# Phrases that don't mean what they used to **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862 "2011-05-31T16:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/1 "2011-05-31T16:42:53Z")
“I picked up the telephone and hit him with it.” 40 years ago, you would be inflicting cracked ribs or a concussion. Nowadays, the intended victim would most likely be saying, “you’re kidding, right?” My fellow Dopers, do you have any examples of sentences or phrases that, over time, technology or society have twisted almost beyond recognition? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/2 "2011-05-31T17:17:01Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > “I picked up the telephone and hit him with it.” > > 40 years ago, you would be inflicting cracked ribs or a concussion. > > Nowadays, the intended victim would most likely be saying, “you’re kidding, right?” > My fellow Dopers, do you have any examples of sentences or phrases that, over time, technology or society have twisted almost beyond recognition? 😕 Is that a common phrase where you come from?! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/3 "2011-05-31T17:25:15Z")
The Flintstones purported to be having a gay old time. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/4 "2011-05-31T18:15:34Z")
“I’m the one who wears the pants here”. (meaning : I’m taking authority on a family decision. Last used in 1965 or so, methinks) * * * “stop repeating yourself like a broken record!” I heard this in1985, and thought it was archaic even then. We had progressed to _tapes_ !! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/5 "2011-05-31T18:50:20Z")
_Making love_ used to mean _act charmingly toward_, not engage in coitus. I recall being mildly surprised when a little girl in the Chronicles of Narnia was described as “making love” to everyone in the castle of the giants. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/6 "2011-05-31T18:51:24Z")
“Dollars to donuts” is losing most of its emphasis. Soon its meaning will flip. An older one: “Phony as a two dollar bill” had to be updated to “Phony as a three dollar bill” when the U.S. started making two dollar bills. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/7 "2011-05-31T19:03:00Z")
> [@](#): > > An older one: “Phony as a two dollar bill” had to be updated to “Phony as a three dollar bill” when the U.S. started making two dollar bills. From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_two-dollar_bill): > [@](#): > > The denomination of two dollars was authorized under a congressional act and first used in March, 1862.[1] The denomination was continuously used until 1966 when the only class of U.S. currency it was then assigned to, United States Notes, began to be discontinued.[2] The $2 bill initially was not reassigned to the Federal Reserve Note class of United States currency and was thus discontinued; the Treasury Department cited the $2 bill’s low use and unpopularity as the reason for not resuming use of the denomination. In 1976 use of the two-dollar denomination was resumed as part of the United States bicentennial and the two-dollar bill was finally assigned as a Federal Reserve Note, with a new design on the back featuring John Trumbull’s depiction of the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence replacing the previous design of Monticello. It has remained a current denomination since then.[3] Today, two-dollar bills are not frequently reissued in a new series like other denominations which are printed according to demand; two-dollar bills today are issued but are requested to be printed less often than the other denominations.[4] The two dollar bill isn’t phony, and has never been phony in my lifetime. What it HAS been is rare. And the phrase I always heard was “queer as a three dollar bill”, and in fact, I’ve seen bills that have been altered to show a denomination of three bucks, and with various unpopular people depicted. I remember specifically seeing these bills for sale at truck stops, with Clinton’s portrait on them. Yes, this is legal, as long as the bills aren’t altered to a higher denomination. I’ve also seen Bunny Bucks and Santa Bucks for sale…it’s just a single with a picture of the Easter Bunny or Santa on the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/8 "2011-05-31T19:36:17Z")
CC me on that when you send it. (Although, I won’t be expecting any document that was created using carbon paper). . ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/9 "2011-05-31T20:03:42Z")
Back to telephones for a minute … In the '80s Eddie Murphy had a song out called, I believe “In Your Butt”, in which he described the ridiculous things that could be placed up the wazoo and sung about for money. One of these things was indeed a telephone. If you watch any of the prison shows on cable, you know that telephones up the butt is actually something that the guards have to be on a constant lookout for nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/10 "2011-05-31T20:06:29Z")
I wasn’t an adult when “Cum on Feel the Noize” came out. Was the other meaning of the first word as common back then as it is now? If so, how did it even reach the airwaves without huge fines? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/11 "2011-05-31T20:08:43Z")
Drop a dime? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/12 "2011-05-31T20:13:16Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I wasn’t an adult when “Cum on Feel the Noize” came out. Was the other meaning of the first word as common back then as it is now? If so, how did it even reach the airwaves without huge fines? I was an adult, and it was just considered a misspelling. Note that “come” could be construed with a sexual meaning back then, too. As for phrases: “You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/13 "2011-05-31T20:17:03Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Drop a dime? _Drop a dime_ still means “to contact” or “to inform on.” It’s just that its meaning is more clearly metaphorical now that pay phones are nearly extinct and the few that exist cost more than a dime per call. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/14 "2011-05-31T20:32:29Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I wasn’t an adult when “Cum on Feel the Noize” came out. Was the other meaning of the first word as common back then as it is now? If so, how did it even reach the airwaves without huge fines? Yes, it was. Even when Slade put it out the FIRST time. I remember being puzzled by this too. This was in the 70s, by the way. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLsw668PVyY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLsw668PVyY) ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/15 "2011-05-31T20:51:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Note that “come” could be construed with a sexual meaning back then, too. “Cum” is just a vulgar stylization of “come.” It still has the same meaning today. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/16 "2011-05-31T21:34:14Z")
“It is better to be a Mayan during the great rain festival than an Aztec venerating before Huitzilopochtli.” Words to live by. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/17 "2011-05-31T21:37:00Z")
“Scum” used to refer to semen, and “scumbag” meant essentially a used condom (I don’t know if people commonly called actual used condoms “scumbags,” but to call a person a scumbag meant that he was as disgusting as a used condom.) Nowadays this meaning has pretty much been forgotten and while the term is still insulting, it doesn’t pack the same punch. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/18 "2011-05-31T22:03:33Z")
Raining cats and dogs. In tornado season, it actually does! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/19 "2011-06-02T00:15:17Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > “It is better to be a Mayan during the great rain festival than an Aztec venerating before Huitzilopochtli.” > > Words to live by. I think that the OP was looking for common phrases which have _changed_ meanings! Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862/20 "2011-06-02T00:50:45Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > “Dollars to donuts” is losing most of its emphasis. Soon its meaning will flip. > > An older one: “Phony as a two dollar bill” had to be updated to “Phony as a three dollar bill” when the U.S. started making two dollar bills. I’ve never heard the first one, except on a tv show. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-dont-mean-what-they-used-to/583862.md?page=2)