't want to do something, he would say 'I've got a bone in my leg'.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 22/02/2026 08:34

I grew up with the saying 'And Bob's your Uncle Bert'. No idea if this was peculiar to our family or not, but I've rarely come across it since!

thesnailandthewhale · 22/02/2026 08:30

Dog tired .. my Mum always said my brother was dog tired