[nopardons]

Noooooooooooo...they DID have a larger and far better vocabulary than their progeny have today.Just look at a N.Y. Times article,written in 1950 and compare the vocabulary in any article,in that one paper,today...ignoring the bias,of course.

[durasell]

I don't know -- there were still more than half a dozen papers in NYC in 1950. Perhaps I should choose one of the others. Afterall, the NYT was always considered upscale.

Years ago I bought a diary a homeless guy was selling on the street just off St. Marks. The diarist was a young girl circa 1930. The formality and over-blown romantic phrasing in it was maddening to read. However,the handwriting was beautiful.