“LOST FOR WORDS” – By Des Kelly

Explains why English is such a strange but fascinating language. Certain Phrases, Prose, Quotes, and sometimes, even Words that are “coined” by Wordsmiths such as some Authors are prone to do at times, appear at random during our lives, only to disappear, as time goes by. 

          Once again, while the actual author of this “piece” is unknown, eLanka thanks both Keith Bennett & Maxwell Gerlach for sending this article in. I am sure that our readers will remember some of these nostalgic writings, because if they do not, I shall be lost for words.

Desmond Kelly.
(Editor-in-Chief) eLanka. 

Mergatroyd!   Do you remember that word?  Would you believe the spell-checker did not recognize the word Mergatroyd?  Heavens to Mergatroyd!

The other day a not so elderly (I’d say 75) lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy;   and he looked at her quizzically and said, “What the heck is a Jalopy?”  He had never heard of the word jalopy!  She knew she was old … But not that old.

Well, I hope you are   Hunky Dory   after you read this and chuckle.

About a month ago, I illuminated some old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology.  These phrases included:   Don’t touch that dial, Carbon copy, You sound like a broken record, and Hung out to dry.

Back in the olden days we had a lot of   moxie .  We’d put on   our best bib and tucker ,   to straighten up and fly right.

Heavens to Betsy!  Gee whillikers!    Jumping Jehoshaphat!  Holy Moley!

We were   in like Flynn   and  living the life of Riley ; and even a regular guy couldn’t accuse us of being a  knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill.   Not for all the tea in China

Back in the olden days, life used to be   swell,   but when’s the last time anything was swell?   Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A.; of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and pedal pushers.

Oh, my aching back!   Kilroy was here,   but he isn’t anymore.

We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say,  “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!”  Or,   “This is a fine kettle of fish!”   We discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent, as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards.

Poof,   go the words of our youth, the words we’ve left behind.  We blink, and they’re gone.  Where have all those great phrases gone?

Long gone:    The milkman did it.    Don’t forget to pull the chain.   Knee high to a grasshopper.   Well, Fiddlesticks!    I’ll see you in the funny papers.  Don’t take any wooden nickels.   Wake up and smell the roses.

Leaves us to wonder where Superman will find a phone booth…

See ya later, alligator!   Okidoki.

You’ll notice they left out  “Monkey Business”!!!

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE FABULOUS 50’S … NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AGAIN .. WE WERE GIVEN ONE OF OUR MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS:  LIVING IN THE PEACEFUL AND COMFORTABLE TIMES, CREATED FOR US BY THE “GREATEST GENERATION!