# Old terms in fiction that are weird to hear or read today. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-terms-in-fiction-that-are-weird-to-hear-or-read-today/636741 "2012-10-04T20:44:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-terms-in-fiction-that-are-weird-to-hear-or-read-today/636741/121 "2012-10-13T00:55:10Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Another thing from the _Anne of Green Gables_ books (that I bet isn’t just a Canadian thing, at least not anymore) is that adult married women, with the exception of family members and extremely close friends, are referred to as “Mrs. Harmon Andrews”, “Mrs. Eben Wright”, etc. That is, by their husbands’ names. Not just formally in writing, but in conversation. “Mrs. Eben Wright told me…” etc. I think this was supposed to make it clear who you were talking about in situations where there were several adult men in the same family. In a small town there could be two or three generations of Andrews men, possibly with many brothers and cousins in each generation, and just calling them all “Mr. Andrews” and their wives “Mrs. Andrews” could lead to confusion. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-terms-in-fiction-that-are-weird-to-hear-or-read-today/636741/122 "2012-10-13T04:57:22Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > …High-society people tried very hard to avoid getting tanned, because pale skin showed that they didn’t do manual labor. Also, ladies were not supposed to be tan–only men. If you’ve ever read the Little House books, that’s a recurring theme. Michelle Dockery’s (Lady Mary Crawley) while historically accurate for **Downton Abby** ’s time can be really distracting at times. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-terms-in-fiction-that-are-weird-to-hear-or-read-today/636741/123 "2012-10-13T06:28:57Z")
Condescend – now the word has a negative connotation, however it used to be used very positively. [From Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/condescending?s=t) 3. to put aside one’s dignity or superiority voluntarily and assume equality with one regarded as inferior: He condescended to their intellectual level in order to be understood. 4. Obsolete . a. to yield. b. to assent. [Word Origin & History](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/condescending?s=t) condescending 1707, from condescend. Originally in a positive sense (of God, the Savior, etc.) until late 18c. Related: Condescendingly (1650s). ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-terms-in-fiction-that-are-weird-to-hear-or-read-today/636741/124 "2012-10-13T07:17:52Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > “Weak eyes”; I’ve never quite understood what this referred to. Was it typical mid-life onset of difficulty in focusing on printed material, or did they mean the character’s eyes were especially sensitive to bright light? Or were his/her eyes gradually failing like an old fashioned TV picture tube fading? > > ETA: i know, I asked about this once, but it was a long time ago. I’m old and was raised by very old people (grandparents) When they refered to somone as weak eyed, they were usually refering to a child wearing glasses. Intercourse= conversation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-terms-in-fiction-that-are-weird-to-hear-or-read-today/636741.md?page=6)