We went out one evening this week to celebrate a friend\u2019s birthday. During the conversation, we found out that she was originally from Tennessee. She remarked that often people didn\u2019t understand her because she talked \u201csouthern.\u201d As the conversation progressed, she didn\u2019t come up with any words or phrases that were unfamiliar to to me. However, I told her I was from Oklahoma and there were a number of \u201cOklahoma phrases\u201d that she had never heard.
\nOne term that particularly fascinated her was the use of the word \u201cturtle\u201d to refer to the trunk of a car. When I was growing up, we always referred to the trunk of a car as the \u201cturtle.\u201d As far as I can tell, it seems to be a Texas\/Oklahoma thing\u2026 most (older) people from that region are familiar with the term and some still use it.<\/p>\n
Parts of cars, like everything else, I suppose, are called by different names in different parts of the country\/world. We usually refer to the part of the car that covers the engine the hood, but the British use the term bonnet. Of course there are many others \u2014 fenders\/mudguards, turn signals\/indicators, license plate\/registration plate, windshield\/windscreen\u2026.
\nWhy did the term \u201ctrunk\u201d catch on? People that owned the earlier cars, used to strap travel chests, or trunks, to the back of their cars. Once the car makers started building cars with built-in rear compartments, there wasn\u2019t any reason to travel with the trunks \u2014 the name seems to have stuck\u2026.<\/p>\n
But back to the turtle \u2014 there are a few theories as why that word was chosen. If you\u2019re as old as I am, you remember cars having \u201crumble seats.\u201d It was a kind of concealed folding seat at the rear of the car. Rumble seats, when not being used for a seat, were often used for storage, so it was a bit like todays trunk. It was often called a turtle because it folded into the car like a turtle\u2019s body parts.
\nAnother possible explanation is that many of the older cars were designed with a sloping back and trunk section that resembled a \u201cturtle.\u201d The same similar styles today are referred to as \u201cfastbacks.\u201d Probably some marketing guy decided that fastback was much cooler than turtle.
\nI guess maybe that\u2019s true fastback certainly conjures up a different image than turtle, but turtles are kind of cool too\u2026 we\u2019ve all heard that a turtle only makes progress when he sticks his neck out \u2014 good advice when encouraging someone to take a chance. But I think I like turtles because they\u2019re comfortable in their own shell\u2026.
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n
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We went out one evening this week to celebrate a friend\u2019s birthday. During the conversation, we found out that she was originally from Tennessee. She remarked that often people didn\u2019t understand her because she talked \u201csouthern.\u201d As the conversation progressed, … Continue reading