# Odd or incomprehensible things your parents said to you **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721 "2017-12-17T17:52:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/41 "2017-12-18T21:26:20Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > My Nana, when she went to the bathroom, would say “I have to spend a penny”. I’ve never heard that anywhere else. > [@filmore](#): > > I believe this is a reference to public toilets which have a coin-operated lock on the stall door. Maybe they cost a penny when she was little. Oh! Well now it makes sense! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/42 "2017-12-18T21:44:21Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > When we were all in the car and ready to start out on a trip, my father might say “OK, we’re off like a screaming herd of turtles.” I suspect that was something he got from the military, either the army (1940) or the merchant marine during WWII. My mom used that phrase (without the word “screaming”) too. She was never in the military, though. I always assumed it was one of those popular expressions in her generation–like “straighten up and fly right,” an admonition I heard CONSTANTLY from adults when I was growing up in the 1960s, but haven’t encountered in conversations for at least thirty years. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/43 "2017-12-18T21:53:28Z")
Something my dad said once always stuck in my head, and I always assumed he made it up on the fly. Now, reading some of your parents’ sayings, I’m not so sure. Once I was trying to fold blankets, and my dad was displeased about how badly I was doing it. He said “You fold blankets like an old man going to church.” Another thing he used to say that I thought he made up was “You weren’t holding your mouth right.” This was said when you were trying some game of skill and missed the target. Then I heard the good ol’ boys in the movie _Easy Rider_ say the same thing and I knew he had learned it down south, where he was born. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/44 "2017-12-18T21:56:52Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > My mom used that phrase (without the word “screaming”) too. She was never in the military, though. I always assumed it was one of those popular expressions in her generation–like “straighten up and fly right,” an admonition I heard CONSTANTLY from adults when I was growing up in the 1960s, but haven’t encountered in conversations for at least thirty years. My mother always said it as “A turd of hurtles.” My step-father, whenever I expressed dislike for some food or another, would always say “Throw him a goddamn fish!” If I forgot to zip my pants up, he’d say “A seagull is gonna getcha!” And whenever my mother would venture an opinion he didn’t like, he’d say “Tend to your knittin’”!" That one always puzzled me; I assume he got it from his own father. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/45 "2017-12-18T21:57:44Z")
Missed the edit window…I’m aware that “straighten up and fly right” is from a Nat King Cole song. I didn’t know that until I saw the movie The Right Stuff, which featured the song in a scene. Before that, it was just this weird phrase that various authority figures in my life would use when telling me to stop fucking around and apply myself. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/46 "2017-12-18T22:27:53Z")
My parents are linguistically uncreative. In fifteen years my daughter will be in here talking about her parents, though: that burns my biscuits he’s just a fart in a jar we have dined sumptuously tender as a mother’s love And, a phrase which seems ordinary right now but always confuses her, I’m not saying, I’m just saying. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/47 "2017-12-18T22:35:25Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Something my dad said once always stuck in my head, and I always assumed he made it up on the fly. Now, reading some of your parents’ sayings, I’m not so sure. > > Once I was trying to fold blankets, and my dad was displeased about how badly I was doing it. He said “You fold blankets like an old man going to church.” > > Another thing he used to say that I thought he made up was “You weren’t holding your mouth right.” This was said when you were trying some game of skill and missed the target. Then I heard the good ol’ boys in the movie _Easy Rider_ say the same thing and I knew he had learned it down south, where he was born. I’ve used the “Holding my mouth right” phrase myself, when using a finicky piece of electronics. You know, something that should work right off, but takes a couple of tries for no obvious reason. It may as well be the way I was holding my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/48 "2017-12-18T22:35:33Z")
Some wisdom from my dad… “Don’t sit on cold concrete, you will get hemroids”. I was seven years old and thought, what is a hemroid? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/49 "2017-12-18T22:43:27Z")
Don’t recall the exact words after 30 years but here’s the gist. Dad always called home before leaving work and I had the line tied up one afternoon. Dad not being able to get through that day made Mom very concerned and a bit scared. I guess there was a big fight early in the marriage when Dad come home mad about not being able to get the call through and Mom still remembered all those years later. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/50 "2017-12-18T22:54:35Z")
My MIL always said to me when I got smart with her, “I 've forgotten more than you will ever know”. She was a hard woman to love, but I did. I think i loved her more than her own daughter. My Daddys Japanese curse words are not something I remember. I will ask my kids if they remember any and let you know Roderick. It has been a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/51 "2017-12-18T23:37:03Z")
My mom always called Burger King by the name Burger Chef instead. Had no idea why, apparently Burger Chef was a major burger retailer that pretty much disappeared by the time I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/52 "2017-12-18T23:57:40Z")
From dad: You don’t have a Chinaman’s chance. That would gag a maggot on a gut truck. (when someone stumbles) Smooth move, Ex-lax. You can wipe your ass with that (item you just purchased). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/53 "2017-12-19T00:03:53Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > My mom always called Burger King by the name Burger Chef instead. Had no idea why, apparently Burger Chef was a major burger retailer that pretty much disappeared by the time I was a kid. I remember Burger Chef. (And Jeff). My mother used to call us ragamuffins and tatterdemalions, which I assumed were common words everyone used until I used them around someone else. Other family expressions: “A man’s coming.” (My grandmother would say this after someone dropped a knife). “You drive like Barney Olfield.” “I don’t wanna hear that Banned-in-Boston.” “You give a woodpecker a headache.” “He’s out in the rain like Thompson’s colt” ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/54 "2017-12-19T00:49:12Z")
> [@teela brown](#): > > Another thing he used to say that I thought he made up was “You weren’t holding your mouth right.” This was said when you were trying some game of skill and missed the target. Then I heard the good ol’ boys in the movie _Easy Rider_ say the same thing and I knew he had learned it down south, where he was born. Jiminy crickets, my gramma always said I wasn’t holding my mouth right! I say it to my grandkids. It’s true, you know…gotta stick my tongue out the corner of my mouth when I concentrate or things go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/55 "2017-12-19T00:58:33Z")
My dad regarding a woman with lipstick that was too brightly red or just overly made up - Looks like the north end of a south-bound baboon. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/56 "2017-12-19T04:02:31Z")
My mom, when someone is not hurrying fast enough to suit her: “C’mon, you move like dead flies are falling off you!” I’m not sure if faster-moving individuals have _live_ flies falling off them instead, or if being slow causes flies to die on one’s presence, or what, exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/57 "2017-12-19T14:53:16Z")
I think “The hair on his ass got to his head” refers to a bad hairstyle, but still not sure if I heard that correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/58 "2017-12-19T15:37:52Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > That would gag a maggot on a gut truck. Similarly, “that would knock a buzzard off a gut-wagon.” My mother-in-law has a few oddball phrases she still uses. “Enough to feed Cox’s army” is one. I think she’s just messing up the “Coxey’s army” phrase someone posted earlier. Also, apparently as an expression of amazement, “shit fire and green weenies”. I can find a reference to “shit fire and save matches”, but the “green weenies” part is a head-scratcher. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/59 "2017-12-19T15:50:03Z")
When my mom and somebody else would pass on either side of a lamppost or other vertical divider, she’d always say “bread and butter.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721/60 "2017-12-19T15:58:35Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > When my mom and somebody else would pass on either side of a lamppost or other vertical divider, she’d always say “bread and butter.” The last words of Trudy Monk on “Monk” were “Bread and Butter” [Trudy Monk | Monk Wiki | Fandom](http://monk.wikia.com/wiki/Trudy_Monk) - it’s an old superstition [Bread and butter (superstition) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_butter_(superstition)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-or-incomprehensible-things-your-parents-said-to-you/804721.md?page=4)