# Phrases your (grand)parents used **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245 "2009-07-25T20:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/101 "2013-09-18T23:10:54Z")
Shit fire and save matches…this thread again? ---
**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:** [September 18, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/102 "2013-09-18T23:14:34Z")
I hear they use that newfangled googling thing. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/103 "2013-09-18T23:21:55Z")
“Carnut, you know you are the apple of your father’s eye…” (gag me) “I see a patch of blue, it’s going to clear up!” my optimistic grandmother would say on cloudy days. “Let’s see who we can appease this month.” my other grandmother when she sat down to pay the bills. “I’m always right. Even when I’m wrong, I’m right!” My grandfather, who had the family nickname of “Pope Robert” said to his wife at the end of an argument. She ignored him as per usual. “Bushwaaa!” or “Horse Hockey!” instead of swearing came from great grandpa when he felt the need. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/104 "2013-09-19T00:01:25Z")
I heard a lot of “half passed” and “quarter passed” I still tend to say that because we have wind up old clocks rather than digits, and you get an impression of the time in one glance rather than read the numbers. We did however have a digital clock and taught our 3 year old there was no waking Mommy and Daddy except in an emergency if there were any 5s on the clock. 🙂 When my grandmother yawned, she’d say, “Ho Hum Harry, too young to marry.” covering her mouth of course. She and grandpa also called “Memorial Day” “Decoration Day”. Of course it was that originally. When we were driving and noticed a for sale sign on a house, Dad would say, “Oh look a house for sale, let’s go b(u)y it.” Then after we passed, he’d say, “We did.” That cracked us up when we were little though it got old (like us). My mom would always remind us there were kids starving in China so we should clean our plates. She did **not** appreciate the suggestion that the food be sent to China. Possibly because Dr Spock was beginning to catch on she’d not mention spanking when out in public, though how her, “Do I need to take your pants down?” could have been misinterpreted, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/105 "2013-09-19T00:34:57Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > My paternal grandmother would say it is “half-past seven” if it was 7:30. > > I never heard anyone else express the time in that fashion. It is always “seven thirty” or “eleven thirty.” I still say “a quarter after three” or “a quarter to six.” Strangely, I never say “half-past” anything. My father: “Well, I’ll be damned.” My mother: “Time’s a-wastin’.” ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/106 "2013-09-19T01:29:17Z")
Oooh, zombie grandparent sayings. I swear, we get more newbies from random-ass google searches now. We had all sorts of weird ones. Heavens to biscuits. _mild swear, from grandmother_ Well, I declare. _feigned or real fascination_ (if it was really amazing, it was **I DO declare.** ) colder than a witches titty\* from my dad, and he’d always get swatted by my mom for talking dirty.\* shit fire \* something awesome or interesting happened\* nervous as a six-tailed cat in a rocking-chair factory. busier than a one-legged-man in a fanny-kicking contest. six of one or a baker’s dozen _doesn’t matter what happens_ (and yes, I know it doesn’t make sense) ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/107 "2013-09-19T02:20:15Z")
“You will cry on my grave”.- Used by a native-Russian speaking great-grandmother who escaped a Ukranian mass relocation with her son during WW2. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/108 "2013-09-19T02:21:57Z")
I often quote my grandmother: “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” This was pre-digital, of course. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/109 "2013-09-19T03:27:36Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I still say “a quarter after three” or “a quarter to six.” Strangely, I never say “half-past” anything. This really confused me in first grade when we were taught to read clocks. My dyslexia didn’t help either. Somehow, I thought I had learned that you when you express “a quarter to seven” numerically, you wrote it as 15:7. I still say “a quarter to” and “a quarter past” without mentioning the hour when I am with family. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/110 "2013-09-19T03:58:45Z")
When my father didn’t want to answer a question: Me: what’s that for? Him: Cat fur to make kitten britches, want a pair of doggy boots? Me: Why is it called that? Him: They hadda call it something so they called it Hadacol (an actual product so I think he got this from the radio or something) Yeah, he was full of it, I mean them. Built like a brick outhouse Cat got your tongue? I’ll knock your heads together (he actually did once) Just hold on to your little pink panties (i.e. be patient) And so on ad nauseum. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/111 "2013-09-19T04:18:10Z")
A few that I recall my Dad saying (some may be repeats or variations): Dad: Hurry up, Spoons! Me: In a minute, Dad. Dad: _Yeah, well, if the dog hadn’t stopped to fart, he would have caught the fox!_ Dad: Hurry up, Spoons! Me: I’m coming. Dad: _So’s Christmas!_ Dad, about a tough-looking guy: \*“Looks like he could eat nails and spit rust.” \* Dad, when things aren’t working out as planned: _“Jesus H. Christ!”_ He never explained what the “H” stood for. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/112 "2013-09-19T04:27:19Z")
Oh dear doctor If it’s not one thing it’s the flamin’ other Oooooh, yer bugger, yer Bugger, bloody, 'n ‘ell Oh dear me how I want never gets Children should be seen an’ not 'eard Ooh, he’s dim as a tok-h lamp ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/113 "2013-09-19T04:28:50Z")
Missed the edit window. I thought of two more Latin aphorisms Dad liked. Note that they’re not really Latin, but they sounded good and impressed us kids, who didn’t know Latin. When he used them, he’d put a wise expression on his face and say: _“Illegitimi non carborundum.”_ Translation: Don’t let the bastards grind you down. Said in response to a story about a tough day at school. _“Seductus georgeus asbestos.”_ Translation: Bugger you, Jack; I’m fireproof. Said when we negated all of Dad’s responses to problems we were encountering. In other words, he tried to help; but ultimately, it wasn’t his problem and we’d have to deal with it on our own. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/114 "2013-09-19T05:16:59Z")
My mom had a lot of these: “If your aunt had balls, she’d be your uncle.” “You’d cry with a loaf of bread and a ham under your arm.” “That’d knock a buzzard off a gut wagon.” “I see, said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw.” And one I’m pretty sure she made up herself: “He’s off in a cloud of camel crap and little stones.” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/115 "2013-09-19T07:59:11Z")
So-and-so was “tighter’n Dick’s hat band” meaning they were really cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/116 "2013-09-19T14:01:39Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > “If your aunt had balls, she’d be your uncle.” ‘Balls!’ said the Queen. ‘If I had to, I’d be king!’ The King laughed. He had to. The Princess laughed. She wanted to. The Prince didn’t. He was shy to. The Duke said they’re both nuts! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/117 "2013-09-19T16:21:04Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > “You’d cry with a loaf of bread and a ham under your arm.” We’re going through the _The Sopranos_ now, and that reminds me of what Uncle Junior said about Tony’s mother: “Livia is like the woman with a Virginia ham under each arm, crying cause she hasn’t got any bread.” ---
**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:** [September 19, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/118 "2013-09-19T16:27:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘Balls!’ said the Queen. ‘If I had to, I’d be king!’ > > The King laughed. He had to. The Princess laughed. She wanted to. The Prince didn’t. He was shy to. The Duke said they’re both nuts! Oh, right. Mom had a version of this too: “Balls!” cried the Queen, and the King laughed 'cause he had to. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/119 "2013-09-19T16:40:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > My grandmother used to sing “Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie”. What a pity they’ve quit showing all the old Harveytoons where singalongs were featured! I was born in 1955, and I still know such hits from Tin Pan Alley days by heart, just from watching those cartoons on TV in the '60s. (I’ve always wondered if people actually did sing along when they were shown in theaters/cinemas across the country back in the late '40s or early '50s.) When I was growing up in the '60s, my parents still called a refrigerator an icebox and a record player a phonograph. Even nowadays, I do too on occasion, and I usually get weird looks from people around me. “Aerial” and “wireless” I don’t think ever caught on in America, though I remember my dad, who served in the US Army Signal Corps during WWII, using the former term in his TV repairman days. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245/120 "2013-09-19T16:40:17Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > …Dad, when things aren’t working out as planned: _“Jesus H. Christ!”_ He never explained what the “H” stood for. You’ve come to the right place!: [Why do folks say “Jesus H. Christ”? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/30/why-do-folks-say-jesus-h-christ) > [@Spoons](#): > > …_“Illegitimi non carborundum.”_ Translation: Don’t let the bastards grind you down. Said in response to a story about a tough day at school… Need a gift idea?: [http://www.carbolicsmokeball.com/catalog/23/Non\_Illegitimi\_Carborundum\_\_-\_Dont\_Let\_The\_Bastards\_Grind\_You\_Down\_Tie/](http://www.carbolicsmokeball.com/catalog/23/Non_Illegitimi_Carborundum__-_Dont_Let_The_Bastards_Grind_You_Down_Tie/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-your-grand-parents-used/504245.md?page=7)