Archaic Phrases That Refuse to Die
We’re all guilty of it. You’re not taping anything when you record, there’s no dial to turn when you're making a call, and your glove box has likely never had a pair of gloves in it if you live south of the Mason-Dixon line. —but you still say this stuff. Welcome to the graveyard of outdated technology, where the phrases just won’t die.
Tech & Media Throwbacks That Refuse to Quit
Tape a show What are you taping it to, exactly? Your cloud? Origin: VHS. Now: Streaming, DVR, or yelling at your smart TV.
Footage From film reels measured in feet. Still used for digital video—because “megabyte-age” sounds ridiculous.
Dial a number Haven’t seen a rotary phone since the Nixon administration, but sure, let’s “dial.”
Hang up the phone There’s no receiver, no cradle. You just angrily slap a screen.
Car Talk
Glove box No gloves. Never gloves. Just expired insurance and two Taco Bell napkins. But it was for gloves, back when cars didn’t have roofs or heaters.
Roll down the window Buddy, that’s a button. You’re not lowering a medieval drawbridge.
Riding shotgun From the Wild West. Literally meant the guy with the shotgun sat up front. Today: You just want legroom and aux cable control.
Dashboard Sounds techy now, but the word dates back to horse-drawn carriages. The “dash board” was literally a wooden board that kept mud from dashing up onto the driver as the horses ran. In cars, it evolved into the panel in front of the driver... which then somehow became a term for your digital metrics spreadsheet. So yeah, your Google Ads dashboard is named after mud protection.
Other Phrases That Time Forgot (But You Didn't)
Broken record Okay, vinyl is making a comeback, but still sounds archaic somehow; a go-to for people who won’t stop repeating themselves.
Carbon copy / CC me There’s no carbon paper involved. There never was. Admit it.
Hold your horses Most of us have never held a horse, let alone multiple. But okay, we’ll wait.
Why Do We Still Say This Stuff?
Because language is lazy. And nostalgic. And kind of adorable in its own weird way. We like the old metaphors. They’ve got character. Plus, saying “record the show via cloud-based digital cache” just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
Got one that drives you crazy (or that you secretly love)? Drop it in the thread—we’re always taking submissions for the next verbal fossil dig.