Old Fashioned Words

People mock me for referring to my athletic footwear as “sneakers.” Apparently that is an old fashioned term. I am told the correct term is “tennis shoes” even if the athletic shoes in question are not designed for use on a tennis court. This seems wrong. If my athletic shoes allow me to “sneak” someplace without making noise, and are unsuitable for playing tennis, I say they should be called sneakers.

I was reminded of this the other day at a conference. The moderator asked delegates to silence their “cell phones.” This already seems old fashioned to me. I only own one phone. It’s in my left front pocket all the time. It’s my home phone, my work phone, and my cell phone. All of those terms will be old fashioned in your lifetime. Your kids will simply have a “phone.”

Do you remember when computers were “multimedia”? That word went away as soon as every computer could handle sound and video. The descriptor “high definition” will evaporate in about ten years too. And you won’t have to talk about “downloading” music because that’ll be the only way to get it.

Recently a friend joked about going to the library to help with his son’s school project. He said it felt like going back in time, to pre-Internet days. I wonder if libraries have an expiration date on them. I’m guessing yes.

I also wonder when the “e-“ will disappear from e-mail. I’m trying to remember the last time I wrote the kind of letter that requires a stamp. I’m guessing it was about eight years ago. I don’t even check my physical mailbox daily. I only check it when I think it might be too full for the mailman to stuff more crap in there.

Do you have any soon-to-be-old-fashioned words to add?