The metro areas in this region often have an area designated as “Kiss and Ride”.
Translation: This is where drivers can discharge their passengers and then send them on their way but not before delivering a quick peck.
Question One: Do other mass transit areas have a designation spot of the same name? And Two, what other examples of phrases are used today that remain pleasingly old-fashioned?
With the above, I’m surprised that some soul-less bureaucrat hasn’t yet felt the need to change the name to something along the lines of “Commuter/Vehicular Relinquishment Platform”.
I’m sure that with enough time, someone will feel the need to do so.
We have passenger set-down and pick-up areas outside railway stations and the airport here in Sydney, which are signposted “Kiss and Ride”. Strangely, it’s a brand new phenomenon (only been there a year or two).
Up until relatively recently, if you were at Sydney’s Central Station and wanted information, you wouldn’t go a door with a sign over it saying “INFORMATION” or one of those stylised lower-case “i” signs. You’d go to the door which said, “The Man In Blue”. I miss that.
We do have plenty of kissing gates, once you get out into the countryside, though.
And we do have pedestrian crosswalks named after birds - the Pelican crossing is the common one, but now there’s also Toucan and Puffin crossings. And outside of the feathered options, there’s Pegasus crossings, for horses, and the original Zebra crossing. (No, I’m not making this up, but I’ll admit that most of the names aren’t well known, or IMO well-enough known!)
In today’s world, anything that keeps us from robbing, raping and murdering our fellow human beings – with the exception of sheer naked force –is automatically somewhat quaint.
There’s a Kiss & Ride at a subway station here in the Greater Toronto Area, but it may have been renamed. Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing that sign at all in the last decade.
“Tricky Tray” fundraiser auctions, which are popular in New Jersey, especially with churches and schools. I’ve never attended one but years ago I read a newspaper article once on the phenomenon. I’m fuzzy on the details of exactly how they work, but it involves betting or bidding on garage-sale-like items.
We still “dial” phone numbers though few of us still use rotary dial phones. Likewise, a lot of people still call places where you buy CDs the “record store.” Odd how “CD store” doesn’t seem to have caught on after 20+ years.
I know of one Kiss & Ride here, at the Vashon Island ferry terminal. There might be others at other ferry terminals. We jokingly call it the Kiss & Tell.
The Smith Tower here in Seattle still has elevator operators. I heard recently about a fellow who just retired from that job. It’s the only one he’s ever had.
I think the little egg-timer thing that Windows uses is quite quaint. I’m sure there are kids who have never used a real egg-timer.
Come to think of it, I suppose QWERTY keyboards even count as quaint (yeah, I know there are other ones but it is still the default layout).
there is an entire genre of TV commercials that look like they were filmed in a small town drug store from 1945. A grandfatherly-looking pharmacist is greeted by a little old lady…they seem to have known each other for 50 years…her prescription is hand-written, the shelves have glass bottles of colored liquids, and there isn’t a computer anywhere in sight.
While googling this, I found a fascinating, geeky and bureaucratic page. It would appear that every unique outdated road sign which is removed gets recorded and its disappearance from traffic legislation is of great significance to someone.
