Clothing styles change and become outdated. Many good words also are becoming outdated. They are on the endangered list and could become extinct in our lifetime.

Here are some examples:


Percolator - a good word that's never spoken anymore. Is Mr. Coffee to blame for that?



Bobby socks - (okay, that's two words) doesn't anyone wear them since Elvis died?


Castor oil - these two are no doubt already extinct and no child is likely to be threatened by them.


Auto makers are responsible for many good words moving to the endangered list: fender skirts, steering knobs, Continental kits, rumble seats, curb feelers - and the list goes on.


Cell phones and answering machines have contributed to the non-use of cradle phone - which was once the latest technology.


Hairstyles nowadays don't include such great words as ducktail, flat-top, butch. Alas, they have gone, along with jitterbug and platform shoes.

Supper is another good word that is rapidly disappearing.  Now it's dinner.  But that always meant the meal after church on Sunday, not a weekday evening meal.  This is a good word that brings back fond memories and it will be missed by many people.

Do your part to help save endangered words! Pick up the cradle phone, invite someone to supper tonight and discuss steering knobs, bobby socks and all those other great words that were once part of our vocabulary.