With the intensity of that in-flux feeling here in Israel, as various political parties are negotiating to try and form a government coalition, sometimes it’s good to lighten things up, to take my mind off of the serious moment at hand.
This got me thinking about language and how it’s a living breathing organism all its own. Language evolves and changes from generation to generation.
I’m not referring to a vocabulary that reflects technological shifts into our digital age, causing semantic shifts as certain words become irrelevant or archaic, such as “landline phone” or “transistor radio.”
Nor am I referring to social or cultural shifts that cause a word, such as haberdashery, to fade and then vanish from current spoken.
What I mean are those “Parents Words,” as I call them — words you heard your parents say at home that are a natural part of language for a child. With the exception of some juicy words, for the most part I rarely use them. And boy, are those “parents words” juicy! Now and then I’ll hear myself slip into an expression, “well, she put on a whole song and dance, so I felt I had no choice . . .” Or how about that fabulous word, “gallivanting?”
You know that if you’re using that word you’ve reached proper adulthood and are a complete geezer (oops, there goes another one!).
For, pray tell (and another one!), how else is that word used other than a parent reprimanding a child? As in, “and you went gallivanting the whole night as I’m sitting here worried wondering where you are!”
Let me ask you, when was the last time you heard that word, “gallivanting.” used in a proper sentence?
It’s interesting to consider which slang words survive from one generation to another, which words don’t survive, and why.
Recently, I decided to introduce some pipsqueaks (another juicy one bites the dust! But why? It’s so perfect) whom I adore, who qualify as Gen Alpha, to one such word: conniption. I went over it with them, explaining how and why it’s just such a good expressive word that gives voice to a situation so perfectly.To my great delight, they concurred and loved the word.
I knew my work was done when a few days later I overheard these boys talking amongst themselves about a fake bug prank they wanted to prank their mom with, and one of them said: “She’ll have a conniption if . . .”
If only they could have seen my smile. And thankfully, they came down from their prank plan.
For heaven’s sake (yup, there goes another one!), what is it about little boys and bug pranks??
Yes, over the years, I have kept a list, so these words spoken in my parents’ generation, and part of the linguistic background of my own generation, are not forgotten.
Do you know the kind of words I mean? Those quirky or just perfectly expressive words. Here are some more that I’ve recalled:
Squirtcake. Wiseguy. Making a racket. Numbskull. Primadonna. Baloney. Gimmick. Bogus. Thingamajig (actually this one might be my ’80s generation). Persnickety (still use it!). Phoney. Kerfuffle (this one too). Bamboozled. Nincompoop. Jalopy. Claptrap. Malarkey. Berserk. The whole rigmarole.
Any sentence containing any of the above words, is not only a time stamp of sorts, but in my eyes the sentence is instantaneously elevated to juicy, colorful, playful language, the likes of which has sadly become obsolete.
I’ve come to the conclusion long ago that Millennials, Gen Z and the Alpha generation don’t know what they are missing out on!
Coalition or no coalition in Israel, at least I finally put these words on record.
© IJN 2026
