Old Sayings & Expressions From Our Childhood
Do you remember the old sayings your mother or father used to say? How about your grandparents or a funny aunt or uncle? Sometimes I’ve used an expression that was very familiar to me from my childhood, and my friends stare at me with a blank look, not knowing what I am talking about. Sometimes it’s fun to remember these sayings.
My mother used to say Conniption Fit. That’s the one I used and my friend didn’t know what in the world I meant! I always knew it meant a fit of anger or temper, my friend had never heard the word before. Some of my dad’s favorites were Holy mackanaw and Holy mackeral, and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle! I knew he meant them as expressions of surprise. I never hear anyone using those sayings these days. Oh yes, my mother liked the word, Flabbergasted. She’d say, I’m just flabbergasted! I loved that one!
Some more old sayings I remember my mother saying are: Mind your P’s & Q’s; Having a field day; I may be cabbage-looking but I’m not quite so green; (This one meant that she knew what was going on and I couldn’t pull the wool over her eyes)—hey, that’s another one I just used: You can’t pull the wool over my eyes! And, of course, these: I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck; Hold Your Horses; I’m at the End of My Rope; I’ve Told you Time and Time Again; Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth; A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush; Don’t air your dirty linen in public; A person is known by the company (s)he keeps; Necessity is the mother of invention; Silence is golden; Cat fit; Keeping up with the Jones’ and You’ve just cooked your own goose!
Now that I think about it, my mother was full of these sayings. I’m sure there are more…People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones was a favorite one. Of course, The early bird catches the worm; and: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. She used that one a lot. She often asked me: What kind of monkey business I was up to, and would say: Hold your tongue; Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear; Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill; You’ve made your bed, now you’ll have to lie in it; and Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.
As I look back on all these sayings, I realize that you readers can probably read between the lines and see that I must have been a little devil when I was a child! Well, maybe that was true. I know I got my share of spanking!
Another thing I know is that when I try to go to bed tonight, I won’t be able to sleep because these saying will keep going through my mind and I will probably come up with some others by morning. Maybe after reading this, you will too. Try to remember some of the sayings from your childhood. Maybe you’ll find it kind of comforting like I did.
