# Quaint expressions you heard once or twice but use yourself regularly **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 9, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595 "2008-04-09T13:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/121 "2008-04-17T15:56:22Z")
A word for something which should be cleaned up- “spooge” (rhymes with stooge). Mrs. Duality doesn’t “honk at” people who piss her off intraffic. She “hoinks them”. ---
**Author:** ![rostfrei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7bcc69/32.png) [@rostfrei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rostfrei)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/122 "2008-04-17T16:59:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Duality] A word for something which should be cleaned up- “spooge” (rhymes with stooge). Mrs. Duality doesn’t “honk at” people who piss her off intraffic. She “hoinks them”. [/QUOTE] Believe me, if you used the word “spooge” in my neck of the woods, you’d hear a lot of laughter. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/123 "2008-04-17T17:21:37Z")
[QUOTE=rostfrei] Believe me, if you used the word “spooge” in my neck of the woods, you’d hear a lot of laughter. [/QUOTE] Word ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/124 "2008-04-17T17:25:41Z")
One of the _This Old House_ guys referred to “spooge on the tops of the cabinets” one time in a house they were doing, and I plbbbbplbbbled all over myself. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/125 "2008-04-17T17:34:27Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] One of the _This Old House_ guys referred to “spooge on the tops of the cabinets” one time in a house they were doing, and I plbbbbplbbbled all over myself. [/QUOTE] Makes you wonder if Spongebob came from Spoogebob Vila, right? ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/126 "2008-04-17T17:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=winterhawk11] Here are a few that come to my mind: **Kerfuffle** - I think I got that one from James Lileks. Just a fun word. [/QUOTE] Another fun word is “foofaraw.” RR ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/127 "2008-04-20T15:36:32Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Word [/QUOTE] My word is “spoo **g** e”. You must be thinking of “spoo **j** e”. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/128 "2008-04-20T16:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Duality] My word is “spoo **g** e”. You must be thinking of “spoo **j** e”. [/QUOTE] [spooge](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spooge) ---
**Author:** ![Blather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Blather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blather)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/129 "2008-04-20T17:20:46Z")
Spoken by a young woman frustrated at being pressured to complete a task, “If you’re going to ride my butt, you better be pulling my hair”. “Swing and a miss!” for almost accomplishing an objective. “Shoot, shucky darn, and horsefeathers!”, From my mother who would never swear in front of us kids. Unexpectedly, her vocabulary expanded quite a bit as we got older. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/130 "2008-04-20T22:19:43Z")
When describing the density of things in an area: You can’t swing a cat without hitting a \_\_\_. I don’t get a chance to use it as often as I’d like, but I try. ---
**Author:** ![Blather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Blather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blather)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/131 "2008-04-20T22:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=Yumblie] When describing the density of things in an area: You can’t swing a cat without hitting a \_\_\_. [/QUOTE] I forgot about that one. I heard it as, “Room to swing a cat”. I have always wondered how one would test this. “Oops, not quite enough room to swing a cat” seems like it would be a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/132 "2008-04-21T01:13:06Z")
I got “Son of a …bachelor” (genteel alternative to S.O.B.) from a Star Trek novel ages ago and now regularly use it. I think I picked up “Good good good” from a comedy CD. And I know I got “Oh, I’m suffering like a living thing” from Harvey Fierstein. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/133 "2008-04-21T01:53:17Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] My dad used to say, “She looked like her face had caught fire and somebody beat it out with a golf shoe.” [/QUOTE] The variation around here is “somebody beat it out with a rake”. I’m going “Huh?” because a rake is pretty useless for putting out a fire. He wouldn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. For whiners, I like “Poor baby”, said with a pout, and the oldie “Dial 1-800-Waaaaaaaah”. And from the country song, “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.” Haven’t seen these yet: Older than dirt and older than God. My git-up-and-go has got-up-and-went. Tits up, for when someone takes a fall. This one never made sense to me: “He looks like the back end of a mule heading south.” I think maybe that’s a zinger combination. The appropriate response to “Got a match?” is “Not since Superman died”. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/134 "2008-04-21T01:55:28Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] This one never made sense to me: “He looks like the back end of a mule heading south.” I think maybe that’s a zinger combination. [/QUOTE] Actually, the way I’d heard it was, “He resembles the north end of a south-going horse.” ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/135 "2008-04-21T03:17:46Z")
[QUOTE=Blather] Spoken by a young woman frustrated at being pressured to complete a task, “If you’re going to ride my butt, you better be pulling my hair”. [/QUOTE] I’m taking that one. Thank you very much. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/136 "2008-04-21T03:19:54Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] For whiners, I like “Poor baby”, said with a pout, and the oldie “Dial 1-800-Waaaaaaaah”. And from the country song, “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.” [/QUOTE] I have used, “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m confused…No, wait…I got it. You thought I was someone who cared.” ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/137 "2008-04-21T03:21:07Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Actually, the way I’d heard it was, “He resembles the north end of a south-going horse.” [/QUOTE] Now that makes sense. Speaking of horses, I don’t know if it qualifies as quaint, but “I feel like I’ve been rode hard and put away wet” is what you say when you’re really tired. Or tar’d. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/138 "2008-04-21T04:13:27Z")
[QUOTE=Blather] Spoken by a young woman frustrated at being pressured to complete a task, “If you’re going to ride my butt, you better be pulling my hair”. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure how to interpret this one. ---
**Author:** ![Blather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Blather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blather)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/139 "2008-04-21T04:19:20Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] I’m taking that one. Thank you very much. 😃 [/QUOTE] You’re welcome. The original language was slightly different, but I’m sure you can figure that out. Oh, and I take no liability for the consequences of using this expression in any normal human conversation. In other words, if you say these words out loud they are your words not mine. It is kind of funny though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Blather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Blather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blather)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595/140 "2008-04-21T04:27:08Z")
[QUOTE=Oslo Ostragoth] I’m not sure how to interpret this one. [/QUOTE] Uhhh… There are only two ways to interpret this, and one is wrong. It is a thinly veiled lewed reference. I won’t take it any further than that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quaint-expressions-you-heard-once-or-twice-but-use-yourself-regularly/444595.md?page=8)