# Retired tropes of yesteryear **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324 "2022-04-23T18:11:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/341 "2022-05-29T13:45:51Z")
Saw this one on the 21st century sitcom " The Middle" ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/342 "2022-05-29T13:49:48Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > When one of the executives on _Mad Men_ (Duck Phillips) arrived in the U.S. from a stint in England, he expressed interest in putting on weight. Patting his trim waist, he lamented, “English food!”. _The best restaurants in the UK are **Indian** restaurants._ Despite the jokes, I enjoyed British food during my 3-month visit to England with my mother and sis in 1965 (except for the “hot-dog” I got at a seaside resort. It was a spicy sausage in a bun—blasphemy!). It helped that my aunts, like my mother, were fine cooks. My maternal grandparents were cooks at the London Stock Exchange. Grandfather (the head chef) died during WWI after contracting a deadly disease from skinning rabbits in the British army. I especially liked the custom my uncles had of waking us up with a cup of tea and biscuit (cookie). And one aunt made something she called _buried treasure_, sort of a warm macaroni pudding with a cream-filled chocolate cake buried in the middle. Loved it! ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/343 "2022-05-29T14:11:02Z")
Almost every meal I have had in the UK (three trips probably 25-30 meals) has been good to excellent. And for the most part we are just dropping into the pub, restaurant or cafe that is to hand. Even in the much maligned touristy areas the food is at least decent. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/344 "2022-05-29T14:32:10Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > That was another trope of the era, that people shouldn’t be afraid to get therapy for their problems. This reminds me of another trope from the '70s and maybe the '80s. Anytime a character was nervous or upset in some way, they would ask for a pill, or else somebody would offer them one – a Valium, or something similar. Apparently, doctors and everybody else handed out prescription pills like candy. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/345 "2022-05-29T14:45:43Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > Apparently, doctors and everybody else handed out prescription pills like candy. They did. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/346 "2022-05-29T15:30:40Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > This reminds me of another trope from the '70s and maybe the '80s. Anytime a character was nervous or upset in some way, they would ask for a pill, or else somebody would offer them one – a Valium, or something similar. Apparently, doctors and everybody else handed out prescription pills like candy. Pills, and more. In the closing scene of _The Godfather_, when Connie is hysterical after learning the truth about Michael, he calmly directs his henchman, “Take her upstairs. Get her a doctor”, presumably code for a shot. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/347 "2022-05-29T16:00:00Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > This reminds me of another trope from the '70s and maybe the '80s. Anytime a character was nervous or upset in some way, they would ask for a pill, or else somebody would offer them one – a Valium, or something similar. Apparently, doctors and everybody else handed out prescription pills like candy. A different trope about pills that I’ve not seen in a long time: someone with a chronic heart condition gets upset and is close to getting a heart attack, so they must take their regular medication (they of course always carry in their pocket) _right now_, and immediately the danger disappears. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/348 "2022-05-29T16:04:57Z")
Elaine on _ **Seinfeld** _. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/349 "2022-05-29T16:29:18Z")
You can stll buy necklaces designed to hold nitroglycerin pills, so I suspect some people still use the pills this way ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/350 "2022-05-29T16:35:40Z")
Don’t you usually have to _sniff_ nitroglycerin in an emergency? I know I had to when I was at my doctor with chest pain, he saw my critical ECG and called the ambulance to get me to a hospital ASAP. Luckily, a heart attack was prevented, but I got a stent at the hospital. Now, seven years later, I have to take an array of pills regularly, but none of them would do anything for me in an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![pseudograph](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pseudograph/32/19768_2.png) [@pseudograph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudograph)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/351 "2022-05-29T16:51:03Z")
Nitroglycerin pills are an actual thing. My dad puts one under his tongue when he starts having chest pains. I will agree I haven’t seen it as a dramatic device in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/352 "2022-05-29T16:52:44Z")
Ok, I didn’t know that nitroglycerin for heart emergencies also comes in pills, I thought you’d had to sniff it. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/353 "2022-05-29T18:00:14Z")
Nitroglycerin pills for a heart condition were a major plot element in “Better Call Saul”, seasons 3 and 4 IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/354 "2022-05-29T18:14:22Z")
No. There are a lot of blood vessels beneath the tongue. Typically, one asks the patient to lift their tongue and sprays it on. But it also comes in pills, intravenous and other forms. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/355 "2022-05-29T18:17:31Z")
Ok, thanks for fighting my ignorance. And now I’m not so sure anymore if I sniffed the nitroglycerin in my emergency or got it sprayed into my mouth, but I remember it was a spray. Given the dramatic circumstances, I think I’m excused for maybe misremembering. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/356 "2022-05-29T18:45:13Z")
The problem with nitroglycerine pills is that if you bite down on one you can blow your head off. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/357 "2022-05-29T18:57:39Z")
Yes, that side effect happened to me a couple times. Well, you live and you learn. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/358 "2022-05-29T20:08:10Z")
Well, you can’t learn anymore after your head is blown off! ---
**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 29, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/359 "2022-05-29T20:21:27Z")
Another one from the 40s: whenever a person (usually a woman) has had a frightening or dangerous experience, the doctor would give them a sedative. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324/360 "2022-05-29T20:38:50Z")
[Video from 2000 family member of lost Russian submarine crewman being sedated.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jFBOfIiqW0o) being sedated. See the syringe in the woman in the trench coat’s hand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retired-tropes-of-yesteryear/963324.md?page=19)