I've become slightly obsessed with anachronyms; words that are used in an anachronistic way, by referring to something that was appropriate in a former time.
E.g. to clock in, to film something, to hang up the phone, to dial a number.
I've collected a list.
E.g. to clock in, to film something, to hang up the phone, to dial a number.
I've collected a list.
Comments
First written in 1909 by a pilot, when it was seemingly already common to call it that, but it is not known where the "joy" bit comes from.
What we do know, is that at that time, "joystick" was also slang for penis... Pretty clear, IMO 😆
It’s all becoming a bit sexual here. But I guess, when in a rabbit hole, do as the rabbits do!
e.g.:
A lamp that looks like a candle
The “save” icon on our computers that looks like a floppy disk
The opened and closed envelope for emails
The little ribbon on female underpants that hark back to when you had to tie the waistband yourself
https://www.etymonline.com/word/cliche
* But never to the sleeve or slipcover containing the LP record.
An album used to be a set of 3.5 minute records (because that's how short they were) in a folder, i.e. a literal album, making the LP record called an album itself an anachronym!
Nowadays, it's clicking a button in a software program.
"Glove box: a sealed protectively lined compartment having holes to which are attached gloves for use in handling especially dangerous materials inside the compartment."
I know the kind of box meant from movies; I had no idea it was called a glove box!
https://www.builderdepot.co.uk/timber-sheets/carcassing-timber/ts_size--2-x-1-3?srsltid=AfmBOoqUjG5-DDGPP6rD5u2g7urvlk5JR8K-A3appehQA5WJWTter5e8
It bothers me, though, because that seems so different from the anachronyms in everyday English that refer back to how something worked in the past.
Oh, yes, this is all very interesting (at least to us).
I would tend to reserve "anachronym" for the ongoing use of outmoded terminology and refer to, say, the use of "maverick" in a novel set in the 17th century as an anachronism.
However...
1/
How's that for local colo[u]r?
Also, I already had something to say on the subject, I remind myself:
It turns out my definition of "anachronism" was too narrow. I thought it was only an error in chronology, like a Viking with a car, but it can also refer to a person or thing that is chronologically out of place (but not impossible), like a rotary phone in 2025. (1/2)
I'll be updating my article accordingly! (2/2) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anachronism
A buggy whip what a particular kind of short whip used for driving a horse. When cars became a thing "the buggy whip became a symbol of obsoleted technologies and disrupted business models".
e.g.
"The wireless radio is getting buggy-whipped."
Thanks for sharing!
I assume people used to actually write your name in a book next to a time. I don't think many people do this nowadays.
(Not saying they wouldn't turn the volume up anyway, just saying they would be pretty sure their teacher would want things a bit quieter 😉)
https://www.etymonline.com/word/crap
(Maybe the shortest lifespan for the anachronistic part here?)
Do you take these words out? I'm curious!
I do gently point these things out to authors - just remind them where the term actually comes from, and suggest alternatives.
A few of these listed (such as flash in the pan) I would say were always metaphors.
I videoed it.
I don't think it counts because it used to be a big light and it still is. I guess it used to be an incandescent light bulb, and now it's an LED, but that isn't mentioned in the word itself.
Still, thanks for introducing me to the concept!
https://bsky.app/profile/ebharrington.bsky.social/post/3lfvh4n7ypc2j
My favourite is the little ribbon on female underpants that harks back to the time before elastic, when you had to tie the waistband yourself.
He did.
Paying Car Tax
Paying Stamp Duty on your house purchase to the Inland Revenue
Paying your National Insurance Stamp
Travelling on a Corporation Bus
Travelling in a second class (or for the older generation third class) carriage
I recently asked my kids why their 'phones make that precise noise (a mimic of a mechanical camera's shutter clicking) when they take photos, and they hadn't a clue.