Todayβs 18-year-olds may not know who Mrs. Robinson is, where the term βstuck in a grooveβ comes from, why 1984 was a year unlike any other, how big a bread box is, how to get to Peyton Place, or what the term Watergate refers to. I Love It When You Talk Retro discusses these verbal fossils that remain embedded in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped off into the sunset. That could be a person (Mrs. Robinson), product (Edsel), past bestseller (Catch-22), radio or TV show (Gangbusters), comic strip (Alphonse and Gaston), or advertisement (Whereβs the beef?) long forgotten. Such retroterms are words or phrases in current use whose origins lie in our past. Ralph Keyes takes us on an illuminating and engaging tour through the phenomenon that is Retrotalkβa journey, oftentimes along the timelines of American history and the faultlines of culture, that will add to the word-loverβs store of trivia and obscure references.
Media Buzz
On The Media - June 6, 2009 Talk of the Nation - March 10, 2009
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