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| Fotos were taken on October 6, 2016 at Dar es Salaam City Centre. Jabir Johnson with his friend a very talented graphic design Adam. |
It's easy to date (or age) yourself by
using words you’ve grown up hearing. Key indicator: If a young person’s
eyebrows shoot up when you say “VCR” or “How’s tricks?” you’ll know—a bit too
late—that you’re now an old fuddy-duddy. But, don’t say “fuddy-duddy” or any of
the other words on this list, for that matter, unless you're looking for a
sympathy laugh.
Web surfing
Oh, dear. Yes, this phrase was bandied
about not so long ago. Back when the internet was new, clicking your way around
(and waiting forever for the page to load) was called web surfing.
Since the
internet isn’t quite so novel these days, it doesn’t require its own extreme
sports reference . . . and neither does television. Channel surfing, meet
streaming and binge-watching.
“Dear John” letter
Coined by Americans in World War II, a
Dear John letter was the name for the letter from a soldier's sweetheart saying
their romance was ending. John was the most popular name for boys in 1880
through 1923, so whoever coined the phrase clearly gave it some thought.
There are occasional nods to these
let-down letters in pop songs and movies, but they’re rare. It might be time to
coin a new phrase, something along the lines of a “Dear Lucas text.” Or,
perhaps a simple heartbreak emoji would do the trick.
How’s tricks?
In the 1950s and ‘60s, it wasn’t
uncommon to ask, “How’s tricks?,” when you encountered a buddy on the street
(meaning “How are things?”). Women didn’t say it; men did.
Perhaps the reason lies in the rumored
root of the phrase, said to be related to the men who managed ladies of the
night back in the 1930s. (A customer is still referred to as a trick.)
Long-distance call
Cell phones have made long-distance call
a meaningless phrase. If you have a landline (you’ve already given away your
age), we still think long-distance no longer applies, so be wary of any
long-distance provider calls . . . .
VCR and videotape
It’s a tough habit to break, but using
the word tape when discussing recording audio or video is clearly outdated.
Videotapes and VCRs (from video cassette recorder) have been rendered obsolete
in this digital world. Start recording those precious moments on your
smartphone instead.
"Just one more thing"
Didn't the late Apple co-founder, Steve
Jobs, coin this phrase? Nope, his usage of the phrase just showed his age.
The phrase just one more thing was quite
popular in the 1970s, courtesy of the rumpled TV police detective named
Columbo. He'd question some poor weaselly suspect, then shamble off, only to
turn back around with his head slightly bowed and one finger in the air.
"Ah, if I may . . . just one more thing." That's when he'd lay the
coup de grace on 'em. Fade this phrase to commercial.
Fotomat
Today, you take a photo with the camera
app on your phone, and it automatically uploads to the cloud from which you can
then order prints. Well, back in the day, the only clouds were in the sky.
Developing photos was fun: You'd
physically drop off your film off to have it developed at a one-stop
drive-through photo hut called Fotomat . . . which is now likely a
drive-through coffee shop.
Walkman
Before MP3s (another outdated term) and
iTunes, Sony brought you the Walkman. It turned the music and
portable-electronics industries on their collective heads.
Released in the summer of 1979, the
first cassette Walkman ran on a pair of AA batteries. You popped in your Bee
Gees cassette and adjusted the lightweight headphones for a personal music
experience. Other variants followed, including the CD Discman and the TV
Watchman.
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Fotos were taken on October 6, 2016 at
Dar es Salaam City Centre. Jabir Johnson with his friend a very talented
graphic design Adam. It was funny day with sympathy laughs.
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