07-28-2004, 05:33 PM
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here and there
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Western NY
Posts: 3,601
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Originally Posted by Bardog
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Remember "curb feelers" and "steering knobs"? Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. You kids will probably have to find some elderly person to explain some of these terms to you.
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The steering knobs became outlawed as they becase "suicide knobs" (the term I was introduced to them by) when they got caught in the sleeves of drivers and caused a car wreck (or so I am told).
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When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."
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I don't think most people use the brake in emergencies and really should use it to park. No using it actually can put undue strain on the park pin of an automatic transmission.
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Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day, "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!
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Rat Fink - now considered cool by some based on the work of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth
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