After the drinking straw was patented in 1888, the new invention began to supplant the older, traditional method of sucking up beverages by means of a section of rye straw. Old ways aren't the only thing to fall victim to the passage of time: today and tomorrow we look at some words — and at some senses of words — that have fallen from favor over the past few hundred years.
Until the 17th century, beadsman, meaning one who prays for the soul of another, appeared at the close of letters as part of the line your grace's beadsman and servant. That term has its origin in the practice of using strings of beads to count one's prayers.

Back in those days, folks known as belly-gods didn't have a prayer of getting all the wolf-peaches without glozing or perhaps glouting. Did we lose you there? We'll translate. Belly-god was once synonymous with glutton, while wolf's peach was another term for tomato. If you know your history of fruits, you may know that the tomato was in fact once regarded with some suspicion. That means we may be off-base in our claim that belly-gods would have needed to gloze (that is, to fawn) or glout (frown or scowl) to get more than their fair share.

In any case, an excess of wolf's peaches could well have led to drivel, that is, to saliva dripping from the mouth. But lest you worry we'll soon be driveling (in that word's modern sense) we'll close now, promising to return tomorrow to other words from days gone by.

Another word of yore: yare , an old nautical word meaning manageable, as a ship that is especially responding at the helm. tjoeb};>