I was talking with a friend last night, and I said "Well butter me and call me a biscuit!" That got us started on funny/odd/quaint sayings passed down in families. My mother's favorite was "Can't died in the poorhouse, right next door to won't." (she brought this to California from Ohio)
What sayings are common in your family, and where did they come from?
My mom always used to say "its not the the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog". :)
In my family, we say "that really boils my potatoes" instead of "that really frosts my cookies," because frankly, frosted cookies are a good thing.
(And since I've tried to explain this to some people who have never heard of the "frosts my cookies" phrase, it is the same thing as "that really gets my goat.")
One of my favourites is "from hell to breakfast." It's one that apparently very few people know. I've gotten some really strange looks and a couple "what's that supposed to mean?" on occasion. I don't know the origin for certain, but one source said it referred to a herd cattle scattered all over.
I also used the term "cookie duster" last year in front of some students and got some blank looks...
When my kids were little, they wanted everything in sight and to do everything, as children do. I used to say, "sure, when pigs fly."
Of course it backfired one year, when I opened my Christmas present. They had bought me a pair of socks that had pigs with wings on them!
Another thing my mother used to say when we were wanting something. "If wishes were horses, beggars would fly". And another in the same circumstances though I DONT know where it came from "Tough titty said the kitty but the bags still sweet" often shorted to "Tough titty".
AND a sibling saying when one of us would tattle. "Tattle tale, tattle tale, hanging on the bull's tail. When the bull takes a pee (insert name) will have a cup of tea!"
Yeah. We were weird. ;D :D
I think, Mairte, that you may be mis-remembering...common among old wizards, but you're way too young... "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride."
The one saying I heard most and have found to be so very true in many different situations "If you aint making mistakes you must not be doing much"
My dad had a few sayings that he'd use from time-to-time. They're really funny, but I can't post them in mixed company... LOL!
"That's about as useful as a screen door on a submarine."
I see "you got your ears lowered."
Quote from: Merlin the Elder on September 15, 2011, 04:47:21 AM
One of my favourites is "from hell to breakfast." It's one that apparently very few people know. I've gotten some really strange looks and a couple "what's that supposed to mean?" on occasion. I don't know the origin for certain, but one source said it referred to a herd cattle scattered all over.
I also used the term "cookie duster" last year in front of some students and got some blank looks...
'from hell to breakfast' is one I remember, though most of my more colorful relatives have passed over, often used interchangeablly with 'to hell and gone'. Then one of my uncle's favorites 'fuller'n a tick on a fat hound dog'.
Then there's 'scratching after something like a chicken in the dirt' followed closely by 'happy as a sow in hog heaven'.
My Mom's Dad used to say, "We waited on you, like one ol' hound-dog waits on another" when someone showed up late to the dinner table, and we had already begun eating.
Steeper than a horse's face
Longer than a month of Sundays
I'm so hungry I can see biscuits floating on crutches
He/She could mess up a soup sandwich
He/She could mess up a one car funeral
This thread has my brain going...I'll probably be back with more.
Gina
LOL, you are right Merlin, I did misremember, it IS "then beggars would ride". :)
Another one.
You are about as useless as throwing a jam sandwich to a drowning rabbit. :D
When I was kid, at bed time I was ordered "to climb the wooden hill".
"You make a better door than a window."
Used when blocking someone's view of the TV :)
My friend's mother would say this every time someone sneezed, "God bless you, may the devil take you."
Whenever I was moaning about something, my dad would say,"sad on ya." It would make me so mad, I'd just about "spit bullets."
When we were little my Mom always said" remember you can catch more flies with molasses than vinegar"
Also my wife aunt once said to me " I'll bet your stomach thinks you throats been cut'' when I said something about being hungry
To take a fall was to "go arse over teakettle."
Quote from: Lady Renee Buchanan on September 15, 2011, 07:19:59 PM
It would make me so mad, I'd just about "spit bullets."
My mom would often say this without the "bullets" as in "I'm so mad I could just spit!" As a kid, I never really understood what that meant. I mean, you don't have to be mad to spit. If she had added the "bullets," it would have made more sense but in the end, I guess it didn't really matter what she said because we
knew she was mad!
Quote from: Baron Frederick on September 15, 2011, 09:48:28 PM
When we were little my Mom always said" remember you can catch more flies with molasses than vinegar"
Have you ever actually tried this? (apple cider or balsamic) Vinegar is a
way better fly trap than molasses or honey. ;D
When we took a fall, it was "head over heels".
Hehehe
I love this thread.
A very common one that my mom used a lot when I was growing up- I still hear it once in a while- used when talking about "what ifs" and "if things were different".
Its in Italian so the translation is a little rough.
"And if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a wheelbarrow".
My Grandma would say "I shall see you anon."
Then there's my favorite 'Dadism', which is 'second favorite thing'. This is based on a dinner conversation, during which my Dad said he had done his second favorite thing at work that day - hung track lights. My mother asked "what's your first favorite thing", and he replied "Getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick." Needless to say, my brother and I lost it.
When hungry it was normal to say My backbone and bellybutton are on a first name basis
When trying to get my oldest son to do something the easy way over the proper way Theres the right way the wrong way and the way that works. Kinda like nailing jellow to a tree.
This is more of a prayer than a saying,but my uncle use to say before meals " good food,good meat, good Lord,lets eat."
For rainy/snowy roads or walkways, "it's slicker than snot." - my late Aunt Shirley
After a satisfying meal, "panza llena, corazon contento" (full stomach, happy heart) - Grandma Lucy
"Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas." Oft said by me to my son about questionable friends.
Quote from: Taffy Saltwater on September 18, 2011, 08:55:11 PM
For rainy/snowy roads or walkways, "it's slicker than snot." - my late Aunt Shirley
My Dad had something similar - "Slicker than snot on a brass doorknob"
Quote from: The Rabbi on September 17, 2011, 05:00:10 PM
When hungry it was normal to say My backbone and bellybutton are on a first name basis
I had always heard that 'my stomach thinks my throat's been cut'. ;)
Get the rabbit habit
I have NO idea what that means...
Colder than a witches t*tty in a brass bra
Finer than frog hair
I'm tired of this chicken sh*t
Gina
Finer than frog hair...Split three ways (pretty darn fine)
Harder than woodpecker lips
Gina
"Hotter than a small-town constable's pistol" I have no idea what that is supposed to mean, and I can't find any references to it. I know my dad used to say it from time-to-time, or maybe I have a word or two wrong. Any clues?
Daddy used to say "useless as t * * s on a boar hog."
I would have had my mouth washed out with soap repeating some of things my Daddy said. :) But everybody knew exactly what he meant.
...heh-heh! If my mother knew what my dear departed Dad used to say... she'd probably kill him. His euphemisms were so colourful, he was "Technicolour."
I had a cousin tell me that 'from hell to breakfast' is an old cowboy saying. It came from having the herd get spooked and you knew you would be up all night finding them all.
Later it just meant something really screwed up that would take a long time to fix. Darryl was born in 1937 and used to raise cattle in Central Texas, so I guess he would know if anyone does.
has anyone mentioned 'rarer than hen's teeth' yet?
an ex used to say if he was any better than he would be twins
"If brains were made out of bones, you'd be a banana..." Doesn't really make sense but you still get the idea somehow.
"Presbyterian crossing," for "pedestrian crossing," a misread on my sister's part at about age 4
using "logchain" for a word you can't remember or that shouldn't be said aloud in mixed company
We eat "paramecium cheese" on spaghetti and "college cheese," instead of cottage cheese.
My first husband's family used "stuffed to the bust," and ate "Uncle Russells," instead of brussels sprouts, both as mixups from the same ex, but as a toddler, and I've continued that tradition.
From Pink Floyd, whenever anyone is having trouble handling something, I always say, "Careful with that axe, Eugene..." about 50/50 whether the recipient will get the context.
From "Rocky Horror Picture Show," I use "dangnubbit, Janet," even when a simple "dangnubbit' will do. Multi-generational recognition here!
My friend, Michal (a woman), was so famous for twisting phrases unintentinally that her family calls anything like that a "Michalism."
LOL, saw someone else had this on here, when it was freezing my dad used to say "colder than a witches t##" as well. :D
My grandpa had all sorts of Czech sayings, most non-repeatable...
Quote from: Lady Christina de Pond on September 20, 2011, 01:13:44 PM
an ex used to say if he was any better than he would be twins
Oh my gosh, I say this all the time! Don't know where I first heard it, but I've been saying it for years.
Slower than molasses in January.
Deader than a doornail.
Dumb as a post.
Dumber than a box of rocks.
Running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
My best friend says this all the time, "I've got a brain like a sieve." We've known each other since we were 5, and I remember hearing her mother say it.
We went to different schools together
Interesting as a bag of hair
If I were any better, I'd be selling tickets
Six of one, half dozen of another
Fair to Middlin (sp?)
Goat roper
Fence turtle
All hat, no cattle
Gina
Another one. "If the shoe fits". I know that's a shortened version but what we always said. :)
One of my favorites is from my mom. She used to tell us, "If you're going to party, make sure you take your balloons!"
At least she wanted us to be safe...
LOL!
one of my friends says he's fine as peach fuzz
When I cannot pull the correct word out to say what I mean, it's "my brain is fried." It comes from computer talk which my grandkids understand.
Ah! I always say "having or had a brain blip". ;D
My woodshop teacher in HS used to have 2 sayings that i have adapeted into my family. I had a best friend that i would always hang out with and we would get into trouble together... He would call one of us "Pete" and the other one "repeat" i use that on my son and daughter. The other thing i remember is that if i messed up something or was unsafe in woodshop. I would apologize and say "I'm sorry", his reply was "Dont be sorry - Change" I love to use that with my son... lol
My Dad was raised on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana back when eating dog was not unheard of. So whenever we had stew or someting he would say "Stir deep, puppy in the bottom".
Quote from: Mairte on September 20, 2011, 08:01:52 PM
LOL, saw someone else had this on here, when it was freezing my dad used to say "colder than a witches t##" as well. :D
My grandpa had all sorts of Czech sayings, most non-repeatable...
My dad used to say "colder than a well diggers A**" or (my favorite)
"Colder than a brass toilet seat on the shady side of an iceberg"
my own
not the brighest cracker in the box
hmmm ones we use far to often when dealing with local officials.
Not the brightest crayon in the box.
Bright as a burned out lightbulb.
His elevators broke and the stairs are condemmed
If'n he was any slower we would catch him last week.
Thankfully these are not any of the ones I voted for lol.
The first two are still used, the rest are hardly ever mentioned anymore. Error is a pet peeve in the family.
It was a good idea at the time.
Smooth move ex-lax.
Your pushing my buttons.
There is method to my madness.
If the shoe fits wear it.
This was one of my late Father's favorite sayings,
"The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get."
Boy is that true!
Here's one for the livestock owners:
He's a flake short of a bale.
My old favorite:
Light's on, nobody home.
Bats in the belfry. :)
skating on thin ice
No use crying over spilled milk.
Quote from: Mairte on September 30, 2011, 09:13:26 PM
Bats in the belfry. :)
Were they talking about you, or me?
The Hubby still uses "We need to light a shuck."
My Great Grandmother used to say..."Thanks for the buggy ride"....after we took her out n' about.
Merlin,lol, probably both of us! :D
I had a phrase pop up on me that I hadn't thought of in awhile.
'Hotter than a $2 pistol'.
One I heard just the other day "hope my ship comes in before the dock rots "
When we whined about some trivial problem, my mother used to say, "I feel for you...but I can't quite reach you."
Here's one "if push comes to shove".
I saw my Uncle James, he reminded me of his favorite, "Well that went over like a t?rd in a punch bowl!".
Yes my family is much stranger than others.
Ours is "well, that went over like a lead balloon". :D
Since Thanksgiving is close, this one came up again. "Fuller'n a tick on a fat hound dog".
Quote from: JimsDana on November 15, 2011, 04:59:30 PM
I saw my Uncle James, he reminded me of his favorite, "Well that went over like a t?rd in a punch bowl!".
Yes my family is much stranger than others.
My dad used to say "like a t?rd in a churn..." You aren't as strange as you think! ;)
Talk of Thanksgiving reminds me how after we had all eaten too much, my Dad would lean back in his chair, pat his belly and say, "stick me with a fork--I'm done!"
When I was in college, I spent my junior year abroad. I rented a room from a widow in Paris. On several occasions, she would invite me to eat with her and her family when they came over for dinner. After they finished eating, when they were "stuffed to the gils" (something our family has always said), inevitably someone in her family would say, "J'ai un petit trois mois."
Translated slang: "I'm 3 months pregnant." But they meant they were full from eating.
The first time I heard it, one of her son in laws said it, and they all laughed at the puzzled look on my face as I wondered what he was talking about saying he was pregnant.
I remember when I was very young, maybe about 5 or 6, when I first heard 'trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear'.
I knew what I sow's ear was since I had helped feed pigs once I was old enough to climb the fence.
But I had a hard time imagining how many pigs' ears it would take to make my stepmother's humungous handbag. When I finally asked my aunt for an explanation she died laughing before she showed me my great grandmother's tiny clutch bag that she had stored in a cedar chest. Then she explained the whole saying to me.
My mother used to say two different things about having good sense: He doesn't have enough sense to pound sand down a rathole. and: She doesn't have the sense God gave geese. Hmmm... Would a goose pound sand down a rat hole?
Mum was raised a Catholic so when eating something really drool worthy the phrase is "I better not die with this in my mouth, or I'm going straight to Hell."
"he had a little too much weekend" is a euphemistic way of saying that someone is hungover.