Hang ups:

We end phone calls with the mere tap of a finger. When I was young, it was exciting to hang up on someone by slamming the receiver down. Slam your cell phone down and you might shatter the screen. I still hang up on solicitors. I hang up on political calls, too. What do you say? End the call, or hang up?

Some of us remember when we used to dial a number.

A recent WaPo article on evolving words and their meanings got me thinking about outdated words and phrases. Here’s a few:

Rewind please

We used to tape our favorite TV shows. Had to be sure there was a blank videotape in the recorder. There’s no actual videotape. I record some shows on the DVR, but it’s technically a digital recording. We don’t rewind anymore either. We pause, go back, and replay but there’s no tape.

Does anyone still say film when they record video? It’s weird because actual film is no longer used. Speaking of film, footage refers to the physical measurement of film. Early 35 mm silent films were measured in feet and frames. There are approximately 16 frames in a foot of 35 mm film, and that translates to about a second of screen time. When people refer to a particular scene, they still use the word footage, or even clip, which also stems from film terminology.

Did you know podcast came from iPod? Who has one of those anymore? Actually I have an old iPod in a drawer somewhere. I bet I don’t have any way to listen to it, though, because I notoriously toss old cords and headphones out.

We used to roll down a car window. Now we simply open it with a button.

Very few people actually type a letter on a typewriter anymore, although we may still say use the word type. “I typed a letter” is easier than saying you composed it on a computer or laptop, or used a keyboard to compose it.

In emails, BCC or CC is still used, but do you know what they refer to? CC stands for carbon copy, from the days when a writer would slip a carbon-coated sheet between two blank pages; then the carbon sheet would leave a copy of whatever was written or typed on the second piece of paper.

For more outdated words, see 17 common phrases that no longer reflect the action