“Knock me up” and other idioms
Feb 22nd 2008
Karen RoseOn Writing!
As I sat down to write, one phrase kept circling my mind - “It’s like riding a bike,” because with all my traveling and our Mt. Oly birthday-ing it’s been about a month since I’ve written a blog. I was hoping I remembered how! Of course you never forget how to ride a bike, and that idiom sent me sliding back into blog-dom easier than falling off a log.
I love idioms - those phrases that don’t mean what they say. If you’ve studied a foreign language, you know that you’re never really fluent until you understand a culture’s idioms. I remember teaching my youngest daughter to read years ago. She’s deaf and as such, English isn’t her first language - Sign Language is. 
I remember reading her one of the Curious George books, in which he does something bad and all heck breaks loose (which is the way of all Curious George books, LOL). The story said they “had their hands full” chasing George, but the picture showed a man chasing George with his hands outstretched and empty. My daughter shook her head and said, “His hands aren’t full, they’re empty.”
So we realized that idioms were a big part of her education - they are the phrases that make our language rich and full and fun. Some idioms we all know and grew up with, while many are regional or even unique to a family.
I remember my mother saying something was ”ugly as homemade sin.” I always wondered what homemade sin was, and was it different from manufactured sin? LOL. I always thought she’d mixed it up - that she meant “homemade soap.” But it turns out “homemade sin” is used by a lot of people - especially in the South, where she was raised. I still wonder what constitutes homemade sin…
I also love learning new idioms - especially if they make me laugh. Years ago I was traveling to the UK on business and my host asked what time he should “knock me up in the morning.” My mouth dropped open in shock and he looked Britishly concerned. He meant to ask what time he should call for me the next day, i.e. “knock on my door.” I told him that in American English it meant to “get someone pregnant” and he turned fourteen shades of purple (another idiom I like).
Of course, that sword cuts both ways - I was in the UK visiting friends and asked if they knew where I’d left my fanny pack. This drew horrified gasps from my friend’s sons and I was clueless as to what I’d done wrong. My friend told me that “fanny” there refers to female genitalia and was not a word nice people used, especially in front of children. Who knew?
Do you have any favorite idioms? Any your family used that meant something special? Any from other cultures that made you do a double-take? Any that made you put your foot in your mouth? I want the stories, people!
96 Comments »
Kay on 22 Feb 2008 at 8:02 am #
Great topic, Karen. We have hosted several international exchange students. Most of them spoke American English very well, but there were times that you could tell that they had learned British English in school.
One girl from Germany came home from school very embarrassed. In calculus, she had asked, “Does anyone have a rubber?” Meaning, an eraser. OMG, the kids were AWFUL about teasing her.
We had one student who lived with a different hast family before us. They talked to him about were they were taking him for Christmas vacation. His English was limited, as was his geography knowledge. We live in MN. He thought they said “Hawaii” when they said “Iowa.” When he got back from break, we asked him how he liked Hawaii. You should have seen the look on his face.
cail on 22 Feb 2008 at 8:27 am #
i love idioms, but at the moment i can barely make my brain function.
i do tend to pick up old fashioned idioms from the books i read. my old roommate used to do a double take when i’d break out a seriously old school idiom.
she would then politely remind me that we’re in teh 21st century.
Freedom Writer on 22 Feb 2008 at 8:31 am #
We use the phrase “want in one hand.” It is short hand for a phrase that my Baptist grandma from West Virginia used to use on her 16 kids. The longer phrase is “want in one hand, and poop in the other and see which one gets full first.” You can see why we short hand it.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 8:54 am #
Yep,Freedom, I can certainly see why you shorten it. Oh, gross. I’m picturing that one.
Kay, that poor boy thinking he was going to Hawaii and going to Iowa instead.
Cail, I was hoping the historical folk would have some oldey-tymey idioms from days of yore. Come back when your brain is functioning and give us some
Lisa H on 22 Feb 2008 at 9:34 am #
Karen - I’m still laughing over your fanny pack faux pas.
The only thing I can remember my mother saying that I didn’t understand was “tears the size of horse balls” She used to say that all the time when I was growing up, and I wondered if there was a ball that a horse could fit into…
Btw, I call my fanny pack a gut bag!
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 9:42 am #
Lisa H - since the fanny pack faux pas, I call it a belly pack, but perhaps gut pack would be more appropos - hmmm.
I’m thinking your mother meant a different sort of ball, yes?
Kim on 22 Feb 2008 at 9:52 am #
KarenR–those are too funny! Around here you hear a variation of uglier than homemade sin. We use homemade feces ah, but we don’t say feces *g*
My mom always used wish in one hand and poop (again, not poop) and see which one fills up first.
Apparently we’re pretty crass around here. LOL.
JackieToo on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:05 am #
We have the “want in one hand” but it ends with “and shell peas in the other and see which fills up first”. I guess we’re boring.
Karen - I bet those people wondered what was wrong with your fanny that you had to keep it in a pack!
My (Southern) grandmother had oodles of these but I can’t pull many out of the ether at the moment. One of hers was “Every tub’s gotta sit on its own bottom” meaning everyone is responsible for the consequences of their actions.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:13 am #
Jackie - not boring! How about environmentally friendly, by growing peas and all?
I’ve always wondered about the saying “If wishes were horses.” What the heck does that mean?
Of course, if you’re in corporate America, you have your own lexicon of idioms. Anybody out there play LINGO BINGO with the corporate ‘isms?’ Especially fun during year end meetings when the lingo waxes strong.
Nicole Jordan on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:17 am #
Those are too funny, Karen!
And I know what you mean about different countries having different idioms. My foreign friends and I have fun comparing notes. In the UK, they call being fired “made redundant”. And the Dutch turn white when you say “water over the dam.”
Karen Hawkins on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:18 am #
My family hailed from West Virginia, too, and they had a LOT of those sayings. Here’re some I can remember:
“Want not, waste not.” if you ever tried to throw something out, even something that desperately needed to be thrown out.
“A horse in the barn is worth two in the field.” - which is an obscure way to say “saving money is important.”
“You can’t see your hand in front of your own face” — whenever I’d lose my mittens or shoes.
“We didn’t see neither hide nor hair of him for four years.” — self explanatory, though my grandmother could work this into about any conversation and in ways you’d never think of.
“I came within a whisker of telling him to take a hike.” — my grandfather was always within a whisker of doing a lot of things. What was funny was that he was so clean-shaven, he never HAD any whiskers of his own.
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:34 am #
Karen, I think the whole expression is “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride”. I’ve always taken that to mean that it’s easy to wish for stuff and a heck of a lot harder to do what’s needed to earn the thing.
Just MHO, of course.
cail on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:38 am #
the version of the wishes and horses one that i know is ‘if praying were horses, all of us would ride’ there is actually a song in the musical The Civil War that has that as a lyric. the song title is If Praying Were Horses.
I heard a lot of “waste not, want not”.
I think Hot as Blazes was one of the antiquated terms that my roommate teased me for.
people always drive ‘like a bat out of hell’ trans: fast
the one that i never understood was ‘beyond the pail.’
http://www.idiomsite.com/ that site looks fun.
cail on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:40 am #
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/ this one too!
Sabrina Jeffries on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:41 am #
My parents used the “ugly as homemade sin” thing, too! It’s definitely a Southernism.
The one that threw one of our Thai friends was when my father used “play it by ear.” He didn’t understand, and explaining it apparently didn’t make it any better. For weeks afterward, he would say, “We’ll just play it on our ear” … “We’ll just play it in our ear” … “We’ll play it with the ear.” Dad said he never did get it right (but apparently loved the idiom, because he kept using it wrong).
Meanwhile, my dad made so many mistakes in Thai that he was entirely sympathetic. Thai’s one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn because it’s tonal. The same word spoken in different tones can mean completely different things. Plus, there’s two sets of vocabulary–one for everyday and one for formal and church occasions ….
Sabrina Jeffries on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:43 am #
Since my dad was a preacher, he had to use both kinds. So one day he preached about Noah building a fence. The congregation really giggled over that one. Another time he performed a wedding and asked if the woman would take the man as her “lawfully wedded enemy.”
Fortunately, the Thais were always very understanding about the foolish “farong.” (Thai word for foreigner).
Sabrina Jeffries on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:44 am #
Cail, it’s beyond the PALE. But it still doesn’t make sense, does it?
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:44 am #
My 17 year old granddaughter and her friends collect my Southern sayings. They live for the moment when I say something that causes them to fall on the floor laughing. I don’t know why. They’re not funny. LOL
Here are a few that I say frequently:
Homemade sin - I’ve always said this and have no idea how ugly it is. Some things are better left to the imagination.
Six ways to Sunday - To try something from every angle.
Don’t let your mouth overload your tail
Holler like a stuck pig
I haven’t see her in a coon’s age
And, no matter how one might be bad mouthing someone, it’s can always be soft pedalled by adding Bless his/her heart. “She’s dumb as a post. Bless her heart.”
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:50 am #
BTW, “Bless her/his heart” has to be said in a very sympathetic voice. Sorry I you can’t hear it. I didn’t even realize I say this a lot till the lovely kids pointed it out.
I figure I’m done as I’m going to get at this point in my life. So, I’ll just live with it.
They also love to hear me cuss. I think they get me frustrated so I’ll do it. A favorite is only hauled out when I’m so frustrated, I’m about to scream. Then I say “GOD bless America!” Meaning it’s time for you little monsters to head for the hills. Be sure to empasize the word GOD to give it real power.
OK. Enough blather from me today. I can’t wait to see what others come up with.
Cheers from snowy Lancaster County PA
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:51 am #
Caile, “beyond the pale” means to go beyond the limits of propriety or decency. Wikipedia has a good definition for this. I had to look it up for a recent book and found I’d been using it wrong all these years.
Sabrina, chuckling at playing it by ear. Because I only have hearing in one ear, I pay attention to those isms. “Listening with one ear” becomes “with half an ear” to which DH always grimaces and says it makes him think of Vincent Van Gogh.
Margaret - thank you! Now that saying makes sense. And interesting that it’s found its way into a musical, Cail.
Nicole, I guess the Dutch would take exception to water over the dam.
Karen, I’ve heard the hide nor hair ism - but not the four years part. Was it always four years, even when it wasn’t?
Lisa H on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:53 am #
Another one my mom always said and actually still says is “Don’t spit up above” meaning its gonna fall right back down again.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:54 am #
Funny, Margaret. And I KNOW the Bless her heart thing. Oh, that haircut is not attractive, bless her heart. She’s a wild thing, bless her heart.
And cheers back to you from sunny FL. It’s 80 here today. Just thought you’d want to know…
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:57 am #
One of my dad’s favorites -
That’s a horse of a different color. (don’t change the subject)
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:57 am #
cail, hot as blazes is out of style? Oh my. Someone who lives where it never gets hot must think that. How about “hot as blue blazes”? Are blue blazes hotter than red ones? Yellow? Orange? Hmmm.
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:00 am #
Karen, thanks for the temperature report. Not to worry. Even tho snow is on the ground, it’s 27° outside and sleet/ice is in the forecast, I am as snug as a bug in a rug. I will just hunker down and knit today. Working on a pattern a friend came up with and needed a second opinion one.
Who needs a clean house, anyway?
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:04 am #
My last post for the morning. This is for my beloved Goddesses and other people who Write. A web site called The Phrase Finder. May it help in your spinning of lovely stories.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/
Margaret in snowy Lancaster County PA
cail on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:08 am #
Sabrina… i had a feeling they weren’t taking about the other kind of pails… that makes so much more sense!
Musicals use idioms constantly. Weber is a huge fan of them, as was Cole Porter.
I’ve head colder than a witches tit quite a bit. (over hot as blazes, which i use in my apartment all the time as i don’t have access to control my unreasonable amount of heat)
i’ve got a blizzard out my window and a half empty office, so i’ll echo Margaret’s Cheers and amend that to ‘from snowy manhattan county.’
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:19 am #
When someone changes the subject - I usually say “Whats that got to do with the price of tea in China?” Don’t know where I picked that up. The funny thing is, my DH is Puerto Rican and even after 30+ years, he still gets it wrong. He says
“Whats that got to do with the tea in China?” I keep telling him it loses it’s point said that way, he just laughs. (I suspect it may be just to annoy me, he’s good at that)
Sabrina Jeffries on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:42 am #
My DAD says that about the price of tea in China! And I too grew up with “hot as blue blazes,” “bless her/your/his heart,” and “holler like a stuck pig.” Never seen a stuck pig or know quite how they would holler, but I imagine it’s pretty bad.
Gannon on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:48 am #
Ugly as homemade sin is definitely Southern–my family has used that one more than once. My great uncle used to say, “He has ugly all over him like hair on an ape.”
My grandma used to use a couple of expressions, which are interchangeable:
“She was all over him like white on rice” or “she was all over him like ducks on a junebug.”
My husband’s grandpa used to have a favorite phrase when it was cold: “It’s colder than a well digger’s arse in Alaska.”
Josie on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:07 pm #
Just to join the fray on the earlier “beyond the pale” idioism; it literally means outside of the safety of the fortress, or something like that- a pale were the walls of protection in a medieval city.
My grandma is the princess of idioms; one of her favorites, as referred to dogs and horses is that they’re “full of piss and vineagar.”
My husband used “six in one hand, half dozen in the other” A LOT! Enough that in our family, its about cliche!
But I truly love idioisms; they truly allow ourselves to colorfully express ourselves, and also to identify ourselves culturally with our groups!
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:33 pm #
we use a version of ‘ugly as homemade sin’ ours was, ‘ugly as homemade hell’.
I know a lot of these, but I’ll have to think on them. be back later.
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:44 pm #
forgot, regarding ‘homemade hell’, we often just say looks/tastes/smells like homemade hell.
‘if it was a snake, it woulda jumped up an’ bit me’ (and yes, for it to be effective you must leave off some of the letters in your words!)
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:47 pm #
“Her elevator doesn’t go past her ankles, bless her heart” *wink*
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:47 pm #
when speaking to a blonde, “Her roots run deep”
Karen Hawkins on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:52 pm #
Karen, nope, it doesn’t have to be four years. That was just an example.
These are great! Margaret, I hear you on the “Bless her heart!” I heard that a LOT when I was growing up.
Another one I’ve heard is “can’t tell up from down” meaning someone is confused. And “that dog hasn’t got a bite in him” meaning someone who is mild-mannered.
How about the old standby of ‘casting pearls before swine” which means you’re wasting something good on someone who won’t appreciate it. Someone told me that actually came from the Bible and it seems I have heard that in church, though I don’t know.
What a fun topic!
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 12:53 pm #
Sabrina, I missed ‘hollar like a stuck hog’ on the first pass, but we use, ‘bled like a stuck hog’ never heard it as ‘hollar’
and if its a male using it, you’ll often hear a more colorful: ‘Son of b— bled like a stuck hog.’
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:01 pm #
Must stop. Must work on manuscript.
Gannon’s “It’s colder than a well digger’s arse in Alaska.”, reminded me of a different version and I’ve been trying to figure it out. Now, this one’s a little dirty (and therefore a male phrase), so, I’ve tried blanketing it out, but leaving enough you can figure it out. “It’s colder than eskimo pus–”
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:06 pm #
Or, Keri and Gannon, colder than a witch’s other word for nipple. (blush) I would never, ever say that. What I do say is that it’s colder than a banker’s heart.
SnikyWhite on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:13 pm #
I’ve always had a fascination with the British phrase “dog’s bollocks.” This is of course a phrase that means the same as our awesome, excellent etc. however, if you take off the word “dog’s” it takes on the opposite meaning. First off, its fun to say, I’m taken by the slight crudeness and since I am such an Anglophile, to hear a Brit actually say the phrase and I’ll get downright giddy.
Julia London on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:14 pm #
My dad used to say “Ugly as stomped on ____” Rhymes with hit.
I say bless your heart. Doesn’t everyone?
My sister and I were in Scotland once at a little pub and decided to sample the scotch. We asked the barmistress which she would recommend. She looked at the two bottles and said, “this one is okay, I suppose. This one is just tragic.”
My sister and I laughed. She gave us a distrustful, I’m-being-laughed-at-by-foreigners look. We repeated, “tragic!” and laughed again,
She said, very pertly and unsmiling, “Which would you like to try, then?”
Later we figured out that “tragic” is just the Scots way of saying not so great.
Note to self: do not laugh at people when they are trying to explain something to you.
Mia Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:26 pm #
HaHa, these things always remind me of my husband. He uses them all the time, here’s a few new ones for ya’ll… I’ll have to check in later to catch up on all these great ones…
“Christ on a crutch.” I’ve NEVER quite understood that one…
“Three dog night.” What IS that anyway? Is there like a 2 dog night…
“I’m sweating like boy george eating a corn dog.”
“I’m sweating like Michael jackson at a tee ball game.” those two are often used favs…
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:27 pm #
I nearly got myself thrown out of a Scottish pub years ago. First I asked for “Scotch” and was archly informed that the Scots send the “scotch” to foreigners and keep the “whiskey” for themselves. So, adopt/adapt/improve - I asked for “whiskey.” The bartender nodded in approval and brought me a glass of whiskey (aka scotch).
To which I added diet Coke. I like Scotch-n-Coke, but not with real Coke. You’d have thought I’d murdered my mother right there on the bar. THe bartender was horrified. DH thought it was hilarious. I just drank my scotch.
Geeze, man.
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:31 pm #
It’s so funny how there are so many different version’s running around. A different try to a sweating michael jackson:
‘Sweating like a whore cornered in sunday school’
anneriailin on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:38 pm #
I hail from the south also and my parents had a slew of sayings. here are a couple I remember:
‘He couldn’t find his arse with BOTH hands’…my father would say about someone that wasn’t too bright. (only he didn’t say arse!)
‘Scarce as hens teeth’…my mother would say about something rare.
–dorothy
Mia Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:51 pm #
Okay, I had to come back because thinking of all these made me remember a saying my best friend and I used to say ALL the time, and I just said it to the guy in the office with me.
“I see said the blind man to his deaf wife!”
I don’t know if that’s considered an idoms, but I thought of it anyways.
anneriailin on 22 Feb 2008 at 1:59 pm #
Thought of another one! Haven’t thought of these in a dog’s age! lol
You’d ask my mother what she had in the bag or whatever and she’d say…
‘Cat fur to make kitten britches, wanna pair?’
–dorothy in cold and snowy upstate New York
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:05 pm #
I’ve heard “She looked like Hell froze over”
Think that’s a good thing? LOL!
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:06 pm #
oops! I forgot to say “Bless her heart”
(can we tell I’m not from the south, but I may borrow this little phrase)
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:09 pm #
LOL! I’m thinking of all the things i can say that won’t sound as snarky if I add “Bless her/his Heart” Thank you all you wonderful southern women.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:11 pm #
Dorothy- that is truly weird. Cats fur and kitten britches. Ew.
My dad used to say we were made of mud - that meant get out from in front of the TV, bless our hearts.
CT - I don’t think Hell Froze Over is a compliment…
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:12 pm #
But CT - everybody KNOWS it’s snarky. It’s just polite snarky and therefore acceptable. The “bless your heart” isn’t like an invisibility cloak for your heretofore zingers, unfortunately. Would be cool if it had that effect, though.
Claudia Dain on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:16 pm #
I love idioms! I think part of my fascination is that I heard so few growing up. My parents didn’t use them much and the only one my Swedish grandmother used was “putting on the dogs”–which is supposed to be singular, one dog, but being Swedish…. She really hated it when people put on the dog (put on airs, showed off in a financial sense). Putting on a dog and pony show? Is that where it comes from?
Lisa H on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:30 pm #
An old friend I used to work with said, “You can’t polish a turd.” I love that and have kept in mind while house hunting.
Karen H - The Bible does say “Don’t cast your pearls before swine” Meaning if someone won’t receive the truth you are speaking, move on.
Freedom Writer on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:45 pm #
Margaret, yes the blue part of the flame is the hottest part of the flame, so blue blazes are hotter than orange, red, and yellow flames.
Too many science classes.
DebMarlowe on 22 Feb 2008 at 2:50 pm #
You guys are cracking me up!
Josie, my grandma used to give us the piss and vinegar line too!
Gannon, I never heard the white on rice until I moved to the South. I never heard the Sh** in one hand until today!
My grandpa’s favorite is: You’re about as useless as t*ts on a boar hog.” LOL!
Karen Hawkins on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:00 pm #
Mia Rose, the Michael Jackson one cracked me up! There’s an example of a new idiom developed via pop culture. Too funny!
Karen Rose, I’m with you about the whiskey/Scotch. My brother drinks it straight and is horrified when I doctor mine. But hey, I don’t make too many faces when he takes all of his icing off his cake before eating it, so I think we’re doing pretty good!
Lisa H, I just knew I’d heard the pearls ‘n swine thing in church! But it’s been a long time ago and I was afraid to say it with authority. Guess it’s not as popular of a verse now. Everything has it’s day in the sun, hm?
Paula on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:10 pm #
Ct My grandparents used to say “Whats that got to do with the price of tea in China?”.
Others from my childhood are “Keep an ear open”, “sweating like a pig” and my mum used to say ” It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!!”
I know there are lots more and will post them if I can remember them.
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:18 pm #
Karen R - Sorry! I didn’t mean to give the impression that I would ever actually say “She looks like hell froze over, Bless her Heart” That was my inner smarta** breaking free (I think I’ve got him under control again). I was raised “If you can’t say anything nice, keep your mouth shut. If you can’t keep your mouth shut, be polite”
Paula, I am a Grandparent.!! LOL!
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:24 pm #
No, CT - you can “bless your heart” all you want!!! I just didn’t want you thinking the “bless your heart” was fooling anyone
Sarah on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:30 pm #
I know of a few that have been used in my family and area
“They don’t have a snowman’s chance in He**” - there’s no hope
“It’s six to one half dozen or the other.” My mom uses this one, it is supposed to mean something is the same difference… but it still sounds strange.
My grandmother used to say that crowded places were “like a church before the apocalypse”
ladydawgfan on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:33 pm #
Dorothy,
I’ve also heard the cat fur one before. Ask my mom “what for,” and she’ll give that answer just to get a rise out of you.
My dad’s favorite is “It’s as dark as the inside of someones hat!”
Others I heard growing up:
Colder than a witches tit in a brass brassière.
Dumber than a box of rocks (bless her heart!)
Slower than molasses running uphill on a cold day in the middle of January
The wheel’s a-spinning, but the hamster’s dead.
As ugly as grandpa’s toenails.
RachelG on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:38 pm #
The saying I hate is “no pain no gain.” To me, “no pain” is a good thing. If I feel pain, I want a muscle relaxer.
My mom’s from Texas and says, “Cryin’ all night loud in a bucket.” I always wanted to know why anyone would cry in a bucket. Why all night and why loud.
rachelg
Claudia Dain on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:59 pm #
Sarah, it’s “six of one, half dozen of another.” Meaning it’s the same thing: 6 either way.
I just love idioms. What was wrong with my parents for being so spare with them? Sheesh.
My first boyfriend used to say, “colder than a witch’s tit in January” and I thought that was the most risque thing imaginable. He used to say it just to watch me squirm. He was Italian. From New York. You get the picture.
Claudia Dain on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:03 pm #
Now that I’ve reminded myself about that old New York Italian boyfriend, all sorts of idioms (from his mouth) are coming back. He used to say, “My back teeth are floating.”
I’d squirm.
He also used a lot of Italian swear words and gestures, which I’ve retained in indelible ink, thankyouverymuch.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:05 pm #
Yes, I’d also like to know why you’d cry in a bucket, Rachel.
Ladydawg - I love the brass brassiere one!
I never heard the white on rice one until I met someone from KY.
Claudia, I know what you mean - the first time I heard the witch’s tit one I blushed, ha!
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:18 pm #
anneriailin, I say both those things. Only I say “You can’t find your butt with both hands”. This is usually said to some grandchild or other. After that, I say “If it was a rattlesnake, you’d be dead”. Because I actually picked something up and looked under it to find said item. It’s against kid rules to move things around in a search. It must be lost in plain sight.
ROTFLOL, Rachel. I say “Cryin’ oug loud all night in a bucket”. I’m beginning to feel paranoid. You all are coming up with stuff I say a lot.
ct, when you say “Bless her heart”, you must say it in a very sympathetic tone of voice. That’s to make the preceding slam seem like you are really a nice person. When you are slamming the missing party, you have to speak in a just-between-us voice. Got that? LOL
cail on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:22 pm #
i LOVE ‘my back teeth are floating’ that is totally an italian NY thing.
Margaret Garland on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:24 pm #
I have to say, goddeses, this has been a fun blog today. Perfect for a cold snowy day. I did get in a bit of knitting until my daughter called from Ocean City, MD. She & her DD are there for the nationals cheer competition. If you value your hearing and/or sanity, DO NOT walk into the convention center down there this weekend. Also be careful that you are not run over by perky cheerleaders.
Margaret who once spent 3 days parked 10 feet from the world’s biggest amps and watched 40 billion cheerleaders do a conga around the center for 50 light years of my life. Huh? What did you say? Let me turn my hearing aid up.
I’m feeling coltish this afternoon. Thanks to you all. You are great folks.
Keri Ford on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:27 pm #
ah! remembered another one!
“If you can’t run with the big dogs then keep your a– on the porch!”
if you ask somebody what time it is, they might check their watch and say, “Ten ’til.”
you likely reply, “Ten ’til what?”
and you get told, “ten ’til your own da– business.”
boy, I live in a vulgar area!
anneriailin on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:38 pm #
Ah yes! my brother used to say to me…..
‘If a bird had your brains it would fly backwards!’
Such brotherly affection. LOL
–dorothy
SuzyQ on 22 Feb 2008 at 4:41 pm #
My mom always used to say “I have a bone to pick with you” The first time I heard this as a little girl I got all excited and told her I get to pick the end first. Here I thought she wanted to break the wish bone with me. Unfortunately, it meant I had done something wrong and I was in trouble.
Another favorite from one of my coworkers is “in between a rock and a hard place”.
Jane on 22 Feb 2008 at 5:09 pm #
Wow, I haven’t heard many of those mentioned. I usually hear “to kick the bucket,” “all that glitters is not gold” and “at daggers drawn.”
Lisa H on 22 Feb 2008 at 5:38 pm #
lol Rachel G - I too want a muscle relaxer if I have pain…or simply a hot bath!
ct009ct on 22 Feb 2008 at 6:06 pm #
Today was another fun day - thanks!
KarenR and Margaret, Thanks for the help/info - I shall practice my “Bless her/his Heart”’s on my family. It will be fun!! LOL
Hope everyone has a great weekend!!
Paula on 22 Feb 2008 at 6:30 pm #
SuzyQ, LOL, my mum used to say that to us when we were kids and we’d done something wrong.
One that my SIL says is “he/she is a sandwich short of a picnic” ( when someone isn’t quite all there up top!)
My grandmother used to say “Bless his/her little cotton socks” this was when a child had said or done something funny or cute.
Karen Hawkins on 22 Feb 2008 at 7:10 pm #
These are so good! Every time I read these, I think of another. Anyone you know say “Cry me a river.” when you complain about something? My grandmother would say that whenever we’d complain about having to do housework.
Also, heads over tail in love for someone who is completely besotted. And ‘bass ackwards’ . . . my dad loves that one.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 7:14 pm #
I’ve learned so many new isms today! Thanks, all!
Audrey on 22 Feb 2008 at 8:07 pm #
My husband has probably said all the above at one time or another. One that he often says about someone who’s unorganized is they couldn’t organize a two man rush in a three hole sh*tter.
Another one I haven’t heard mentioned is one my mom uses all the time - they run around like a fart in a mitt.
Guess we’re a pretty crass bunch.
TinaLouiseF on 22 Feb 2008 at 9:20 pm #
I doubt these are idioms, but…
Squeeled like a stuck pig.
Born in a barn and raised in the rafters.
doglady on 22 Feb 2008 at 9:59 pm #
With us it was “Slow as homemade Christmas.” The Germans taught me one that roughly translates “Life is like a chicken coop ladder - short and shi**y!” Explains a lot about the Germans, doesn’t it?
How about “It’s raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock.”
“Ugly as a mud fence.”
“Colder than a tin top toilet in a Siberian blizzard.” Of course I always said “Colder than my mother in law’s heart.”
“As welcome as a bastard at a family reunion.”
or “He treats me like a red headed step child.”
“He’s a few french fries short of a Happy Meal!”
doglady on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:05 pm #
Nervous as a virgin at a prison rodeo.
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:05 pm #
Doglady - I have a friend that used the red-headed stepchild quite a bit. I’d never heard of it before then.
TinaLouiseF on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:18 pm #
My dad would usually say “…like a horse peeing on a flat rock.”
or “It is raining cats and dogs.”
Their elevator doesn’t go up to the top floor.
A few bricks shy of a full load.
lisa on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:19 pm #
I have the t-shirt that says “Bless Your Heart”. It’s really just a nice way of saying, “your so stupid”. Oh well.
I love to interject the idiom “IF my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle” when someone is whining about IF they done this, or IF someone else had done that!:” Jeez, deal with what IS.
Gannon on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:29 pm #
I thought of something else my mom sometimes says when she sees a woman who’s not looking so great, “She looks like she’s been rode hard and put away wet.” *g*
doglady on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:37 pm #
If a frog had wings he would bump his fanny when he hops.
She looks like a mile of bad dirt road.
doglady on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:38 pm #
That would be “wouldn’t” bump his fanny
doglady on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:39 pm #
When you know someone is giving you a line of bull - “That dog won’t hunt.”
Of course when I was teaching and my students tried to feed me a line I would say “I’m sorry. My BS monitor was going off so loudly I couldn’t hear you.”
JackieToo on 22 Feb 2008 at 10:56 pm #
I thought the “wishes were horses” one was a quote so I looked it up. It’s from a nursery rhyme:
If Wishes were Horses…
If wishes were horses then beggars would ride,
If turnips were swords I’d have one by my side.
If ‘ifs’ and ‘ands’ were pots and pans
There would be no need for tinkers hands!
Karen Rose on 22 Feb 2008 at 11:56 pm #
I had another friend who said the frog/wings one. Never understood it then, still frowning over it.
Jackie - thanks for looking the wishes/horses up!
I like the one about bad dirt road - hadn’t heard that before.
Paula on 23 Feb 2008 at 4:52 am #
Tina louise my dad used to say “it’s raining cats and dogs”.
Not an idiom but this always reminds me of my dad,
Red sky at night shepherds delight,
Red sky in the morning shepherds warning.
basically it means red sky at night it should be good weather the next day and red sky in the morning it should not be so good that day.
Margaret Garland on 23 Feb 2008 at 7:28 am #
Doglady, you got some good ones once you woke up. LOL
How about “Busier than a one armed paper hanger” or
“Busier than a cranberry merchant at Christmas”
I had so much fun yesterday. Who knows when we readers may see some of these in a goddess book?
Natashia86 on 28 Feb 2008 at 9:05 pm #
Oh my goodness gracious! I have been laughing for the last several minutes as I read this.
My mom used to tell us when my sister or I was in trouble, “I’ll beat you within an inch of your life.” or “Your butt will hurt so bad. you won’t be able to sit for a month of Sundays”. You gotta sit in church on Sundays, it’ll hurt.
My Grandma also uses “I’m gonna tan your hide” - Beat your butt.
We used “Slower than molassas in January.” I loved the colder than a witch’s t*ts in a brass brassiere. That was great.
I’ll try and remember more. My house is full of them, many of which have already been mentioned
~Natashia
Sara on 13 Apr 2008 at 9:37 pm #
phrase I recall, grandparents/parents from Pennsylvania:
“I knew you when you didn’t have a pot to piss in” for someone you’ve know for a very long time, or when someone acts pretentious.
“don’t cry over spilt milk” and “that’s water under the bridge” for things you can’t change, in the past
“full of piss and vinegar” was a common expression for an overly difficult or energetic child/animal
“Longer than a month of Sundays”- I guess referring to sometimes long and boring sermons and slowly passing time at home on Sundays with the old Blue Law having all the stores and restaurants closed,or maybe my mom cooking for the family every week
“one brick shy of a (full) load”, “elevator doesn’t go to the top”, “dull as a door knob”, “lights on, but no one’s home” for “slow” people
“six of one, half dozen of the other”- same either way
“red-headed step child” and “black sheep”
“useless as teets on a bull”
“running around like chickens with their heads cut off” when we were too wild
armedtigercatt on 20 Apr 2008 at 1:37 am #
I love this. I have used the majority of these, or my family has.
I don’t like it when grown adults whine to me, so I use “Cry me a river” but I add on, “So I can drown you in it.” (I can only take so much, and that is a way of me telling someone to quit complaining, it could be worse!!)
The last time I used the “Chicken with his head cut off,” was when I actually saw a chicken get decapitated… none of the kids I used that on were quite that wild.
I heard my mom use this in a fight… “I’ll knock you into the second Tuesday of next week.” Never got that one really.
I never understood the “full of piss and vinegar” until now. Thank you!
Okay, I just heard one on TV.
“Close, but no cigar”
Where does that one come from?