Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hiromichi]

What are they?

-- "not your grandfather's (or grandmother's or father's) something (car, golf ball, outdoor grill)" -- OK, so we get the point. The product is fancier, updated, high-tech -- not something from the buggy-whippy or hippy-dippy eras. Hearing this grandfather clause in commercials is bad enough, but it has even invaded TV news reports about everything from high-tech weapons ("not your grandfather's Marines") to five-bladed razors (you guessed it: It's not grandpa's straight razor.). Shave it!
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Hiromichi

[MrPedantic]

Hello Hiromichi

I think "buggy-whippy" refers to driving a carriage with horses. The carriage is the "buggy", and "whippy" refers to the whip you use on the horses. Put together, the two words mean "relating to a distant era when we had horses instead of cars".

"Hippy-dippy" probably refers to the 1960s. Here's some information about "hippies": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie

And "dippy" means slightly soft-headed. Put together, the two words mean "relating to the ineffectual Flower Power culture of the 1960s". (Which seems rather a harsh judgement.)

So "buggy-whippy, hippy-dippy" is an attempt to sum up the last two or three generations.

Thus "the product isn't stuck in the past".

MrP

[hiromichi]

MrPedantic: Thank you very much for your explanation.
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Hiromichi

[MrPedantic]

You're welcome!

I should have mentioned that "hippy-dippy" seems to be quite a common phrase (possibly only American English, though: I haven't ever heard it from a British speaker); but "whippy-buggy" hardly googles at all.

MrP

[Harmony]

This post intrigued me! Here's something I found which might help a bit:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=buggy%20whip

buggy whip

n : a horsewhip once used by a driver of a buggy; "since buggies have been replaced by cars the buggy whip has become a symbol for anything that is hopelessly outmoded"

~ ~ ~ Harmony

[hiromichi]

MrPedantic and Harmony: I am very glad to have received additional comments. Thank you.
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Hiromichi