# What's to become of outdated verbs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866 "2010-04-12T18:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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**Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/41 "2010-04-14T06:54:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Not a verb, but I still call recordings “albums”. Actually, I’m not sure what else one _would_ call them. The original record albums were collections of 78 RPM records in bound books of sleeves. That is, they were true albums. When LPs came along people called them “albums” because a single record could hold a collection of tracks, the same as an album of 78s. So the term “album” was already outdated (in the sense of the OP) when LPs supplanted 78s. I have heard this phenomenon called “semantic drift.” ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/42 "2010-04-14T14:12:02Z")
I do not “deign” to use deign! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/43 "2010-04-14T14:25:11Z")
Anyone snap a picture anymore? Or look at a snapshot? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/44 "2010-04-14T14:33:16Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The story I heard was that Scholes made up the word because he thought “writing machine” was too dull.\* Interestingly enough, that is exactly the German word for typewriter: _schreibmaschine_. \ ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/45 "2010-04-14T18:12:04Z")
I think a lot of these words will go forward in their present meaning, to the point where wordwise people will someday amuse themselves to discover the pre-digital origins. For example, many terms we use come from the age of sailing ships without most people realizing it: “by and large”, to have someone “over the barrel”, telling someone to “pipe down”, even the term “slush fund”. So it may be with “dialing” a number, or “rewinding” and “fast forward” to skip back/ahead in a song or video clip (even though there’s no longer a physical tape to wind). It’s not just words but visual icons as well. (I was going to start another thread about this a few weeks ago but never did, so now I’m semi-hijacking this one.) For example, on nearly any smartphone or PDA I’ve used from Palm, BlackBerry or the iPhone, the symbol for the “calendar” app is a flip-up, ring-bound one-a-day kind of appointment calendar you used to see on a lot of desks, but I can’t remember the last time I saw one. And the icon for the “Contact list” or “Address book” is either (a) the image of an address book with the lettered tabs on the side, or (b) a Rolodex, neither of which I’ve seen in years and years either (though I still have such an address book at least 10 if not 15 years out of date somewhere in a box I haven’t unpacked from my last 2 moves). The symbol for “voicemail” on my smartphones also looks like a reel-to-reel tape, as if from a cassette. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/46 "2010-04-14T18:27:52Z")
And the “Save” icon in many programs is a 3.5 inch floppy disk. When was the last time anyone saw one of those? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/47 "2010-04-14T18:43:59Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The story I heard was that Scholes made up the word because he thought “writing machine” was too dull.\* Of course, the word might have been used for both the machine and the typist. The “type” part would come from printing type. While they are a different size, the letters that strike to carbon ribbon in typewriter are similar in appearance and function to the type used for printing before offset lithography took over practically all of printing. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/48 "2010-04-14T18:44:04Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > And the “Save” icon in many programs is a 3.5 inch floppy disk. When was the last time anyone saw one of those? Good one. Very true. I can even picture kids today asking, “what is that a picture of and why does it always mean SAVE?” Meanwhile, you should get this [t-shirt](http://www.zazzle.com/jesus_saves_retro_floppy_disk_tshirt-235345374328184732). (For me, though, it is trumped by [this one](http://shop.vendio.com/wkingst1/item/999549427/?s=1271231762).) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/49 "2010-04-14T20:39:51Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > We “drive” cars. I’m still waiting to find out why “drive” in this context is outdated. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/50 "2010-04-14T22:17:42Z")
See post #36. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/51 "2010-04-14T23:07:54Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > See post #36. Oops, sorry :o ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/52 "2010-04-14T23:12:27Z")
Just this morning I was working on a circuit board design, and deciding what to put on the silkscreen layer when I realized that the writing on boards is probably not done by silkscreening anymore. Even if it is still done by screen printing, I doubt its actually silk. But people (and CAD programs) will still call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/53 "2010-04-15T00:19:31Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > For me, though, it is trumped by [this one](http://shop.vendio.com/wkingst1/item/999549427/?s=1271231762). Right. ISTR a variant of this that added “But Moses scores on the rebound” ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/54 "2010-04-15T00:33:31Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The first words would have been “Stop, collaborate and listen!” That’s Alexander Graham Winkle. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/55 "2010-04-15T00:41:18Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Right. ISTR a variant of this that added “But Moses scores on the rebound” That would be [Phil Esposito](http://www.zazzle.com/goalie_jesus_saves_t_shirt-235081723940923588), thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/56 "2010-04-15T02:07:33Z")
It has been a long time since anyone has ‘fired’ a rifle by touching the hole at one end with a smoldering taper. ‘Pull’ (the trigger) would be a much more logical expression. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/57 "2010-04-15T02:42:35Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > It has been a long time since anyone has ‘fired’ a rifle by touching the hole at one end with a smoldering taper. ‘Pull’ (the trigger) would be a much more logical expression. Or perhaps ‘trigger’. But by any name the action definitely still causes some fire to be generated. ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Stranger\_Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Another\_Stranger\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Stranger_Me)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/58 "2010-04-15T19:02:57Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Or perhaps ‘trigger’. But by any name the action definitely still causes some fire to be generated. Which is fine until energy weapons replace rifles. 😉 Would someone be ordered to fire a railgun? Can you fire a death ray? But seriously, I think I agree with robardin and his nautical examples that a lot of the words will continue on. It is cool to think that someday someone will “discover” their origins. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/59 "2010-04-16T20:40:14Z")
> [@Another\_Stranger\_Me](#): > > Which is fine until energy weapons replace rifles. 😉 Would someone be ordered to fire a railgun? Can you fire a death ray? Hmmm, so what is the use of light sabers called? “Lightening a blow”? ---
**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:** [April 21, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866/60 "2010-04-21T05:40:23Z")
> [@Beerman1963](#): > > Wham! Wham! Wham! > That is funny! Seriously! It sounds like an old but classic witticism I would have heard already. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-to-become-of-outdated-verbs/535866.md?page=2)