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Byb asks: Do we have to icebox these leftovers?
The long necked one retorts: Be a good guy and get your wife something newer than an Icebox...There are these new electric refrigerators.
Icebox is still used to mean refrigerator. We still dial touch-tone phones. Some of us older folks will remember when record albums were still albums, that is, collections of records in a notebook style binding with individual "pages". I heard another one today, but can't remember what it was. What I'm getting at is words that don't really describe the referent as well as they used to because the referent has changed although the function has remained the same. Is there a word to describe this kind of word?
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faldage asks-- Is there a word to describe this kind of word? (icebox used instead of refrigerator)
(and she who, being irish, suffers from a congenital defect common to the irish-- she has no neck what ever-- and clearly doesn't take after her (mythical) father's side of the family!) replies: archaic? obsolete?
i for one– "punch in" a number on my phone--usually into memory--so i can autodial– and when watching "The Third Man" --I explained to my son what was meant by a "station to station" long distance call-- since we always now dial direct-- to everywhere--not station to station or person to person... and certainly we don't call up and schedule a long distance call! (he thought it quaint..)
and i buy new CD's--not albums.. (and i am still trying to get rid of some of the old vinyl! my kid keep saying they want it--but only if i store it...)
the NYTimes reported more than a year ago that telegraph was a dead word-- since there aren't any more "telegraphs" left-- no one sends or receives them, and even AT&T amended its legal name to AT&T from American Telephone and Telegraph--, so telegraph doesn't exist as a company name. We fax, or email, voicemail, message– but we don't telegraph
I don't scrub my clothes-- I toss a load in the washer-- I do shift into high gear--but that only because i like driving stick--(I learned on a car with "3 on the tree" but now drive "5 on the floor")-- and who knows, maybe for a time, people did "icebox left overs" but we definately refrigerate them in my house--other wise we have found they get "pre eaten"
(Pre eaten was our term for "old" left overs-- some times it was evident that mold or some other organism had gotten arround to eating them before you did-- sometimes you just suspected it with out direct evidence..)
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The love of Paris responds: i for one– "punch in" a number on my phone--usually into memory--so i can autodial–.
and underscores my point.
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no-neck replies: archaic? obsolete? I would say archaic, since the word is still in use.
but this begs the asking of the lexicographical question: how is it determined when a word shall segué from archaic to obsolete, as marked in OED, W3, etc.
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I have no answer to tsuwm's question except that perhaps it's at the whim of the lexicographer/harmless drudge-in-chief of the day.
But my hat is off to anyone who can (a) use "segue" correctly, and (b) expect his readers to actually understand it. [Bowing, scraping and admiration emoticon]
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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helen suggested get your wife something newer than an iceboxOne of my favourites from my Dad's store of nostalgisms was his description of the ice vendors who would visit their home in Quetta. They would turn up with the giant blocks of ice sitting on pallets towed by camels. The blocks would go into the family's meatsafe, and last about two weeks. Segue that CapKiwi!
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Segue that CapKiwi!
I would imagine it would segue itself quite satisfactorily over two weeks without any help from me, thank you! [prim emoticon]
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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enthusiast
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Tsuwm: how is it determined when a word shall segué from archaic to obsolete
Capital Kiwi: But my hat is off to anyone who can (a) use "segue" correctly, and (b) expect his readers to actually understand it.
And (c) get the accents, if any, right?
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stranger
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I grew up in New York City in the 50's and I remember the iceman coming around with his huge tongs, lifting out blocks of ice and bringing them in to people who were still using iceboxes. This was in Washington Heights, near the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan. We also had a vegetable man who came around with a horse-drawn wagon.
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Byb asks: Do we have to icebox these leftovers? Faldage notes : Icebox is still used to mean refrigerator ... record albums were still albums
We had an ice box, between the kitchen and pantry and the iceman arrived weekly. He wore a heavy padded piece of leather on one shoulder upon which rested the block of ice, held steady with heavy duty tongs.The icebox was about 4 1/2 feet deep and eight feet wide.The slatted shelves allowed cool air to circulated. The top shelf (about five feet from the floor) was level with a window that opened on to the porch so ice cakes could be fed in that way without having to have the Iceman drip his way through the house. We called it "The Cooler" as we also had a "Fridge," which was short for Frigidaire. The Cooler was great for party prep as it could hold tray upon tray of goodies. In late 1941 the Cooler was converted to a huge coat closet and the pantry became the downstairs bathroom. I don't recall using the word refrigerate. We asked : "Does this go in the cooler or the fridge?" Re PHONES : I used the autodial awhile but found I forgot the numbers - which was a nuisance when away from home. The only autodial I have now is 911 in case I need an ambulance or a policeman or a firefighter. Re ALBUMs : The album vs. Compact Disc problem is where to PLAY a 33rpm Vinyl record? Fortunately my son found a SAMSUNG unit that had record player, two tape players, a triple CD player tray and an AM/FM radio. The unit is currently available and delivers a decent sound. Not Bose quality but not bad. ... "Gee how lucky can you get ... " [musical note here] wow
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