He probably kept in the drawer with his tobacco and then forgot it was there.
My grandmother used to say “Listen!” when she wanted us to be quiet. “Hark!” is more medieval or something. I think I shall start saying it.
When my grandfather died, we found World War II ration books among his things. Most had been redeemed and were just the stubs — a useless thing to keep but I found it fascinating and I still have them. These weren’t just any old ration books, but the books my family used!
I know a lot of interesting old phrases, most of which I’ve rarely heard anyone say apart from Dan Rather (“We had a slight hitch in our giddy up, but we corrected that.”):
“Nervous as a cat with deaf kittens”
“Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest”
A joke being “older than Moses’ toes and twice as corny.” (yuck!)
“I’m full as a tick” upon eating a big dinner. I actually say that one, and it’s a bit yucky too.
Thanks, everyone. This is fun.
Well, how often would it come up in conversation?
Excellent! It was my Grandfather writing that letter, and, considering how often he used an appostrophe for his contractions or put the final ‘o’ on the word ‘too’, I wouldn’t be surprised that he shifted a preposition.
I’ve only heard “too wet to plow” used to mean “well, I’m not excited with the idea, but I don’t have anything better to do, so I might as well.” The phrase “can’t dance” was used in the same way, often with a shrug. This sounds like a different meaning.
Don’t know why this reminds me of “Tighter than a bull’s asshole in fly season.”
“Older than God’s parents.”
.
“Since God was a boy.”
I don’t know if it’s an actual saying or was made up for Steel Magnolias, but I love it and have been saying it since God was a boy.
Don’t get yer dander up
Hold your horses
Keep yer britches on
the bee’s knees
the cat’s pajamas
That dog won’t hunt
These are all phrases in my vernacular. I suspect I might be a time traveler with amnesia.
I would assume that the “salts” refer to Epsom salts used as a laxative
I’ve noticed that as some people get old their ear lobes elongate and become sort of floppy. The expression probably means that the food or whatever will help you live a long life.
A couple more of Dad’s :
He looks angry enough to bite the heads off of nails and spit out battleships.
And, if something fall down, go BOOM [not one of his phrases] he’d say “Whadja drop your teeth?”
When flipping a coin and asking “Heads or tails?”, an older relative of mine would always reply, “What a dog’s got”.
My mother always says that she is “full as an egg” when she has eaten well.
My dad uses the phrase “yardy boolar” as a mild expletive.
I wonder if “yardy boolar” is cursing in some foreign (to us) language? Anyway I like it and since I am prone to drop the F-bomb at inappropriate times I think I will adopt “yardy boolar” instead. It’s kinda fun to say.
That person over there is funny-turned, meaning odd.
I don’t know how to spell it, but—ciarn. (Pronounced kee-arn.) I was told it’s an Irish word describing greasy dirt. Maybe a countryman from Ireland can correct me? :dubious:
A few I’ve heard in old films from the 30’s and 40’s. “That’ll take the snap out of your garter!” and as an insult “Aw, ya make me tired.” or “Get off the world.”.
I’ve also heard a variation on the above posted “as nervous as a cat with deaf kittens” as “As nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
This is fun, I hope it keeps going for awhile.
My dad used the phrase “crookeder than a dog’s hind leg” to describe anything from a sleazy salesman to a warped piece of lumber. He was born in 1915.
Hell, I say that, although I say “every now and again” instead of “once in a while”. I also say “As sure as God made little green apples”. The hog comes from my father, the apples from my mother.
My dad (b.1939 in east North Carolina) will say “I wouldn’t know him from Adam’s housecat”.
My grandmother, (1901, east N.C.) would complain of “augers” (pronounced “ay-ger”, and probably derived from “ague”) in her “goozle” (an indeterminate region of the body from chin to mid-thorax).
My whole family says "fair to middlin’ " when asked how we are; it means “not too bad, not too good.”
wet your whistle = have a drink
cut a rug = dance
I heard an elderly couple last night at Best Buy walk away from the computer section muttering about “highway robbery” and remembered how my mom used to use that phrase whenever she thought something was too expensive.
You “got told,” meaning put in your place, set straight.
“persnickety” seems to be making a comeback.