What sayings do you have in your family?

[Mary in VA]

Tonight as we were all getting our dinner I heard myself saying something my mother always did and I haven't heard in years - dinner tonight is "catch as catch can." My mom has been gone for over 12 years and that came out of the recesses of my mind. It made me think of some of the the other sayings she had that I use and my husband had never heard of before, such as, "We're not staying at the party 'until the last dog is hung' and "don't get in a 'swivet.'"

 

It made me wonder old sayings other families may have. Anyone have any?

 

Mary

[Happy]

Our family motto is 'you don't have to, you get to.' As in, you don't have to wash the dishes, you GET to.

 

I guess I say that every week.

 

In the extended family, 'buy one, get one free' has great meaning because of a family story.

[myfunnybunch]

At dinnertime, my dad used to say, "Grab a root and growl." I say it to my boys.

 

My mom said, in a purposely sickly-sweet voice, "A cheerful willing helper is worth her weight in gold!" It usually meant that the person addressed was being neither cheerful nor particularly willing to help, lol.

 

Cat

[LibraryLover]

Never mind. lol

 

tmi, according to the kid reading over my shoulder.

Edited November 6, 2011 by LibraryLover

[Amber in SJ]

My mom used to say;

 

"Is it more important to be right or to be happy?"

 

Meaning you do not have to hammer your point into someone else's head until they admit you are right, a common problem in my family when I was a teen and now when I have teens.

 

Another popular saying from my teenage years; "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face."

 

The one I say to my children a million times a day is "You would get eaten by the bear."

 

When we read "Little House in the Big Woods," we got to the part about how Laura & Ma go out to put the cow in the barn at night and Ma shoves the cow away from the gate, then inexplicably turns to Laura and says, "Go back into the house, Laura." and Laura obeys without question. Her obedience saved her life because it was not the cow it was a bear. I realized that my children would have said, "What? Why? Why do I have to go back in the house? It is cold. I didn't want to come out here in the first place and now you want me to go back in the house? I can't believe it!" And by that time I would let the bear eat me just to not have to listen to my whiny child anymore :D

 

Amber in SJ

[Mona100]

If I said "So?" to my mother, she would always come back and say "Sew buttons"

[elise1mds]

I grew up with my parents constantly threatening that if I did something one more time, I was going to be in "deep Dutch." I still have no idea what, if anything, that was supposed to mean, but I caught myself threatening my kids with it for the first time the other day. They looked at me like I'd grown a second head and started laughing.

 

I constantly tell my kids, "Just because you can..." and they chorus, "Doesn't mean you should!"

[Amber in SJ]

Oh, yeah...

 

In my family there was singing.

 

If someone was not doing their assigned chores with a good attitude my mom would sing:

 

When we're helping we're happy,

And we sing as we go...

And we love to help Mother,

For we all love her so.

 

When there was bickering, the two involved had to sing:

 

I want to be kind to everyone

For that is right, you see.

So I say to myself, remember this

Kindness begins with me.

 

It sounds super cute, but by the teenage years we hated it.

 

My Poppa (Grandpa) used to say, "You can like it, or lump it." I am not sure what that meant. "What goes around, comes around," was very popular in my house as well.

 

Amber in SJ

[Birdwinglips]

Lately, when my kids 'outsmart' someone they'll say, 'aaaaaahhhh you just got homeschoooooled'. Cracks me up.

 

Whenever I would say, "I wish..." my mom would always say, 'if wishes were horses..." then tell me to go look in the yard. ???

[Joker]

I tell my kids to, "Red off the table." (not sure if that's how its supposed to be spelled) I've never heard anyone but my mom and other family use the term.

[jennsmile]

I recognize those songs Amber! ;)

 

Ours was if you chance to met a frown,

Do not let it stay,

Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown a way.

No one likes a frowning face,

Change it to a smile,

Make the world a better place by smiling all the while.

 

Or if our little one has the bottom lip stuck out we talk about seeing if we can place an ice cube on it and if it will freeze that way. ;)

[Tenaj]

My grandfather used to say to us if we were showing a pouty lip, "I'm going to get a rooster to set on that lip". I just told my three-year old that this morning because whenever I see a pouty lip it just rolls out involunarily - I'm not even sure exactly what it means.

[GingerPoppy]

 

When we read "Little House in the Big Woods," we got to the part about how Laura & Ma go out to put the cow in the barn at night and Ma shoves the cow away from the gate, then inexplicably turns to Laura and says, "Go back into the house, Laura." and Laura obeys without question. Her obedience saved her life because it was not the cow it was a bear. I realized that my children would have said, "What? Why? Why do I have to go back in the house? It is cold. I didn't want to come out here in the first place and now you want me to go back in the house? I can't believe it!" And by that time I would let the bear eat me just to not have to listen to my whiny child anymore :D

 

Amber in SJ

:iagree: Please Mr. Bear, just eat me. :glare:

 

Would love me some of that unquestioning obedience.

[kalanamak]

Let's don't and say we did

More for the rest of us (at refusal of food)

Famous last words

Ask and ye shall receive

Is nothing sacred

One **** thing after another

Quiet, genius at work

Men are beasts

Poor little mite (any grubby child alone in a yard)

My dogs are barking!

Long in the tooth

Addle-pated

He's gone ga-ga

Gone west

All meat and no potatoes

Get a load of that pair (this could be b@@ks or a funny married couple)

Only half a mile more

 

 

All of the above were my mother's frequent words, except the last, which was father's.

I say: How did I know (in a resigned way)

"Why" is a crooked letter

Sharper than a serpent's tooth ....

You're a better man than I Gunga Din

A hard dog to keep on the porch

All mouth and no trousers

And what, pray tell, are you doing

and finally, the unreprintable punch line of the joke that got Earl Butz fired, although I don't apply it to black males, just males who deserve it.

[Perry]

My mom used to say;

 

"Is it more important to be right or to be happy?"

Mine is similar: "Is it better to be right or to be kind?" My mom never said it though. I thought I made it up. :) I probably heard it on this board at some point and appropriated it.

[Bang!Zoom!]

"Watch out what you wish for"

 

"Want fries with that?"

 

When someone says, "I don't like 'broccoli'" I interrupt and say, "Well, you know what?"

 

The person answers back, "Ya, Ya, I know, it doesn't like you either.."

[Susann]

I always loved-Sharp as a jelly bean.

[Renee in NC]

"I don't think so, Tim."

 

"You don't have to like it, you just have to do it."

 

"Get over yourself." (This one is reserved for snotty teens acting entitled.)

 

I used to tell my oldest that "the world doesn't revolve around you" until one day he answered, "it revolves around the son (sun) - me!":lol: I quit using that one with him.:tongue_smilie:

[Catherine]

"She's full of p and V" (piss and vinegar).

[JenneinCA]

My favorite: "Normal doesn't live in our house."

 

And this one, from an old GI Joe cartoon:

Said by one person, "I know."

And then the reply, "And knowing is half the battle."

[silliness7]

"I don't think so, Tim."

 

 

 

:lol::lol: Love this one.

 

We use this one, "I'm not happy, Bob, NOT happy. Ask my why, Bob. Be pacific, Bob"

 

I don't know why we changed it to pacific. It makes us laugh more, which is a good thing when you're not happy. I think we added an extra Bob in there too but that is how's it's morphed into our family. :D

Edited November 6, 2011 by silliness7

[Sandy in Indy]

When things didn't go Dad's way during a game, he'd say, "For cryin' out loud in the bucket!"

 

We're not really sure WHAT that means...but it's fun to say!

[Maria from IN]

When we would say that a particular dish was too hot, Mom would say, "Well, I can't cook it cold!"

 

Also, we use:

 

Get glad in the same pants you got mad in

 

...for I am the Great and Powerful Mom; pay no attention to that harried woman behind the curtain.

 

...for thou art crunchy and good with ketchup.

 

All hat and no cattle (usually reserved for the dog)

 

Shall we run for our lives? Oh, yes, let's!

 

It's hard being little and fuzzy in this house (again, usually reserved for the dog)

 

Dumber than a box of hair

 

My friend's father used to say, "slicker than snot on a hot doorknob"

 

Come on, it's time to eat something that resembles dinner.

[BMW]

When the kids are pouting... or have consequences to their actions and just don't get it, I say, "Look in the mirror... just, look in the mirror." I haven't said that much in quite a while! goodness! Things have improved around here!

 

And... behind shut doors... not like I am sharing this on a public forum of anything... when life gets tough and things just go wrong, one thing after another, I have been known to call out, "What in the world were the angels so ticked off about the night I was born???" As in... "You've GOT to be KIDDING!" My kids know my belief in God... but, honestly, I have some questions for God and the angels... I mean... really? Sometimes couldn't things just not go THAT bad???

 

But... that's... you know... just a little personal story thrown out there on the internet, you know...

[GingerPoppy]

When things didn't go Dad's way during a game, he'd say, "For cryin' out loud in the bucket!"

 

We're not really sure WHAT that means...but it's fun to say!

 

My parents say, "For cryin' in the pee bucket!"

 

 

 

 

 

And sometimes I do, too. :D

[6packofun]

Our sayings seem to be mostly derived from movies. A big one here is, "You're killin' me, smalls!" (from The Sandlot) when someone is aggravating us or says something beyond comprehension. LOL

 

"You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." This is when someone's having friend/relationship issues. Dh's dad would say it and it's not unique, of course, but WHY?!!!

 

Jan, my dad used to say that if we didn't stop pouting, "a little birdie is going to sit on that lip and poop on it!" (I think he added the poop part for more effect. LOL)

[Mary in VA]

I love these! Reading them has made me think of a few more.

 

My dad would say - You can call me anything, but don't call me late to dinner. Also if I was feeling sorry for myself he would say in a sing-song voice - Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms. If I asked what time the clock said, he'd say "nothing, clocks can't talk."

 

If I whined to my mom that something wasn't fair, she'd say "life's not fair." I HATED that, but now think it is one of the best lessons she taught me. I told my dds the same thing and now they say it :001_smile:

 

Mary

[Joker]

This has been fun and I've been reminded of my favorite ever! My grandad used to respond to all our complaints with, "and if a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his a** when he hopped." :D

[silliness7]

I thought of another one.

The answer to the question "will you make me a sandwich?"

"Poof! You're a sandwich"

Dh brought that one from his home.

[LibraryLover]

This has been fun and I've been reminded of my favorite ever! My grandad used to respond to all our complaints with, "and if a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his a** when he hopped." :D

 

 

That's a keeper.

 

never heard it, going to use it daily for a bit. :D

[jewellsmommy]

Dh talks about "bat snot" often. As in "you scared the bat snot out of me." or "what in the bat snot are you doin?" :001_huh:

 

I have no idea where this came from, but we do like bats in my family :D.

 

 

 

And it drives the kids nuts but when they ask "what's for dinner?'' The answer is always "food." I don't know why they keep asking.

Edited November 6, 2011 by jewellsmommy

[Meriwether]

Eat it, then you have it. (no fussing if that last cookie was gone - you should have eaten it when you had the chance)

 

If I got up after 7:00 a.m., Mom would say, "Good morning to the flowers." It was the first line to a little ditty she used to sing when we first woke up as small children: Good morning to the flower, Good morning to the sun, Good morning to the boys and girls, good morning everyone. It was her gentle reminder that I had overslept and better not make a habit of it.:001_smile:

[MyHandsAreFull]

My grandma used to always say, "water seeks its own level" which tended to mean something along the lines of birds of a feather flock together, and "what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" (kind of like turnabout is fair play) and "lie down with dogs and get up with fleas" (hang out with riff raff and suffer the consequences).

 

My pop is exceptionally fond of "no good deed goes unpunished."

 

Great thread! Brings back good memories!

 

The other thing Grandma did was call us (and kids in general) choogies. Have only heard one other person do that (and he was also from rural Tennessee so possibly that's a regional thing).

 

:001_smile:

[Ellyndria]

"You don't have to like it, you just have to do it."

 

 

 

I say this ALL the time.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

This one is only about 25 years old in our family, and I started it, but now most everyone says it.

 

When someone asks, "What time is it?", we say, "Time to get down to the club, and you ain't gonna like what's happenin'". Morris Day quote. :tongue_smilie:

[Beach Mom]

"Get your head out of your pocket" and "you would lose your head if it wasn't attached"

which I use more and more as my boys get older and enter the 'boy fog' that causes them to forget what they are doing sometimes. My father used to say both of these.

[RegGuheert]

My Dad used to say at meals: "Four pieces and five of us, Lord help the rest of us!"

 

 

MomsintheGarden has a bunch of sayings she uses with the children. I'm not sure where they all came from, but I'll guess some are from here. Here are a couple the children recall:

 

"It doesn't have to be fun, it just has to be done."

 

"Back to work! Back to work!" (Her FAVORITE line from "Despicable Me".)

 

 

A coworker has a saying which I enjoy: "That scares my chickens!"

 

 

I have several that I used to say repeatedly to a former CEO at a startup I worked at:

 

"You've been drinking your own bathwater!"

 

"You're believing your own bullsh!t!"

 

"Take off your rose-colored glasses."

 

He got to the point where he would preface what he was about to say to me with "Perhaps I'm just.." followed by one of these. :D

[MeaganS]

"Decision made." It is based on a time when my mom and I were out shopping with my cousin and Aunt for my cousin's wedding. The sale's lady had obviously worked with groups of women because every time all of us would agree on something, rather than let us go back and forth on it, she would just say "Decision made!" and move on to the next thing. It was awesome and efficient.

[Chris in VA]

Our newest is from Tim Hawkins: "Drive fast and take chances!" ;):D

[Renee in NC]

This has been fun and I've been reminded of my favorite ever! My grandad used to respond to all our complaints with, "and if a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his a** when he hopped." :D

 

My dad says that one!:lol:

[MelanieM]

Great thread! Love the frogs and wings saying. :lol:

 

Some favourites here...

 

"There's no crying on Tuesdays!" (Or Sundays, or Mondays, or...) Adapted from A League of Their Own.

 

"You're crazy like a box." Because my daughter first heard us say "crazy like a fox" and thought we said "box". It was the cutest thing in the world when she was about 2 yrs old. :D

 

"Why I oughta... high punch!" Big finish, while shaking a fist in the air. This came from our third at 2 yrs old, taking Daddy's silliness and combining it with his sister's TKD moves.

 

"What are you, new?" asked increduously when someone does/says something they surely should know not to do, or asks a question they must know the answer to. Taken from a dear friend who used to say this all the time and crack us up!

 

My step-father used to answer the "what's for dinner" question with "sheep sh!t and onions". Every time. Now I can't hear that question without thinking of him saying that! (I don't often say that to my kids, but I have uttered it once or twice.)

 

My mother always used to say "everything happens for a reason" and "things always work out for the best" and "we never get more than we can handle". I find those to be some of the most helpful things she ever said to me.

[heartosunshine]

"Makes you tough!"

 

"Do or do not, there is no try." - Yoda

 

"Impressive...most impressive." - Darth Vader

[SweetMissMagnolia]

my mom always said that her mother said "can't never could do nothing" lol