Slang from the old country

Gary Bailey48 said:I don't recall it working quite like that; an officer back then was what we call a commissioned officer in the US Armed Forces today, and they had NCOs who functioned similarly to our modern non-commissioned officers. As for a commander, they were actually the commanding officer...

ID cards
passport
FBI (formerly the state accounting office, basically what you'd call the IRS or Treasury today)
OUR
background checks
intelligence screening (I think those might still exist, who knows... mine used to be constantly flagged!) 😁
cheap shaving cream (only the girls from back in the day—well, ladies now—would remember that stuff😉)
the restroom
funeral
enlistment
disco clubs, and speaking of which, the cheap booze

honestly, who can even keep track of all these memories...

Spot on, you hit the nail right on the head! 🤣

I honestly don't get it... Maybe those terms sound old-school to you, but they're part of the everyday vocabulary for me and most people I know. You act like certain words were wiped from the American lexicon, but things like "spatula," "rifle," "baby food," or "skyscraper" are still used all the time everywhere.
There wasn't some massive linguistic overhaul in America. After the country split up, people just kept talking the same way they always did. It’s probably just that you don't run into those expressions as often anymore, so they seem foreign to you. 🙂

Cream. Heavy cream. It’s the stuff that actually matters. Everything else is just filler.
štekdozna - influencer
Cantaloupe versus watermelon. It’s a classic debate, really. One is subtle, musky, and requires a bit of patience to truly appreciate. The other is just pure, aggressive sugar water that hits you like a freight train on a July afternoon in Texas. Personally, I don't see the appeal in the constant tug-of-war between them. They serve different purposes. If you want sophistication, you go with the cantaloupe. If you just want to drown your thirst in a bucket of sweetness, you grab the watermelon. Pick your poison.
Pharmacy.
Physical education. Or just PE, if you want to be brief. It’s more than just running laps until your lungs burn; it's about discipline, movement, and building a foundation that actually lasts.
...

mistylynx5 said:sour cream, whipped cream
outlet - socket
cantaloupe - watermelon
drugstore - pharmacy
PE - gym class
...

Gym class is just PE

I don't even know where to start with this one, honestly. I've been sitting here staring at my screen for twenty minutes just trying to wrap my head around how things have gotten this messy, but I guess that's just the way the wind blows lately. It feels like every time I turn around, there's some new complication or some ridiculous oversight that makes me want to put my head through a wall, you know? I mean, maybe I'm being too hard on the situation, or maybe I'm just seeing things more clearly than everyone else seems to be willing to admit, but it really feels like we're all just spinning our wheels while the actual progress stays stuck in neutral. I guess I could try to be more patient, but it’s hard to stay calm when you feel like you're constantly hitting the same brick walls over and over again. It's just frustrating, plain and simple. kaže:
I mean, honestly, when you look at how some of these massive corporations operate, it’s enough to make your head spin. I guess you could say they just don't care about the little guy anymore. It feels like every single company out there is just chasing the next quarterly earnings report without a second thought for the actual people using their products or the impact they're having on the community. Maybe I'm being too cynical, but I can't help but feel like the whole corporate structure in this country has become so disconnected from reality that it's almost impressive in a tragic sort of way. You see these giants—think along the lines of something like Amazon or Walmart—just steamrolling everything in their path, and it really makes me wonder where we're all headed if this is the standard for business. It's just... it's a lot to wrap your head around, I suppose.

Wait, so was it actually called a takeover in Mexican?

I don't really know where to start with this whole situation, because honestly, it feels like everything is just spiraling out of control lately. I guess I’ve been sitting here for a while trying to make sense of it all, but the more I think about it, the more it just seems like a complete mess. Maybe I'm being too hard on things, but it feels like nobody is actually paying attention to the bigger picture, you know? It’s like everyone is just reacting to the immediate chaos without stopping to consider how much damage is actually being done in the long run. I mean, if you look at the way things have been handled recently—and I’m talking about the sheer lack of foresight—it’s almost impressive how much they can miss the mark. I suppose some people might argue that it's just part of the process, but that feels like a pretty weak excuse to me. To be fair, I haven't exactly been the most patient person when it comes to seeing things done the right way, but even for me, this feels excessive. It’s just one thing after another, and I find myself constantly wondering if there's anyone actually steering the ship, or if we're all just drifting toward a disaster because everyone is too busy arguing over the trivial stuff to notice the engine is failing. It's frustrating, truly, and I suspect I'll be venting about this for a long time before it actually gets resolved. kaže:
I guess what you’re trying to get at is that it happened before...I can't even begin to wrap my head around how people can be this delusional. I mean, seriously, I guess I shouldn't be surprised given the current state of things, but it still gets under my skin every single time. It’s like everyone just collectively decided to ignore reality in favor of some convenient little fantasy. Maybe I'm just being too cynical, or maybe I'm the only one actually paying attention while everyone else is busy drifting along, but it feels like we're all just circling the drain. I don't know, it’s hard to explain without sounding like I’m losing my mind, but there's this pervasive sense that nobody wants to take responsibility anymore. It's frustrating, honestly. You see these people making these massive, sweeping claims, and you just want to shake them and say, "Hey, look at the facts!" But no, they just keep doubling down on their nonsense. It’s exhausting. I guess I’ll just sit here and fume about it, because clearly, that's what I'm good at.I don't know, I guess it's just one of those things that gets under my skin, but honestly, everything feels like it's just being thrown together without any real thought anymore. It’s like people just expect you to accept whatever mediocre version of reality they hand you, and I find myself wondering if anyone actually cares about doing things the right way for once. Maybe I'm just being overly cynical, but it feels like we're constantly dealing with this lack of substance everywhere we look. 😬

I mean, if I’m being totally honest, I’d probably say that it was a bit too much.I guess I don't really know what to say about this, but maybe I should just get it all out there since nobody seems to be listening anyway. It feels like everything is just spiraling lately, and honestly, it’s getting pretty exhausting to deal with. I mean, I suppose I could try to make sense of it, but it’s hard when things feel so chaotic and unpredictable, you know? I might be overthinking it, or maybe I’m just seeing things more clearly than everyone else, which is probably why I end up feeling so frustrated all the time. It’s just one thing after another, and if I’m being completely honest, I’m starting to lose my patience with how little anyone actually cares about the actual substance of these issues.I guess I’m just going to say it, though I know people will probably lose their minds over this: that whole situation with Zećo was just a complete mess from start to finish. It feels like everything about how things were handled was totally disorganized, and honestly, I can't quite wrap my head around why anyone thought that approach would actually work in the long run. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but it just seems like such a blatant lack of foresight, you know? I mean, you look at the way it all unfolded, and it's hard not to feel a bit frustrated by the sheer inefficiency of it all. It really makes you wonder if anyone was actually paying attention to the bigger picture, or if they were all just winging it and hoping for the best. I don't know, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, thinking about how much easier it could have been if they had just used a little bit more common sense. 😬 🤣

oxygen
outside
bread...

By your logic, old regional slang could be interpreted as anything from "good" to "evil" to "oxygen."
Nice try...

Flowerpot

Laura Allen97 said:So by your logic, everything from the old country is just slang? A fork or a spoon?...
Way to go...

Nah, a fork is a fork and a spoon is a spoon.

Gary Bailey48 said:Not quite how I recall it; an officer back then is what we call a commissioned officer in the US Army today, but there were also NCOs who functioned like our current warrant officers. A commander was actually just a commanding officer...

ID card
passport
SDG (the State Department of Revenue, basically the IRS equivalent)
OUR
routine physical
the screening room (maybe they still have those, who knows... mine was always packed!) 😁
EMKO foam (only the girls from back in the day—ladies now😉)—remember that?
toilet
Funeral
recruitment
the disco, and while we're on the subject, the drama

and who can even remember it all...

I made a doctor's appointment recently and told him I needed a checkup, and he looks at me and goes, 😕"You mean a routine physical?" ☕

Here are a few old-school expressions that used to be common...

barracks - military quarters
helmet - headgear
personal (ID card, error) - individual (identification, mistake)

Kyle Wright3 said:spinach
leeks
sneakers
glue
pliers
vinegar-sour cream

1. spinach
2. pork
3. cougars
4. octopus
5. they also have needle-nose and slip-joint pliers
6. vinegar is vinegar, and sour cream is sour cream

chicken coop

dog

little guy

No, "fork" is already a fork and "spoon" is just a spoon.

Look, I know this quite well. These aren't some outdated regionalisms from the old days; they’re just standard American English terms that people here seem to mislabel as "old-fashioned" for reasons I can't quite wrap my head around. People still use them all the time. If we were talking about "old-fashioned" terms, we'd be discussing specific jargon from a bygone political era or old social structures. This? This is just how the language works.

I don't really know what to make of this—maybe I'm just overthinking things, or maybe it’s just one of those situations where nothing quite adds up—but honestly, I guess it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. It's all just... there. Anyway, I was thinking about how some things just feel off from the start, you know? Like when you walk into a diner in Chicago and the vibe is just slightly tilted, even if the coffee is decent. It's that weird, subtle friction. Or maybe that's just me being cynical—it's probably just a passing thought, really. kaže:
And why use the word funeral?? I’ve always just used that term—it’s what I say, anyway—and honestly, everyone else I know uses it too, so... I guess that's just how it is.😕

The term "funeral" feels more common in Mexican than in American—well, maybe just how people phrase it—whereas in the States we usually just say things like a service, a burial, or an interment. I guess it’s just one of those little linguistic quirks where different regions lean on certain words more than others.
Also, I guess using the term "condolences" can sometimes feel a bit... off—it’s got that specific Mexican flavor to it, even if people use it all the time. In an American context, it just doesn't quite hit the same way as saying "my sympathies."

Has anyone actually brought up traffic yet? 🙄

Jose Edwards16 said:The term "funeral" feels more common in Mexican than in American usage. In the States, we usually say burial or interment.

burial

I suppose Max is essentially running the whole division now.