A few days ago my wife made a cake, and the cake slightly tilted towards one side. My wife said to me, “The cake is Leaning toward Aunt Rachel’s.” I asked my wife if she had a relative named Rachel, and she said that she didnt. I asked her where she had heard that phrase from, and she said she couldn’t remember. It was simply a phrase she had always remembered. I asked her if the phrase had a deeper meaning, and she told me that the phrase is simply a way to describe when an object accidentally leans or tilts the wrong way.
Has anyone else heard this phrase before? If so, where did it come from? I googled the phrase and searched The Straight Dope, but didnt find anything useful.
I’ve heard of using “Ralph” and “Louie” for “right” and “left” so this could simply be a regional or family usage similar to that. Leaning to the right would be Aunt Rachel and leaning to the left would be Uncle Louis or something. But I haven’t heard that particular phrase.
I believe Aunt Rachel’s was name of the restaurant in Family Matters. So, was this tradition started in the mid-90s? Does she also frequently say, “did I do that?” when knocking something over or dropping it?
My wife did not watch the TV show Family Matters, and none of her family members watched the show.
I did a google search for the exact term “Leaning towards Rachel” and the search returned one result. Someone on Facebook claims to have also heard the phrase, and the person on facebook was also curious where the phrase came from. So, I know it’s more than just my wife who has heard/used this phrase.
My wife spent the first 15 years of her life in Connecticut, the next 10 in Los Angeles, and the past 15 in Arizona. She claims she has known that phrase her whole life, so I think it’s safe to say she picked it up while living in Connecticut.