Whatchamacallit
- Thread starter Madge Bumstead
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Krystal Shay
Well-known member
I had an aunt that called the sofa or couch a Davenette.
We called the soda drink, soda.
Cigarettes were called either cigarettes or smokes.
I rarely got soda, chips, or ice cream as a kid. If my parents had friends or siblings over to the house to play Pinochle, we would get a soda and we usually had to split the bottle. A bottle of soda wasn't very big back then.
We called the soda drink, soda.
Cigarettes were called either cigarettes or smokes.
I rarely got soda, chips, or ice cream as a kid. If my parents had friends or siblings over to the house to play Pinochle, we would get a soda and we usually had to split the bottle. A bottle of soda wasn't very big back then.
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Apparently in the part of North Carolina my mom's family called home, soda pop was called a "dope", like in "Wanna go down the store and get a cold dope?"
For health purposes, I try to hold my Coke consumption down to one a week, but when I do take that first long pull on an ice-cold fully sugared and caffinated Coca Cola, I think I know what a heroin addict feels when he shoots up. That sugar and caffeine coursing through my veins.....heaven.
For health purposes, I try to hold my Coke consumption down to one a week, but when I do take that first long pull on an ice-cold fully sugared and caffinated Coca Cola, I think I know what a heroin addict feels when he shoots up. That sugar and caffeine coursing through my veins.....heaven.
Here's what I remember
Tennis shoes were called gym shoes because they were worn in gym class.
Silverware always known as forks, spoons, and knives and cutlery never existed in our vocabulary.
Couch was couch
Shopping cart never heard of it. Too many of us to carry stuff home which wasn't much.
Interchangeable 'pop' and 'soda'. Got on my nerves because everyone wanted Coke Cola and I wanted Pepsi.
Living room was always the front room because it was at the front of the house.
Toilet was commode. You had to go outside to use it at Grandma's house.
Tennis shoes were called gym shoes because they were worn in gym class.
Silverware always known as forks, spoons, and knives and cutlery never existed in our vocabulary.
Couch was couch
Shopping cart never heard of it. Too many of us to carry stuff home which wasn't much.
Interchangeable 'pop' and 'soda'. Got on my nerves because everyone wanted Coke Cola and I wanted Pepsi.
Living room was always the front room because it was at the front of the house.
Toilet was commode. You had to go outside to use it at Grandma's house.
Has anyone here ever used or heard the term chifforobe? The only time I've heard it was in the movie "To Kill A Mockingbird," when Mayella Violet lured Tom Robinson onto her yard under the pretense of "chopping up a chifforobe."
I have one that's been in the family for a long time (they're not really valuable), and always called it a wardrobe. It's a handy thing when you lack closet space.
Pic from the web:
Apparently a chifforobe is a hybrid piece of furniture with a hybrid name. A chiffonier is what I call a chest of drawers, with or without a mirror on top. A wardrobe is where clothes are hung. A chifforobe has both.
I have one that's been in the family for a long time (they're not really valuable), and always called it a wardrobe. It's a handy thing when you lack closet space.
Pic from the web:
Apparently a chifforobe is a hybrid piece of furniture with a hybrid name. A chiffonier is what I call a chest of drawers, with or without a mirror on top. A wardrobe is where clothes are hung. A chifforobe has both.
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Madge Bumstead
Well-known member
Soda pop!
So what do you call the wheeled wire basket you put your stuff in as you shop to carry up to the register?
Madge Bumstead
Well-known member
My husband calls it a wagon!So what do you call the wheeled wire basket you put your stuff in as you shop to carry up to the register?
So any non-alcoholic carbonated beverage? You don't care if it's cola or lemon or orange or ginger ale? Just "pop"?Soda pop!
Do you go into the grocery store and ask them what aisle "food" is on? Things have names for a reason.
This is bringing back bad memories of talking to my cousins.
Madge Bumstead
Well-known member
Oh no, when ordering a pop from say a restaurant, you have to be specific, Coca-Cola, Ginger Ale, etc, but when just freely chatting in conversation it's just plain old pop.
Hey Madge, do you drink pop? Oh yes, Coca-Cola is my favourite, that sort of thing.
NOW I understand. But my cousins would just ask for "pop."
And I gotta ask, if I may...do you come from British or Canadian lineage?
Madge Bumstead
Well-known member
Yes, I sure do. I'm a Canuck through-and-through!
My mother was British. I grew up reading Kipling, Fleming, Queen, et al. So I type "theatre," "colour," "neighbour," and--as you do--"favourite."Yes, I sure do. I'm a Canuck through-and-through!
It's a dead giveaway. The Queen's English...not "American."
In Idaho, it was any kind of soda drink that came in a glass bottle and with a top that came off with a little bottle opener . It was not any special brand or flavor, just a carbonated and bottled drink. I don’t remember having an actual soda fountain, but in the restaurants, they had pop that came from the commercial pop machine, similar to the ones in a convenience store now.
If it fizzed, it was pop, period !
When someone bought a bottle at the store, we had the bottle opener and could open the pop for them . The pop bottles were in a cooler that kept them cold.
Madge Bumstead
Well-known member
Yes, my grandma had a chifferobe. I think a chifferobe also has some drawers. I look upon wardrobes as having just doors, a non-built-in closet.Has anyone here ever used or heard the term chifforobe? The only time I've heard it was in the movie "To Kill A Mockingbird," when Mayella Violet lured Tom Robinson onto her yard under the pretense of "chopping up a chifforobe."
I have one that's been in the family for a long time (they're not really valuable), and always called it a wardrobe. It's a handy thing when you lack closet space.
Pic from the web:
Apparently a chifforobe is a hybrid piece of furniture with a hybrid name. A chiffonier is what I call a chest of drawers, with or without a mirror on top. A wardrobe is where clothes are hung. A chifforobe has both.
So did your grandma actually call it a chifferobe? I'm curious if anyone has ever heard this term used.
Beth Gallagher
Well-known member
Yes, my grandma had a chifferobe and that's what we called it. I also had an old one I refurbished and painted white to go in my firstborn baby's room. It was so cute.
The first house my grandparents lived in many years ago did not have closets at all, so storage cabinets were necessary for their few "dress clothes."
Ours was part of a Waterfall bedroom set (if you recall that style of furniture.) I wish I had the matching vanity with the huge (4 foot?) mirror that was attached to the back. In fact, when I moved here, I picked up a Waterfall sofa table(?) for my dining room.
