Language is constantly changing and evolving to mesh with politics, pop culture and societal norms. Sometimes, though, we have phrases that have become so embedded in the cultural consciousness that we still use them, even though the literal mechanisms they describe no longer exist. Check below for eight outdated phrases we still use today.
Blackballed
In the 18th century, men used to belong to social clubs where gossip, politics and connections were discussed and made. You had to be voted in by committee, anonymously, with different colored balls. A red ball was a positive answer, while a black ball was a negative one. To be blackballed meant you were found wanting, cast out and denied membership. We don’t use the physical balls anymore, but to be blackballed still means you’re getting excluded.
CC-ing on on emails
This acronym connects back to carbon copy, which is how people used to copy messages written by hand. You would do it on specific paper called carbon paper, and run it through a special machine designed to work with carbon paper. Nowadays, that machine doesn’t exist, but the idea of making copies still lingers in email.
In the nick of time
During the 18th century, business owners would keep track of debts, interests and loans on “tally sticks,” or notches carved on wood. When you arrived to pay off your debt right before the next notch was carved, you had arrived in the nick of time.
Roll up the window
Are you old enough to remember when cars didn’t have automatic windows? You had to move them up or down with a small crank. This phrase is referring to this action and is still in use despite windows being raised and lowered at the touch of a button.
Dialing a number
Before cell phones — before even more modern landline phones — people used to have rotary phones, where you would have to spin a dial to call any number. The concept of dialing a number has stuck with us up to the present day.
Burning the midnight oil
This is a reference to the times before electricity, when houses were lit by lamps powered by oil. It refers to staying up late and burning the oil and creating more light for yourself at midnight.
World wide web
This is more modern than the other terms, but it’s a sign that our society moves and changes very quickly. When the internet was still in its infancy, people had to always type www. before each website they went to. WWW stood for world wide web. Now that websites automatically populate this into the search bar, we don’t need to type it, and the phrase world wide web has fallen out of fashion.
Mad as a hatter
Back when elaborate hats were part of everyday fashion, the people following this occupation were known as hatters. They would use mercury often in their process of felting the fur of the animals they worked, which had the unfortunate side effect of making them go insane. The technical term for this illness is erethism, but the phrase mad as a hatter works just as well.