# Legacy language **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845 "2007-12-13T13:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/21 "2007-12-14T05:46:38Z")
[QUOTE=E. Thorp] Holy crap, all these years hearing about Teamsters and this never occurred to me [that they were originally driving teams of horses]. [/QUOTE] Well, take a closer look (or just a look) at [their logo](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d0/IBT.png/175px-IBT.png). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/22 "2007-12-14T06:12:32Z")
Clockwise began with the sundial, not the mechanical dial clock. While watching a rerun of “The Outer Limits”, I wondered how many people still understand “We control the horizontal and the vertical”. When is the last time they made a TV set with all of the fiddly controls that used to be standard? NTSC is due to officially die in 2009, it had a long and successful run. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/23 "2007-12-14T14:41:19Z")
According to wikipedia “byzantium” is a “historiographical term” used by nineteenth century historians to describe the Eastern Roman empire and not a term ever used by its inhabitants. Constantinople was the name of its capital and the term used by the inhabitants at the time. - Robardin’s Spouse ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/24 "2007-12-14T14:54:28Z")
People still ‘ring’ things into registers, yet very few registers still make any kind of a ringing noise. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/25 "2007-12-14T15:27:00Z")
[QUOTE=Bytegeist] But those all derive from the noun “type” meaning “printed characters”. So you are still _typing_ in the original sense of the word. [/QUOTE] “Type” is a piece of molded or shaped metal that is coated with ink and pressed against a page, not the printed character it creates. [QUOTE=AskNott] A number of words are based on places that have changed their names. A brand of gin calls itself “Bombay gin.” [/quote] They might have “officially” changed their names, but if you go to a place like Mumbai or Chennai, you’ll find that among the natives, the old name is more commonly used. The people of Varanasi are still more likely to use “Banaras” in casual speech, and that name was changed 50 years ago! ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/26 "2007-12-14T15:46:26Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] According to wikipedia “byzantium” is a “historiographical term” used by nineteenth century historians to describe the Eastern Roman empire and not a term ever used by its inhabitants. Constantinople was the name of its capital and the term used by the inhabitants at the time. - Robardin’s Spouse [/QUOTE] Oops. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/27 "2007-12-14T16:18:15Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] People still ‘ring’ things into registers, yet very few registers still make any kind of a ringing noise. [/QUOTE] Say, you wouldn’t happen to own/run a Bistro would you? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/28 "2007-12-14T17:06:24Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] “Three sheets to the wind” and “give a wide berth” are obviously nautical in origin, but less so are “by and large”, “give leeway”, to “overhaul” something, **or a “windfall” meaning something unexpected and good.** [/QUOTE] Cite for that last one? I always assumed it came from windfall fruit, meaning something good that drops in your lap without you having to go and pick it. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/29 "2007-12-14T17:50:34Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Cite for that last one? I always assumed it came from windfall fruit, meaning something good that drops in your lap without you having to go and pick it. [/QUOTE] Hmm, you know, I don’t remember where I read this originally, but a quick Googling for “windfall nautical term” turns up a number of references, like this site: [http://www.brianberlin.net/nautical\_phrases.asp](http://www.brianberlin.net/nautical_phrases.asp) Which also lists several other common phrases as nautical in origin, such as “take \ down a peg” and “chew the fat”. > [@](#): > > **Windfall:** A rush of wind from the high land. A sudden unexpected rush of wind from a mountainous shore which allowed a ship more leeway. > **Take someone down a peg** : Possibly derived from the naval practice of tying flag ropes to pegs. The higher the peg, the higher the status. Possibly RAF slang for losing a stripe (reduction in rank). > **Chew the fat** : Literally, eating the seaman’s daily ration of tough, salt-cured pork or beef. Long before refrigeration, cured meats were tough but durable and it took a lot of chewing to make them edible. While any list this long of etymological origins probably contains a fair number of suspect, bogus or outright speculative entries, these do seem to pass at least my own “smell test”. ETA: I do find the “fruit falling from a tree on its own” etymology rather more likely than the nautical one. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/30 "2007-12-14T18:16:00Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] I do find the “fruit falling from a tree on its own” etymology rather more likely than the nautical one. [/QUOTE] According to the [Online Etymology Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=windfall&searchmode=none) the “fruit” derivation is the correct one. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/31 "2007-12-14T18:23:58Z")
They might have “officially” changed their names, but if you go to a place like Mumbai or Chennai, you’ll find that among the natives, the old name is more commonly used. The people of Varanasi are still more likely to use “Banaras” in casual speech, and that name was changed 50 years ago! [/QUOTE] Yes and NYC finally gave up (after how many decades) and has posted “6th Ave.” signs underneath the “Avenue of the Americas” signs, a name that no one ever uses. They will eventually give up, I predict. I am also not fond of all the “Fashion Ave.” and other such signs, since how is a visitor to know that that is really 7th Ave? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/32 "2007-12-14T18:35:07Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] According to wikipedia “byzantium” is a “historiographical term” used by nineteenth century historians to describe the Eastern Roman empire and not a term ever used by its inhabitants. Constantinople was the name of its capital and the term used by the inhabitants at the time. - Robardin’s Spouse [/QUOTE] While it’s true that people at the time probably didn’t call the empire the “Byzantine Empire”, Byzantium/Byzantion was the original name of the city to which Constantine moved his capital. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/33 "2007-12-14T19:45:11Z")
[QUOTE=Nature’s Call] We “log in” to our computer, and call it that referring to the practice of signing a log book. [/QUOTE] “Log in” itself is often used inaccurately. Just about website aimed at the general public urges you to “log on” when all you really do is type in the URL. You don’t have to enter any identification. I think it’s a holdover from the days any user of a computer had to enter an ID and password. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/34 "2007-12-15T02:55:56Z")
A couple of other legacy terms related to phones: Hang up - This originally referred to hanging the earpiece on a hook when a call was finished. There is no hook on a modern phone, but we still hang up (even with cell phones). Flash - Many office phones have a “flash” button that is used for special features. This goes back to the days of switchboards when, to get the attention of an operator, one would jiggle the hook up and down (see above) which would cause a light on the switchboard to flash on and off. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/35 "2007-12-15T03:04:55Z")
On many railways, the secondman/observer is the “fireman” still (despite sitting in an air-conditioned cab of a diesel loco). A small railway or a branchline might use the “one engine in steam” principle. Trains still “whistle” despite having had _air horns_ for more than half a century. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/36 "2007-12-15T03:36:13Z")
[QUOTE=Uncommon Sense] Say, you wouldn’t happen to own/run a Bistro would you? [/QUOTE] No, why are can you think of one with a register that rings? I can think of a few bars with older then dirt ringing registers, but no bistros off the top of my head. (PS my registers may not be state of the art, but they don’t make any ringing sounds). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/37 "2007-12-15T04:22:03Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] Phones don’t really ring any more: I remember when they actually had small bells that rang. [/quote] The other day on the subway in Busan, someone’s cell phone rang, with a ring-tone of the traditional telephone ring. Everyone on the car stopped talking and looked towards the ringing phone to see who had such an odd thing. > [@](#): > > And there was a thread recently about how cutting-and-pasting used to be done with real scissors and real glue. My supervising co-teacher here still uses scissors and real glue to do that. She is a bit skittish regarding computers so she prints what she thinks she’ll need and then does the traditional C&P. The other four of us in the office have tried to teach her how easy it is to use the word processors but to no avail. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/38 "2007-12-15T04:50:30Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] The other day on the subway in Busan, someone’s cell phone rang, with a ring-tone of the traditional telephone ring. Everyone on the car stopped talking and looked towards the ringing phone to see who had such an odd thing. [/QUOTE] I’ve got that on my mobile phone. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/39 "2007-12-15T04:51:52Z")
That’s another one. The traditional striker-on-brass-bells sound of a road/rail grade crossing is still always there, but these days it’s often an MP3! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845/40 "2007-12-15T05:14:14Z")
Pretty much everything having to do with computers. The whole computer world is just a virtual environment where we have to use old real-world words to describe it. Boot is short for bootstrap ( I think). There is ‘windows’, ‘files’, ‘folders’, ‘tabs’, etc… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legacy-language/429845.md?page=3)