# "dropping a dime" and other phrases kids don't understand



## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

Was having a conversation with a co-worker, and not to get into too much detail her son was injured at his job and the company wouldn't let him go to the doctor's because they didn't want to have a reportable injury. I said to her "He needs to drop a dime to OSHA" just as one of the new hires (a young lady fresh out of college).

She stopped and just stared blankly for a moment before saying "I don't get it, what is dropping a dime supposed to do?"

So I said, "You know, make a phone call to OSHA."

"But what does that have to do with dimes?"

She was dead serious. She had never heard the phrase before and I actually had to explain to her the concept of a phone booth and putting dimes in the phone. This entire conversation, of course, made me feel _very, very OLD_. And this got me to thinking about other stuff us "old timers" say that doesn't mean anything to young people. So, old people, what phrases do you use that make the young'uns say "Huh?"


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Don’t be a Dumb Dora, you have not given us the real goods. All hep cats can sling the slang and have the skinny on all the jive, even on methuselated lingo. Well, the Bulls are coming to put me in the calaboose, so I must amscray! Twenty-three skidoo!

 

(the above is written strictly in jest) 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

What does "in jest" mean?  What did that have to do with eating anything?

(the above was written strictly as a lark)

Sent from my MIND using Telepathy


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

actually, i had no clue what the phrase "dropping a dime" meant, and i'm by no means a kid....


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

It's also used, much in the same vein, meaning to narc or tell on someone.  ie. Dropping a dime on a snitch.  I guess the OSHA example works both ways.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

oh, funny story....

my sister and I saw the play _The Columnist_ this past someday. It is about Joseph Alsop, a columnist important in the Kennedy administration. So, it takes place in the 1960s. Near the end of the play there is a scene where a young man talks about playing the Beatles Sgt Pepper album on his turntable. And then he gives Alsop some incriminating negatives.

As my sister and I walked out, we wondered how many of the people in the audience would know what a turntable is. And then we figured that even fewer would know what negatives were...


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2012)

telracs said:


> As my sister and I walked out, we wondered how many of the people in the audience would know what a turntable is. And then we figured that even fewer would know what negatives were...


I remember my niece seeing my albums for the first time and thinking they were some sort of weird frisbees lol


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> It's also used, much in the same vein, meaning to narc or tell on someone. ie. Dropping a dime on a snitch. I guess the OSHA example works both ways.


This (snitch) is the usage I'm more familiar with. I have known people in phone conversations to use "it's your dime!" though not in quite awhile, now that I think about it.

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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I remember my niece seeing my albums for the first time and thinking they were some sort of weird frisbees lol


i gotta tell my sister that one!


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)




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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Carbon copy
Sound like a broken record

I'm sure people know what they mean, but perhaps not why they do.


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## Sean Patrick Fox (Dec 3, 2011)

Scheherazade said:


> It's also used, much in the same vein, meaning to narc or tell on someone. ie. Dropping a dime on a snitch. I guess the OSHA example works both ways.


This is what I thought it meant/the definition I'm familiar with.


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## Colette Duke (Mar 14, 2011)

My kids don't understand _anything_ I say. Records? Nope. They don't even know what cassette tapes are. A couple of them don't really believe me when I tell them phones used to have cords, and you couldn't go more than a few feet from where they were plugged in. (But man, you just about never set those ones down and lost them, right?)

My little grandbabies don't quite speak English yet. We understand each other just fine. I'm old and loving it. ;-)


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## Sean Patrick Fox (Dec 3, 2011)

Colette Duke said:


> My kids don't understand _anything_ I say. Records? Nope. They don't even know what cassette tapes are. A couple of them don't really believe me when I tell them phones used to have cords, and you couldn't go more than a few feet from where they were plugged in. *(But man, you just about never set those ones down and lost them, right?)*
> 
> My little grandbabies don't quite speak English yet. We understand each other just fine. I'm old and loving it. ;-)


No, instead you set them down and they went flying back against the wall


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

telracs said:


> actually, i had no clue what the phrase "dropping a dime" meant, and i'm by no means a kid....


Ditto, and I suspect I'm even further to the right on the bell curve of ages here at KB. 

However, I definitely remember and used pay phones when they only cost a dime for a local call.


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## Tatiana (Aug 20, 2010)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> I remember my niece seeing my albums for the first time and thinking they were some sort of weird frisbees lol


The first time our now 21yo son saw an LP record he made the following comment, "Gee, that is the biggest CD I've ever seen!" He was about 10 at the time.


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

I expect clockwise and counter-clockwise will soon be gibberish to the next generation as well, as clocks these days rarely go around.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Just to show my age, I know that my LP's spin clockwise on my turntable.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Just to show my age, I know that my LP's spin clockwise on my turntable.


and you've got the negatives to prove it.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

telracs said:


> and you've got the negatives to prove it.


Heh...I and my siblings were going through boxes of photos at my parents' house last weekend and found lots of negatives to throw into the trash. There were also a couple boxes of slides ("What are slided?" the kids are asking) and an aluminum box with about 8 reals of 8mm movie reels my grandfather had filmed.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Heh...I and my siblings were going through boxes of photos at my parents' house last weekend and found lots of negatives to throw into the trash. There were also a couple boxes of slides ("What are slided?" the kids are asking) and an aluminum box with about 8 reals of 8mm movie reels my grandfather had filmed.


There are now scanners to convert negatives and slides into digital images.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Heh...I and my siblings were going through boxes of photos at my parents' house last weekend and found lots of negatives to throw into the trash. There were also a couple boxes of slides ("What are slided?" the kids are asking) and an aluminum box with about 8 reals of 8mm movie reels my grandfather had filmed.





Annalog said:


> There are now scanners to convert negatives and slides into digital images.


And the 8mm reels can be converted to DVD's


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## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

In ESL classes I taught, we used a set of books on English idioms. "Raining cats and dogs," and "making money" gave students lots of trouble. I remember a Russian lady bringing her book to me and, with wide, wide, eyes, telling me she thought "making" money was illegal in the US. After that, I seriously considered putting a "see teacher" note on that particular idiom.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2012)

ellesu said:


> In ESL classes I taught, we used a set of books on English idioms. "Raining cats and dogs," and "making money" gave students lots of trouble. I remember a Russian lady bringing her book to me and, with wide, wide, eyes, telling me she thought "making" money was illegal in the US. After that, I seriously considered putting a "see teacher" note on that particular idiom.


Now you've opened up a whole other can of worms. I remember reading that English is actually the hardest language to learn because it is a "mutt" language and has so many exceptions to the rules because of the various influences of other languages on it.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

In all the years I've heard the phrase "dropping a dime," I just accepted that it meant to tell on somebody. I never thought it came from using a pay phone. I am old enough that I have used pay phones that cost a dime.


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## Wingpeople (Oct 7, 2011)

"Operator, well, will you help me place this call?...
Let's forget about this call...you can keep the dime."


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:


> Now you've opened up a whole other can of worms. I remember reading that English is actually the hardest language to learn because it is a "mutt" language and has so many exceptions to the rules because of the various influences of other languages on it.


My favorite example: Why does none of these words rhyme with any of the the others?

Tough
Though
Through
Trough


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Wingpeople said:


> "Operator, well, will you help me place this call?...
> Let's forget about this call...you can keep the dime."


Jim Croce.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Ditto, and I suspect I'm even further to the right on the bell curve of ages here at KB.


I bet folks use ditto and don't know where it came from either. Or did the name of the device come from the use of the word? Hm... chicken or the egg.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I bet folks use ditto and don't know where it came from either. Or did the name of the device come from the use of the word? Hm... chicken or the egg.


I remember calling them mimeograph machines, though I suspect that was actually a brand name.

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## Brownskins (Nov 18, 2011)

I remember using "mimeo" as a verb... ha ha ha

_*Guess what song this is (blast from the past):*_

"Good evening. This is the intergalactic operator. Can I help you?" 
"Yes. I'm trying to reach flight commander P.R. Johnson, on Mars, flight 2-4-7." 
"Very well, hold on please [beeping] you're through!" 
"Thank you, operator!"

Hi darlin'! How are you doing? Hey baby, were your sleeping? Oh, I'm sorry, but I've been really missing you!

Ooooh...since you went away, there's nothing goin' right! I just can't sleep alone at night... I'm not ashamed to say 
I badly need a friend...or it's the end.

Or it's...or it's...
"Hello? Hello operator? Yes, we've lost the connection! Could you try again please?" 
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we've lost contact with Mars 2-4-7 
at this time."


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I thought "dropping a dime" meant spending money!

I learned English in an ESL class and distinctly remember "raining cats and dogs" and thinking: "what a stupid expression!"

Incidentally, LPs (aka. vinyl) are making quite the comeback among young audiophiles.  A lot of rock bands make LPs of their newest recordings; lots of classical recordings also are now pressed on vinyl.


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## EStoops (Oct 24, 2011)

tkkenyon said:


> During WWII, ammunition belts were 27 feet long. If you shot an entire belt of anti-aircraft ammunition at a plane, you have given it "the whole nine yards."


This phrase is even older than that -- it appears in the 1800s, when it is THOUGHT to refer to fabric. Apparently, throughout the centuries, nine yards of something has been consistently useful, no matter what the nine yards actually is! (Ammo belt, cloth....rope..)

"Hang up and drive" -- one does not "hang" a phone any longer.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

I have always thought that American slang and idioms would make learning"English" very difficult. For instance, when gauging the likelihood of an event occurring, being told that "Fat chance of that happening" or "Slim chance of that happening" meaning nearly the same, with the slim chance being more likely of the two.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Brownskins said:


> I remember using "mimeo" as a verb... ha ha ha
> 
> _*Guess what song this is (blast from the past):*_
> 
> ...


are they Clouds Across The Moon Lyrics? and if so, what is the tie-in?


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

T.L. Haddix said:


> There is an episode of "I Love Lucy" where Ricky is so frustrated by this very thing - that the English words are spelled the same and are nowhere near each other in pronunciation. Very funny scene.


As a big I Love Lucy fan, I remembered this and actually looked for a clip of it on YouTube. Unfortunately there is no clean clip showing that scene without excessive preliminaries. But it is a great sequence in the episode Lucy Hires an English Tutor.

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## Lindafaye (Mar 29, 2012)

I've always wondereing, what does "keep your eyes peeled" mean? Does it have something to do with potatoes?


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I doubt if many kids would know what you meant by 8-track, reel-to-reel recorder, or coaster brakes.

And you have to be pretty old to remember being narc'ed out on smelling ditto ink.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Here is a question for you:  If you have a fin, a sawbuck, and two bits -- What do you have?


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## EStoops (Oct 24, 2011)

Geemont said:


> Here is a question for you: If you have a fin, a sawbuck, and two bits -- What do you have?


I think I have either seven dollars and 2 cents, or 77 cents.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Geemont said:


> Here is a question for you: If you have a fin, a sawbuck, and two bits -- What do you have?


15.25
(a five, a ten and a quarter)?


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Lindafaye said:


> I've always wondereing, what does "keep your eyes peeled" mean? Does it have something to do with potatoes?


I found a few versions of this. There's the obvious one about peeling a banana being akin to peeling back your eyelids and thus keeping your eyes open/peeled. Then there's one about Peel Towers built as watchtowers in England along the Scottish border in the 15th century, apparently becoming a verb the same way we Google things now. Then there's Sir Robert Peel who established the first organized police force in Britain in 1820 and the theory that his bobbies were meant to be observant and keep their eyes 'peeled' after his name. Then, yet another theory says it comes from an old verb 'pill' which is the root of 'pillage' and means to pluck or take the hair off of, but also came to mean to fleece or cheat. It eventually began to be spelled 'peel' and mean to remove or strip, and thus came to mean removing or stripping anything impeding your vision in order to keep your eyes peeled.

I saw nothing about potatoes, but it's an interesting thought since they also have eyes.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Geemont said:


> Here is a question for you: If you have a fin, a sawbuck, and two bits -- What do you have?


Remember, when the Goldfish, the Frog, and the Skunk tried to get into the movie theater, the Skunk was the only one turned away....The Goldfish had a fin, the Frog had a Greenback, but the poor Skunk just had a scent....


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

telracs said:


> 15.25
> (a five, a ten and a quarter)?


That's it. Maybe it's my age, or maybe my father's age who always used the terms, but I still sometimes think of money that way.


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## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

I still use phrases like 'dropping a dime' and pretty much knew the origin even though I'm not quite old enough to remember a payphone being that cheap.  I do find though that the older I get the less I understand the way kids talk, things being 'wicked' or 'sick' and that's apparently a good thing  
Maybe it's a bit like music - if your parents like it or understand it then it's just not cool.


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

traceya said:


> I do find though that the older I get the less I understand the way kids talk, things being 'wicked' or 'sick' and that's apparently a good thing


I remember first hearing "wicked" used in that sense in about 1990, so it's not _that_ new. 

Once in a blue moon I'll hear someone say "spend a penny" as a euphemism for using the lavatory. I actually do remember when one put a penny in the slot to use the facilities in stores. And it _was_ a penny, not a one-cent coin. Phone boxes required twopence.

Okay, now I feel old.


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## Lindafaye (Mar 29, 2012)

Thanks, Scheherazade, for all the explanations.


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## Thaddeus White (Jun 20, 2012)

I've never heard the 'dropping a dime' phrase, but that's probably because I'm English.

Generally American sayings or words, even if unfamiliar, are pretty obvious, but one that threw me was the first time I heard the term 'dropping the N-bomb'.

I thought it was a reference to nuclear warfare


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## Brownskins (Nov 18, 2011)

geoffthomas said:


> are they Clouds Across The Moon Lyrics? and if so, what is the tie-in?


The tie-in is the phone and the age of the song, back in the day when song lyrics were "mimeographed".

Hmmmmm, maybe a stretch huh? 

Anyway, I'm brownskinned, and I understand the slang difficulty and at times I have a hard time catching on... like maybe this time... he he he...

Speaking of, the phrase "shut up, i'll stab you in the eye" is now more often used as an expression of awe, like "no way". Funny huh?


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Geemont said:


> That's it. Maybe it's my age, or maybe my father's age who always used the terms, but I still sometimes think of money that way.


I remember there being a school cheer that went "two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar, all for xxxxx stand up and holler".


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

intinst said:


> I have always thought that American slang and idioms would make learning"English" very difficult. For instance, when gauging the likelihood of an event occurring, being told that "Fat chance of that happening" or "Slim chance of that happening" meaning nearly the same, with the slim chance being more likely of the two.


I don't know why people insist on saying something that means the exact opposite of what they think it means.
Like "I could care less" which they think means "I couldn't care less"

I could see doing it on purpose like "wicked" or "Bad" but I don't think most people even realize that that doesn't say what they think it says


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## Thaddeus White (Jun 20, 2012)

I agree absolutely about 'could care less'. I first heard it in Shadow Hearts: Covenant and thought that the translation into English had been mangled.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

geoffthomas said:


> I remember there being a school cheer that went "two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar, all for xxxxx stand up and holler".


We also had a school cheer that went "two bits, four bits, six bits, a peso! All for ______, stand up and say so!"


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Thaddeus White said:


> I agree absolutely about 'could care less'. I first heard it in Shadow Hearts: Covenant and thought that the translation into English had been mangled.


Here's another one: "Yeah, tell me about it."

Erm ... I thought I just did.


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Chad Winters said:



> Like "I could care less" which they think means "I couldn't care less"


That's one of my pet peeves....and yet biggest amusements....when people mangle that.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

The Cold War.  Kids today have no idea.


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