Retronyms

Playful term for postal letters, coined once email became widespread.

"The wedding invitation arrived by snail mail, on thick cream card."

Coined after e-books arrived; also called a print book.

"I read on a tablet, but nothing beats a paper book on holiday."

Needed after cheap paperbacks spread in the 1930s; all books used to be hardbound.

"The hardcover edition comes out a year before the paperback."

Coined to contrast physical shops with online retailers.

"The bookshop survived by being a cosy brick-and-mortar store."

Named after disposable nappies arrived; US English says cloth diaper.

"They switched to cloth nappies to cut down on waste."

Coined once automatic gearboxes became common.

"He learned to drive in a car with a manual transmission."

Became necessary once video calls were the default for many workers.

"We finally had an in-person meeting after months on screens."

Coined after artificial trees became popular.

"The house smelled of pine thanks to the real Christmas tree."

Originally called the Great War; it needed a number only after a second world war.

"My great-grandfather served in World War I."

Coined after artificial turf appeared in stadiums in the 1960s.

"Players say natural grass is easier on the knees."

Named after skimmed and semi-skimmed milk went on sale.

"The recipe calls for whole milk for a richer sauce."

Coined to tell standard coffee apart from decaf.

"I will have a regular coffee, not decaf, please."

Created in 1985 when the original recipe returned after the unpopular New Coke.

"Fans celebrated when Coca-Cola Classic returned to the shelves."

Coined after "talkies" arrived in 1927; before that, films were just films.

"Charlie Chaplin was the great star of silent film."

Named after colour TV arrived; earlier sets showed only greyscale.

"The moon landing was watched on black-and-white televisions."

Coined once recorded music became the everyday way to hear songs.

"The cafe has live music every Friday night."

Named after cable, satellite and streaming arrived.

"The final was shown on free broadcast television."

Coined once electric guitars appeared - before that, every guitar was simply a guitar.

"She swapped her electric for an acoustic guitar for the unplugged set."

Needed after mobile phones arrived; a phone used to mean the one wired into the wall.

"Hardly anyone under thirty has a landline any more."

Named after digital watches arrived in the 1970s; earlier, all watches had hands.

"Grandad still wears his analog watch with the leather strap."

Coined when digital cameras took over; cameras had always used film until then.

"Film cameras are back in fashion with young photographers."

Coined to tell the classic computer apart from the new laptop.

"The office replaced every desktop computer with a docking laptop."

Needed once cordless and mobile handsets became common.

"The hotel room still had a beige corded phone by the bed."

Coined in the touchscreen era to describe keys you can actually press.

"Writers often prefer a physical keyboard for long documents."

Named after wireless earbuds became the norm.

"Many musicians still trust wired headphones in the studio."