RHYS BOWEN: There’s a commercial on TV at the moment in which a character says “Get out of town!” meaning you’re kidding me, I don’t believe it. It now sounds antiquated, doesn’t it? But it started me wondering if all the colorful expressions we have inherited will be lost. Children don’t talk much, they text. They don’t read much. And so the language of the future will be spare and efficient but not rich.
When I think back to my childhood my father was a wealth of proverbs, fun expressions. Favorites were “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched” and “don’t cross that bridge before you come to it.” They were usually shortened. “You’re counting your chickens again, aren’t you?”
He had favorite expressions. “Were you born in a barn?” when we left a door open. “Till the cows come home”, meaning you can keep on doing that forever, And “donkey’s years” meaning a long time. “Come dung-spread,” was another favorite. Meaning we’ll get it done sometime in the future. Also “ready for the knackers yard and “going to see a man about a dog” (which usually meant going for a pee, or going to do something you don’t need to know about).
I’m sure many more will come back to me after I’ve written this. The interesting thing about these sayings is that my dad was born and raised in London. Nowhere near a farm. But his parents came from Devon and obviously brought the countryfied sayings with them.
I still use lots of expressions like “you’re pulling my leg.” “knickers in a twist” “Flash in the pan” “Raining cats and dogs.” Of course none of these things mean anything to the next generation.
I grew up with my grandmother and great aunt and they were full of sayings. “Ne’er cast a clout till May is out.” Which meant you kept on your winter clothing.
If you sneezed it was once a wish, twice a kiss, three times comes a letter. And spoke with a large vocabulary and complete sentences, a result of a childhood in which reading aloud was the usual Evening pastime.
Are there any new expressions to take their place, do you think? Or has rich vocabulary been lost along with childhoods of freedom and wonder, playing in the woods, getting muddy and scratched, inventing make believe worlds and all the fun things that we did.
What expressions did your parents use, and do you still use?
I can’t think of any new expressions, but several “tried and true” expressions are now tumbling around in my thoughts. How about tickled pink [very happy] . . . hold your horses [wait a minute] . . . under the weather [not feeling well] . . . rise and shine [time to get up] . . . it’s a piece of cake [very easy] . . . an arm and a leg [very expensive] . . . it’s Greek to me [I don’t understand] . . . spill the beans [tell a secret] . . . hit the hay [go to bed] . . . when pigs fly [never] . . . .
ReplyDeleteGrew up hearing these expressions, also. I still use some of them.
DeleteThe expressions I can think of are uniquely Canadian. Some are specific to Toronto:
ReplyDeleteGTA or 6ix = Greater Toronto Area or Toronto (original area codes of 416, 647)
klicks = kilometres
trash panda = raccoon
double-double = Tim Horton's coffee with 2 creams & 2 sugars
two-four = a case of 24 beers
eager beaver = super enthusiastic
keener = someone who is eager to learn, studies hard
There is a minor league baseball team that are called the Trash Pandas in Madison, Alabama. (Huntsville) They are a Double A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.
DeleteHA HA. Toronto is considered the raccoon capital of North America (or the world). They got the nickname of trash pandas since they are renowned for successfully raiding the supposedly raccoon-proof garbage & compost bins.
DeleteGRACE: Isn't there a saying about the Mountie?
Delete"The Mountie always gets their man"?
Diana
p.s. good to know what double-double means in Canada so I'll know when I order at Tim Horton's in Canada.
DeleteDIANA: "Ordering a double-double" is the most common coffee combo at Tim Horton's. But for people like me who only drink black coffee, you have to order it "size of cup, dark roast". Gosh, I have not heard "The Mountie always gets his man" in a very long time!
DeleteI remember "eager beaver" in my family and aren't anywhere near Canada. Now, I'll spend the day trying to remember who in my life may have used that particular term. Thanks, Grace. :-)
DeleteGrace that is so cool!
DeleteIt reminds me of how Australians rhyme words to get expression. Like Dead Horse is Red Sauce which they pronounced 'source' which rhymes with horse - dead=red
I assume the rhyming slang is handed down from the first boatloads of exiled prisoners, some of whom would have been familiar with thieves' cant, the rhyming slang of London's slums.
DeleteI heard all of these when I was growing up. Well, not Grace's Canadian ones, save for Eager Beaver. That one I heard a lot.
ReplyDeleteOne that I grew up with and don't think has been mentioned yet is "make hay when the sun shines" meaning take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. As a farm gal, I think of the more literal reason. We had to watch the weather forecast for a string of sunny days in order to get the hay mowed, cured, and baled without getting rained on.
Annette, isn't wet hay flammable? Seems to me that had something to do with it, too.
DeleteI think molds and rots if it gets wet.
DeleteDeana, looks like we're both right, even though that sounds improbable! This is from a website called FeedCentral:
Delete"Round hay bales should not get wet, as the moisture of the average bale should not exceed 20%. If it does, then mould can develop in the bale, preventing you from selling the hay. Excessive moisture has also been known to cause bales to self combust."
The moisture starts a composting process, which generates heats that can lead to combustion.
DeleteI'm so late responding, but wanted to add that, having composted, I believe it would be possible to heat up enough to combust. The pile can get too hot to touch. Which is partly why it needs to be turned.
DeleteYou're all right. Many a barn has burned down because of hay that's been improperly cured.
DeleteMy Mom came from West Virginia met my Dad in North Carolina when he was a Marine and when he was discharged they were married and he brought her home to Massachusetts. My Mom had some funny to us sayings like down the holler, I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap (yup, she really did it to me, some homemade soap from WV), you can tell it's going to rain when all the cows are laying down, you can stay until you hear the cowbell ring (yup, she had one) I'm just glad she didn't like grits. My Dad's favorite was if all of your friends jumped off the bridge would you do that too? Back when I was a kid,,,, It's raining cats and dogs.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma also predicted rain by the cows lying down!
DeleteMy grandma washed my sister’s mouth out with soap! Although now that I think of it, I wonder if she just threatened to do it because I doubt my mom would have allowed it. (I’m 4 years younger so it’s just a vague memory.) — Pat S
DeleteI can't think of any, but my mom did say some of the things that Joan mentioned.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, American English was full of sayings from the Bible (King James Version). I heard all the Bible stories as a child many times, but a) that was a long time ago and b) I'm not an auditory processor. So when reading 18th c. manuscripts, I typically have to look them up. One I investigated recently was "as high as Haman hung." It turns out Haman was hanged on a gallows 50 cubits high = 75 feet high = as high as a six-story building. Thus, "as high as Haman hung" gets across the idea of "very high" with a story reference everyone would have known, just as we would recognize a reference to a familiar TV character. I enjoy such things. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteIt's all a bunch of malarky, according to Joe Biden.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were crying my dad would say you sound like a dying calf in a hail storm
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. Having raised a lot of calves, that expression (which I'd never heard before) is awfully vivid. (Selden)
DeleteMy grandmother had many sayings like the ones already mentioned. The one that had my friend, Ann doubling over laughing, "Here's your hat, what's your hurry?" I can still hear Grandma saying it!
ReplyDelete"Let sleeping dogs lie."
ReplyDelete"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"Sing before breakfast, cry before supper."
Both my mother and father used lots of saying when speaking to my sister and me and, old-fashioned as those phrases are, I still use a lot of them. When I'm describing getting lost I say, "I walked all around Robin Hood's barn until I found the right house." Does anyone else use that? I can remember my father saying, sarcastically, "Well, bully for you," when someone praised themselves too much. Also "People in hell want ice water," when I whined about wanting something unreasonable. Also, when we needed to hurry, he'd say, "Let's get this show on the road" or "Everyone needs to go into high gear now." I still use both of those. He also said, "Hot-diggity-dog," which I've never used--that sounded old-fashioned to me even as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI can't resist adding a local one, as Margot did below. When we left the lights on in an empty room, my father would say, "Mr. Rodriguez is laughing." What?? It turned out that in Monroe, LA, where my father grew up in the 30s and 40s, the electricity company was run by a man named Rodriguez. I accidentally said "Mr. Rodriguez is laughing" to my Swiss husband when he left the lights on here in Bern--he was mystified until I explained.
DeleteKim, you’ve planted an earworm! “Hot diggity, dog diggity, boom what you do to me. When you are holding me tight.” Now off to search the internet from whence that tune. Some old sayings are best forgotten! Elisabeth
DeleteIt’s interesting how some sayings are so regional like this and others are universal
DeleteKim, most of the expression's your Dad used, my Dad did as well. I never heard the Robinhood expression though. My Dad grew up in Kansas but we lived in California. However, he did not use the expressions often,
Delete"That's a horse of a different color."
DeleteWhen my kids were teenagers, they kept a running tally on the kitchen white board of “Mom’s archaic expressions.” Twenty years later, I’m more aware than ever of how our family’s speech patterns are diverging across the generations. But even though I know language inevitably evolves, it feels like a loss.
ReplyDeleteIf we were crying because we hurt ourselves, my father would say, “Oh, you'll be all right by the time you're married.” It really just made us angry, but we were no longer upset we were hurt, so it served its purpose. - Lesa
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to say “ I’ll give you something to cry about!”
DeleteSo did my dad! It meant he was going to spank us if we didn’t stop crying (which usually made us cry harder! And no, he didn’t spank us - then). What always frustrated me was that I knew why I was crying; I just couldn’t articulate it because I was so upset. I vowed that when I became a parent, I wouldn’t react like that to my obviously distressed child. My son didn’t cry too often, but when he did, I tried to be calm and wait for him to let me know what was wrong. — Pat S
DeleteMy mother used to say (In German), "If my aunt had nuts she'd be my uncle."
ReplyDelete"If my mother had wheels, she'd have been a trolley car."
DeleteMy husband’s family had this saying too! In English
DeleteIt's funny how all these great expressions that we grew up with and that are so rich with meaning are basically taboo for writers! Woe is us!
ReplyDeleteMy Yorkshire dad used to tell us, "I'll break your plate" if we weren't eating our dinner. He also called us "dopey 'aporth" (for half-penny worth) and "lampwick". I was delighted when Mrs. Patmore called Daisy a "daft 'aporth" on Downton Abbey.
ReplyDeleteI heard that too growing up in Somerset and Kent
DeleteThis brings so many memories back. Toad strangler for a really heavy rain is one that still makes me laugh and reminds me of my cousin who used whenever it rained.
ReplyDeleteHit the road Jack, or Hit the road, toad. (Harrumper’s name is Jack).
ReplyDeleteSing before you eat, cry before you sleep
Red sky at night…
Local one that no one would know unless you come from Louisbourg – “Hold your coal”. There was a pier here where the coal came out in train coal cars, and then went down a chute into the bunkers of the ship at sea level. There was a man on the ship, and one up on the trestle. When the bunker was almost full, the man on the ship would call out “Hold your coal”. 1920’s and still used locally today – probably will not survive another generation.
As for what the kids say today – I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about!
I'm about as far from au courant as it gets. One newer usage I've heard is "spill the tea," meaning to expose a secret or some gossip. I think it might have originated in Black culture. I suspect hip-hop and LBGTQ neologisms will provide a lot of new expressions in the coming years.
ReplyDeleteWe had some expressions in our family that reflected things that had happened, or especially things our kids had said. When our very independent younger son didn't want help, he would exclaim, "Do sef!" meaning he wanted to do whatever it was himself. My wife and I will occasionally say that to reject offered but unwanted help.
I love it when kids create a new family expresdion
DeleteI love reading these sayings, and grew up with so many of them---including "here's your hat, what's your hurry," even though hats were very nearly gone from daily life. I remember hearing faux-apologies for giving someone "the bum's rush," and a phrase along the lines of "that plus a nickel will get you a cup of coffee." If someone left in a huff, the phrase "don't let the door hit you on the way out." And there was often the kindly spoken but not-so-pleasant "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!"
ReplyDeleteKids seem to change their expressions all the time so it is hard to keep up with their slang.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to were you born in a barn, meaning you left the door hanging open there is also your barn door is open, meaning your pants are unzipped.
That’s hunky dory means something is just fine. Cry me a river when you have no sympathy for someone. Early to bed early to rise (makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise).
My husband is full of baseball ones. Rub some dirt on it when a player has a minor injury means suck it up and keep playing. Can of corn is a fly ball that is easy to catch. I looked up the origin of that one. One theory is that it comes from the action of grocery clerks using a stick to tip a can off a high shelf and then catch it (as to hand to a customer). I usually have to find a tall customer to reach the top shelf for me these days!
So many of those expressions filled my childhood. I remember I said "good grief" when the Hooligans were kicking up mischief and I know it came straight from my mom. They looked at me, perplexed. This wasn't something they'd heard before then we watched Charlie Brown and I was vindicated. LOL.
ReplyDeleteAdjunct to “here’s your hat”: “don’t let the door hit you on the back side”. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteMy parents were fluent in French but not native speakers. A lot of our expressions were French. One may have been a combo of Spanish & French (as we lived 10 minutes from the Mexican border). It was toute suite pronto vite. In our family it meant hurry up and get in the car we're late for church.
ReplyDeleteIs my speech archaic? I still use so many of the old phrases mentioned here. My mother used a lot of them, and also still does sometimes.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't care if it is. Why be boring, and just say things plainly? Life is more interesting with colorful speech, don't you think? It's why we're drawn to certain books, after all, if the language sings more, is evocative of time, place, or unique individuals. It could also be why the Grandiloquent Word of the Day page on Facebook is wildly popular.
When my youngest was married to a Georgia native he often said "The devil is beating his wife", when it rained with lightning while still sunny, for instance. A Texan I knew forty years ago once said a lovely young woman was "tender as a butterfly's wing". Along the lines of Kim's laughing Mr. Rodriguez, when my then-small brother-in-law slept very little the family called him Freddy Kilowatt, after a cartoon character used by the local utility in their ads saying FK never slept, he was always on the job. My mother, when she's wishing us a good night, still adds "dream of the angels". The Swahili speakers have their own version of this: lala salama, which means sleep peacefully. A classmate whose mother grew up in France, when someone was annoying her, would say in French, "You're breaking my feet." So many others I can't remember now.
Today's phrases seem less imaginative. The whole "Karens" theme, for instance. And it's tiresome, by the way, since that was one of the most popular names to give girls during the baby boom era. There a LOT of us to shove into that narrow pigeonhole.
Readers' Digest used to have a regular section called "Toward More Picturesque Speech" that had loads of colloquial sayings. In fact, it might be a fantastic resource for an author, since the magazine is now over 100 years old.
I feel so badly about the Karen trend right now. It must be so annoying for you! My grandmother used to say “ there is enough blue in the sky to make a Dutchman a pair of trousers” and that meant it would clear up and be fine soon
DeleteI love the name Karen and almost named my daughter Karen but we switched at the last minute to Alicia because at the time it was unusual. But Karen is still a great name and I'd be proud to be Karen!!
DeleteThank you both. I've always loved it, and it doesn't lend itself well to a nickname, which I also like.
DeleteAn author used " Karen" as a derogatory in an essay recently. I took her to task for that in the comments. It's so abusive! Not just for women with that name, but for what it implies. It put me "on the warpath."
DeleteWay to go Judy! It was smart to call the author on her name comment.
DeleteSo many of these are familiar to me meaning they are pretty universal in the English speaking world. But I wonder how many will survive to the next generation?
ReplyDeleteMy dad had so many expressions he always used. He was an early riser and liked to remind us that the "early bird gets the worm". I thought I'd rather sleep in than eat worms!!
ReplyDeleteSome more were "you weren't raised in a barn" - clean up your mess. "Once in a blue moon", "only time will tell", "haste makes waste"......
As far as I know, no one in my family ever drop f* bombs nor use that word reserved for female dogs, which is why I am ALWAYS shocked to see many f* bombs and that word in several contemporary novels that I've read recently. No idea if it is a generation thing or ???
ReplyDeleteHowever there is One word or two that could be swear words, which I heard before losing my hearing and when I said these words, I never fail to surprise people because I said these words clearly! I once said "G*d D*mn". People, who knew me Before I lost my hearing, would not be surprised.
Does anyone recall that line from the movie Mary Poppins when the father said something like "My House is My Castle"?
My father would say "my house is my castle".
My Mom would say things like "que sera", meaning "whatever will be will be"? My maternal grandmother would say things like "bee's knees".
"Wait until you become a mother, then you will understand". I had a teacher who would say "Good grief" and I find myself saying that.
Wish I could recall more family sayings.
Since I started researching for my historical mystery novel, I find myself picking up English and Scottish phrases like "donkey years ago", "chuffed", and "Well done".
Diana
Oh my mother swears like a sailor, but then again, she married one (shrug). In a state of teenage rebellion, I took an opposite tack and rarely say anything stronger than 'darn.' Unless the cat leaps out and bites me or scratches me (she's the meanest cat I've ever had.) Then all bets are off!
DeleteJill, thanks for the reminder. I remember that I have said "darn" at times. Diana
DeleteTwo favorites from my grandfather: "We get too soon old and too late smart," and "It's better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick." Both said for a laugh. In may extended family "Dadgummit" was a substitute for "dammit."
ReplyDeleteWell, you opened a can of worms with this blog...
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: what a bouquet of speak, I’ve learned some new expressions and have been racking my brains for more. Can’t help wondering where that phrase started. But to add my uncle with whom I lived while at boarding school, would say, “Put the wood in the hole”, for close the door behind you. Reading above I’m wondering it this was a Canadian phrase as he grew up there. My grandfather, in whose house I lived during that same period would sing snatches of psalms as he went about the house and I only have to hear - I was glad when they said unto me, we will go to the House of the Lord - to see Gran’pa as clearly as ever. He also loved to tease his three daughters with extraordinary names. My godmother, Pauline, as a very young and nervous child was asked by her teacher, “what does your father call you”? To which poor Pauline replied, “Montmorency Wilberforce ratcatcher” and was horribly embarrassed by her classmates laughter. A phrase which has stuck in our family is by my daughter at a very young age when I tried to help her, “My do it myself”! And she still does. Her youngest lounging in kindergarten and paying no attention was asked by his teacher why he wasn’t working to which he replied, “I can’t Mrs X, I have a divorce”. The poor teacher trying not to laugh, my daughter and I in hysterics later. Well it was true but as phrases go it was right on the money and we still say it once in a while. But I think while future authors may be frantically hunting for colloquial speak for their characters that there is a lot of new speak around. One last thought for those women who were teen in the ‘80’s what about Valley speak. It was all the rage for a while.
ReplyDeleteCELIA: I have not heard the phrase your uncle used. There may be a difference between rural and urban Canadian phrases.
DeletePBS just posted a Yorkshire slang glossary and Put the Wood in the hole was on that. Then I heard it on an Irish production. Up until last week, I had never heard this phrase. Margo - Canadian mixed with Newfoundland lingo which is a language all its own!
DeleteCelia, I don’t understand the divorce comment. Were his parents going through a divorce at the time so he was distracted? — Pat S
DeleteFrom Celia: This is why I love, love JRW, Yorkshire expression, thanks Margo and Grace now I can't blame Canada. Yes, there was a divorce between his parents and the boys were hearing far more than they should at their ages. Still all's well that ends well. Which reminds me I meant to mention Shakespeare! While growing up and even when working, it was common to use a phrase from the plays in conversation and everyone understood the reference. I found I had to dial that back when I arrived here, though times have changed now. I think Shakespeare is international now.
DeleteI think memes have taken some of this space because we communicate so much online. Some of them are really clever similes - they just use pictures and words as opposed to words only. And there are new colorful expressions like “spill the tea” ( tell me the gossip)
ReplyDeleteThis is Clare- it won’t ever let me sign in!
DeleteFrom Celia: So frustrating Clare. I have the same problem and solved it by starting with my name. Because on the recipe Sundays I try to respond to everyone who is kind enough to comment. I think it may have something to do with ones browser, I refuse to use Chrome. Or the fact that I don't have my own blog on Google or who knows. It would be so great if it worked as expected. I also never get notifications on the comments, so trying.
DeleteSafari is the priblem
DeleteProblem! Google could fix the incompatibility issues, but has chosen not to fix them.
Delete"Spill the tea" baffled me from the start. What? As for phrases that probably will NOT last, how about "you sound like a broken record"? Or: "be kind, rewind"?
ReplyDeleteHank, Is that similar to "crying over spilt milk"? Diana
DeleteIf we nagged him enough Dad would accuse us of sounding like a broken record. Spill the tea is just give me the gossip.
DeleteDiana here. Thank you, Pat D for reminding me. I remember another teacher telling a student that he sounded like a broken record. The student was nagging our teacher and saying the same thing over again and again. Our teacher explained the meaning of “broken record” and said to him that he “sounded” like a broken. Record. Actually, he repeated the same words in Sign Language and our teacher responded in Sign Language.
DeleteDiana, a “broken record” was not necessarily broken (as in cracked or broken in half), but scratched. When that happened, the record would “skip” or repeat, over and over again. Hence the child asking the same question repeatedly would sound like a “broken” record. — Pat S
DeletePat S, as my teacher explained, the broken record was referring to a record playing the same song over again and again because it was broken. The student was signing the same phrase "when can we go to the sweets shop?" over again and again.
DeleteDiana
Of course he/she was! Because kids want what they want (sweets) when they want it and too bad for the adults who have to answer the same question over and over!! -- Pat
DeleteI love this! So many of these expressions still find their way into my daily speech - or thoughts! My day used to caution me against putting the cart before the horse and throwing out the baby with the bathwater. So many others, some I needed to ask him about the meaning. My generation took phrases from poetry, who doesn't remember the instruction that we look at the present through a rear-view mirror, or that we march backwards into the future. Still truth in those.
ReplyDeleteDad would accuse my big brother of being a dog in the manger when he wouldn't share or was sulking. He also announced he'd seen a better head on a beer when he saw a lady's hairstyle he didn't care for. Hunky dory. Lickety split for quickly. Hunker down before the weathermen got it could also mean concentrate, as in hunker down and do your homework. Lie like a dog is telling a fib. My mom would tell us to straighten up and fly right when we were misbehaving. That dog won't hunt means it won't happen. Holey buckets. Geez Louise. Your father faded on you, meaning you look like your dad. And my personal messed up expression: your ducks will come home. I was trying to tell my husband his chickens would come home to roost. But I got it mixed up with his family's story about the lady who found her ducks dead. She plucked them and threw them in a pile. It turned out they had gotten into the mash from the cherry bounce and passed out. When they woke up they all waddled home, hungover and missing their feathers.
ReplyDeleteLove the ducks story! I’ll bet they were sore inside (stomach from the mash) and out (can’t feel good to have your feathers plucked).
DeleteI know you're trying to rein everyone in, Rhys, and discuss whether or not these phrases will survive, but it's just so much fun to see them all!
ReplyDeleteMy great uncle claimed that fish and relatives stunk after three days, meaning that someone had overstayed their welcome on Day 4. My aunt would say "It's colder than a well digger's ass" and other colorful things that I shouldn't print here! My dad would always try to get unsuspecting people to "Pull my finger," and if you don't know what that means, don't ask! Heavy downpours in Texas can be called toad-chokers or frog-stranglers.
Judging by how quizzically my under-40 friends look at me when I use old phrases, I don't think a lot of them will survive. Maybe English literature classes a hundred years from now will be interpreting them, similar to how we have to learn Shakespeare's phrases now!
My Dad used to say “ He’s got more excuses than Carter has pills” I still say it now and then and someone usually asks “Who’s Carter?”.
ReplyDeleteMy dad said almost the same thing, except it was "more than Carter's has little liver pills". Because that was their product.
DeleteI love reading all these! A Yiddish expression from my husband's family comes to mind: hock mir nicht kein chinik. Means Don't bang me a teapot. Shortened to hock mir nicht, I still use it when I want someone to stop nagging me. My mother also used to warn me not to cut off my nose to spite my face. And recite: there was a little girl and she had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good she was very very good, and when she was bad she was horrid. [Accompanied by a shaking finger]
ReplyDeleteHallie, the Yiddish expressions were plentiful and descriptive. "Drei me nisht kein kup." Don't bother my head.
DeleteI bet Edith Maxwell, with her linguist background, could have some interesting things to say about this! Language is always growing and changing.
ReplyDeleteLike someone mentioned above new ones are bubbling up from LGBTQ+ and Black culture and they trickle into the wider mainstream. I also think a lot come from social media and how we use it but if you're not part of the youngest generations, even if you hear it, it probably won't stick with you.
I think about idioms a lot, partially b/c they delight me and partially b/c as an ESL teacher to adults, teaching them is part of my job. It's always a balance between something kind of old-fashioned that they might still hear on TV or in movies versus something more current that might fade. My students also range in age from late teens to 70s, so they won't be interacting with the same groups and having similar experiences. It's interesting what translates (even roughly) and what doesn't. Several countries said "bull in china shop" is "elephant in a china shop" in their country.
Even as ESL teachers, we don't always agree. I was talking to someone about 10, 15 years older than me who was from NYC and I commented how American idioms had a lot to do with animals, particularly farm animals and she said "what are you talking about? American idioms are all about cars and guns." (straight shooter, from 0 to 60, etc) So it's not just generational!
I will never forget when I was sitting with a group of Spanish friends and the one girl had just broke up with her boyfriend. I was searching for the right thing to say (always a challenge in Spanish) and said "well, there's plenty of fish in the sea" and she got this very impressed look on her face and said "wow, Jill, that's very profound." I didn't have to heart to tell her it's a cliche in English ;-)
For me the one that I am always confused is the saying "Having one's cake and wanting to eat it too." Don't you must HAVE your cake so you can eat it? Or do people borrow cake from others to eat the cake?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the reason and/or origin of this saying?
Kitty, I mulled over that one for a long time and decided it has to mean that once you eat your cake, it's gone
Deleteand you can't say you have it anymore. I agree that it sounds confusing.
I thought it was "you can't have your cake and eat it too." Similar to "Careful what you wish for" ... That whatever it is, may be too much?
DeleteKitty, his is a saying I've heard so many people get confused over including myself.
DeleteI think it means you can have cake but not eat it, meaning you can't always get everything you want - even if you feel you should get both.
My father who was from CA used to say "it was payday at the mines" meaning a huge crush of people. One of my favorite expressions an English friend uses is "and Bob's your uncle" meaning that's the way it is, that's all.
ReplyDeleteThere was a restaurant on the freeway near us named Keith’s Restaurant. One time we drove by and the first part of “restaurant” had burned out (the r-e-s-t-a). My husband looked at that and said, “Bob’s your uncle and Keith’s your aunt”(urant - the remaining lighted letters)! — Pat S
DeleteI’ve heard most of these, and I still use some of them. Years ago. I took some banking classes at night. The instructor in one of the classes used a lot of these. The woman who sat next to me was from Argentina, and had not heard most of these sayings. I can’t remember most of the ones the instructor used, but I remember my classmate asking me what he meant when he said “he lost his shirt on that deal”! She started keeping a list of his sayings., and then she would ask me for an explanation. Her English was good but she had never heard American slang or colloquialisms.
ReplyDeleteDebRo
There will always be new Rhys. In my experience kids talk a lot to each other, and I don't think texting will ever replace that. So many new expressions are in fact rising out of text abbreviations or acronyms. Of course there are lots of wonderful colorful old phrases, but as someone said above, language changes!
ReplyDeleteNew phrases, was what I had dictated in the first
DeletePhrases that my grandmother (born in 1909) used, and that I still use and HOPE my kids will continue: "He took his own sweet Sally Mae" (took too much time) "In good season" (in a timely fashion) "Take a gander at that!" (Take a look at) "I haven't seen you in dog's years" (Apparently, the upstate NY version of Rhy's father's 'donkey's years') and one I know they all remember - "All joints on the table will be carved," which means, get your elbows off the table!
ReplyDeleteMom used to say "pretty is as pretty does" but I don't think I'll ever hear that from my niece.
ReplyDeleteIts "righty tighty, lefty loosey", correct? Except if you are using a Dremel. The instructions have the hex screw for attaching the cutting blade, is going the other way.
Kait: I've actually had younger co-workers looking at me as if I were daft for "using cart before the horse." But then who is still using daft?
Sigh, it's hell growing old.
One of my favorites is "do what you love and love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life."
ReplyDeleteHot diggity…a song recorded by Perry Como
ReplyDeleteI think the rate of change is going to be so much faster now. It wasn’t that long ago that people were saying get the 3-1-1, meaning info. That one is already gone now everyone gets info from the internet rather than calling 311.
ReplyDeleteJust down the road from you in San Diego, we say “get the 4-1-1” so it must depend on your telephone service’s number for Information. — Pat S
DeleteLisa in Long Beach, I have heard varying phrases in reference to getting information like 411 or was it 9?
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Dar Simpson here; when it's raining and I have to go out in it, I say "I'm neither sugar or salt so I won't melt"! My daughter thinks that's funny! ;)
ReplyDeleteKaren R, the fish and relatives stinking after three days is actually older than any of our grandparents. Benjamin Franklin coined that! (He also is credited with a variation on “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” and “no pain, no gain”.)
ReplyDeleteMy parents were 41 when I was born and I was 41 when my son was born. Do the math and my grandmother was born in the 1800s. So many of my mother’s expressions probably came from my grandmother. I repeated them to my son. He probably ignored me, but maybe, just maybe there’s an old expression that has made its way into his vocabulary.
I’ve heard, and still use, many of the phrases mentioned above. There’s one my mom used frequently (to describe her strong-willed mother and firstborn daughter and her place between them) that I have never heard anyone else use: “I’m the pickle in the middle.” My mom had probably been dead less than a year when I read a biography about Jack Benny. Mention was made of an ad for a hot dog brand that aired on Benny’s radio show. In the ad they said something about “don’t forget to put the pickle in the middle!” I finally knew where the expression came from, but it was too late to talk about it with my mom. — Pat S
Thanks for sharing to all as this was a good jog down memory lane! Hmmm! So, here are a few that my husband and I just came up with from our earlier days. "Vaccinated with a phonograph needle" - you talk a lot. "New York minute" - fast. "Three sheets to the wind" - drunk. "Let the cat out of the bag" - to tell a secret. "Truck driver's suntan" - only the driver's left arm has a tan. "Spinning my wheels" - not getting anywhere. "Barking up the wrong tree" - you are wrong. "Come home when the streetlights come on" - all parents told their kids this! "Shut the front door" - shut up!
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday I had to smile when an acquaintance my age said "Cheese it, the cops" when describing the reaction when she startled some trespassers into running off. That expression was already outdated over 50 years ago, when my siblings mocked me for using it!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a great post. My grandparents were from Indiana and moved to California when my mother was seven, but I grew up hearing all of these farm terms because my grandmother grew up on a farm: nearly all the sayings Joan mentioned. But also, do many more.And yes, I'm sorry to say my grandmother DID wash my mouth out with soap once. But here are a couple no one has mentioned: "Six of one, half dozen of the other," "slower than molasses," "penny for your thoughts," "Spill the beans," "Let the cat out of the bag," and so many more. What's weird is that these days I just pop out with them after not thinking about them for years.
ReplyDeleteThat was "so many more," not "do many,"
ReplyDeleteRhys, what amazes me is that so many of the expressions you heard growing up in England, I heard growing up here in Kentucky. And, reading through a lot of these comments, I'm familiar with most of them, too. I'll see if I can add any. If you made a scowling face or unpleasant face, you'd get, "Your face is going to freeze that way." "She's as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs." "Pretty is as pretty does." "Fit as a fiddle." "Wet as a drowned rat."
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