We are having a lot of fun putting together a collection of good old fashioned words and expressions that our parents use but which have now fallen out of the lexicon – or have a different meaning. They have a ring of wartime films like Brief Encounter and Enid Blyton's novels. Some need to be revived.
A classic is ‘tiresome.’ It is utterly damning but somehow isn’t completely rude. You don’t want to be called that - or a ‘pill’ - which is synonymous with a bore. ‘Cad,’ ‘blighter’ and ‘bounder’ were made for Terry Thomas: rogue would now be used instead - which is a whole scale down from a ‘four letter man’ who might still be a shit. Adjectives like ‘ripping,’ and ‘splendid’ might be paired with ‘cove’ or ‘old trout’ as an affectionate descriptive of the older generation. It was also rather ‘common’ and ‘non U’ to get ‘tight' especially if the girl was 'a little minx’ who was ‘no better than she should be.’ If you were a ‘player’ with ‘bottom’ you could be ‘with it’ even if you were a ‘left footer.'
They were a ‘top hole’ generation and ‘crikey’ we will miss them.
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