Wow, I had completely forgotten about these things!
My brother and I spent hours playing this game when we were kids. We didn’t have it at home but I remember playing it at my dad’s aunt who had a box full of old toys from the early 50s. There was also a metal box with cars moving in circles when you wound up the mecanism. We were easily entertained.
My mom said of going to an out of the way spot: “All around Robin Hood’s barn.” Long ago a thread on here revealed that other people said this, but most of them were in England.
My dad: “Even a blind hog gets an acorn sometimes.”
Skeezix - Anyone whose name you can’t immediately recall. As in “Hey, Skeezix, get your butt over here!”
Yahudi - Proper name, the person who did it if nobody did it. As in, “If you didn’t spill the milk who did, Yahudi?”
Dumpa - A person of limited intellect
Is it still 5 cents for every minute you hold the refrigerator door open or do I need to adjust for inflation? But then I guess I would have to adjust for more efficient appliances as well. To heck with it, we’ll call it a wash. 5 cents it is.
My mother in a rage once accidentally combined the two phrases: “You just burn me up!” and “You’re driving me up the wall!” to the hilarious (to us) “You just burn me up the wall!” It’s been a catchphrase in our family ever since.
My mother referred to things as “flopperjawed” if they were out of kilter or or messed up, like a bow that wouldn’t tie right. I use that one all the time, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard it outside of my family. The way she warned us that we were on the road to Spankville was “I will knock you for a loop!”. She was a great mom, but definitely old school on the spanking thing.
I could be here all night with Dadisms. Some crowd favorites:
[ul]
[li]"[Insert person who needs to get their shit together] has more problems than a dollar watch."[/li][li]When you’re in the way, usually blocking the television: “You’d make a better door than a window.” Apparently this is a very dad-ly thing to say. :)[/li][li]Taking too damn long: “You’re moving slower than molasses.”[/li][li]In response to Who won the game?: “[Losing team] came in second.”[/li][li]When leaving: “As one nut said to the other nut, we must be off!”[/li][/ul]
He also referred to my mother (you know, his wife and mother of his kids) as “your mother” and my siblings as “your brother/sister” as if they didn’t have names or he was in no way related to them. Cracked me up. My siblings and I still do this. “So I talked your mother earlier…” as if she isn’t mine, too.
If my wife tells me to go somewhere and fetch something because she’s too lazy to get up herself: “What’s the matter? You have a piano tied to your bum?” (my mom’s comment)
If someone asks for a ride: “I’ll give you a ride on the end of my toe!” (my dad’s comment)
If we’ve been walking for a long time and someone complains that she’s tired: “If you’re too tired to walk, run!” (another dad-ism)
Couldn’t find his ass with two hands and a flashlight.
A horse apiece. Similar to six of one, half dozen of the other.
Fiddlesticks.
Till the cows come home.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
“Useless as a parakeet” (Dad was no bird lover) and when violently ill and vomiting “If you hit something round and hairy, keep it – it may be your asshole”.
One not from a parent but a very elderly Pastor I worked with was “Leviticus made me do/say that”. He felt the Devil got too much credit for things.