Odd Sayings & Expressions

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   TransScribblerposted 14 years ago

   We have all heard odd sayings and expressions. Some of the more regularly heard throughout my childhood have subconsciously found their way into my writing.
   I had an Aunt who, upon hearing someone referred to as "she" would respond with "She is the cat's mother."
   Mum always liked dragging out "don't make faces, or the wind will change and you'll be stuck like that."
   Then there are the expressions and sayings such as "Well, you know what they say." No, I don't. What do they say, and who are they?
   What are some of your favourites? Are there any odd sayings and expressions you truly hate? I would love to read and compare them with those that I grew up with.

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      bayouladyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Mom-"Close the door, you weren't raised in a barn!"   Daddy-"Can't never could". A favorite teacher- 'It's all up to you."  Me-" My get up and go done got up and went."

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      lorlie6posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My mother's highest praise to a person was "You're the cat's a**!"  I don't use it often, but I love the phrase.
      

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      ajhill09posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      my sister always said "i' am so hungry, i can eat the a***  end out of a rag doll". and when mum didn't know what an object was she would say " its a wigwam for a gooses bridle".

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   heart4thewordposted 14 years ago

   "Now look me in the eye, when I am talking to you." 
   
   "The grass is not always greener on the other side?"
   
   "Be careful of the friends you choose."
   
   "Lord, Help Us!"  "Idle hands is a devil's tool."
   
   There are lots of course, but thought maybe these would help get the ball rollin for you:)

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   Onusonusposted 14 years ago

   I remember somone saying "The rule of thumb" which was originally a rule that said you could legally beat your wife with an object no larger than your thumb.

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   Tyrone Smallsposted 14 years ago

   All closed eyes aren't sleeping . . .

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   Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

   The one that irks me is, "You can't have your cake and eat it too."     
   
   I know what it means, and it should really be "You can't keep your cake so you'll still have it, and eat it too."   Or else something like, "You can't save your cake and eat it."
   
   Still, it irks me, because (to me) because I always think, "I can't eat my cake until I have it - so of course, I need to have the cake before I eat it."  Something else I think is, "Well, eating my cake and having my cake are the same thing, as far as I'm concerned."  I think of things like, "Have some tea?"   Also, if I didn't plan to eat the cake I wouldn't take it in the first place!  And the other thing is, the whole idea of cake is to eat it  (otherwise why take it, have it, keep it, or do anything else with it?)
   
   Knowing cake, nobody can keep their cake for too long because it gets stale!  So, to me, that whole saying is just stupid for a number of reasons.       Besides, if someone just takes the saying for what it means and doesn't analyze it, the fact is some people DO manage to both "have " their cake and eat it.   
   
   (AND...   I don't even like cake, so it just bugs me that anyone brings up cake at all.      )

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      TransScribblerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Brilliant! Thank you for sharing this with us... and providing a dang good chuckle on a cold winter day! TS.

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      BennyTheWriterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Haha...very nice analysis!

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   Joy56posted 14 years ago

   where are you where is it a cold wintry day.,  Very hot here in Ireland which is unusual.
   
   You can take a horse to water,but you cannot make it drink.
   
   Many hands make light work.
   
   Look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.
   
   He has made no mistakes, has made nothing at all
   
   I could go on all day with these,.

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      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      "Many hands make light work" kind of conflicts with "Too many cooks spoil the broth", doesn't it....   Or else, maybe a third saying should be, "A bunch of people can poor quality stuff a lot faster."   
      
      "Look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves" :  No they won't.    Look after the pounds because if you spend all your time looking after pennies the pounds may fly away while you're not paying attention to them."    (maybe that's just my thinking.... )
      
      
      Then there's, "A penny saved is a penny earned."  I figure, if you earned the penny once you can't earn it again; and if someone gave you the penny you didn't earn it, so saving it isn't going to mean you earned it either.  I say, "A penny saved is a penny saved.  End of story."   

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         Joy56posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I know what you mean Lisa, what can you do with this one.,
         
                     Old Habits Die Hard.

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            Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Joy56     I don't think I can do much with that one.  I pretty much think that ones true.   
            
            (Of course, it does occur to me that someone might consider that all habits are old habits - otherwise they wouldn't be called, "habits", at all.    )  Other than that, the only thing else that occurs me to is that might be that it could be changed to, "Habits don't die on their own.  You have to know to kill them."  Or how about the less empowering and less optimistic:   "Forget about changing.  It's pretty much hopeless."   

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         Jeff Berndtposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         "Look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves"
         
         But some people are penny-wise and pound-foolish.
         
         "A penny saved is a penny earned."
         No. A penny saved is a penny, which is about a seventh of a piece of Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
         
         I always wondered about "falling head over heels." Where do you usually keep your head, in relation to your heels?

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            Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Jeff, unless, of course, you're doing either a back-flip or somersault (or something like that) - but that wouldn't be "falling" it would be intentional (and fairly impressive, by the way).  Technically, if you fell (backward or forward), either the back of your head would be level with your heels, or else face would be level with your heels.
            
            Saying someone "fell for" someone else, or saying someone "flipped over" someone else would seem better.       
            
            Speaking of "flipping" - how about "flipped his wig"???    I can guess where that one came (an earlier time and even today in some countries) - but the saying, "flipped his wig" really ought to disappear forever.  Let's not talk about either having our cake and eating it or flipping wigs. 

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   Alison Grahamposted 14 years ago

   My Mum used to come out with the most amazingly non-sensical sayings, a couple I particularly remember are -
   
   'A man forced his pig and he died'
   'It's like feeding a donkey strawberries'
   'I'm as old as my little finger'
   'You would laugh to see your grannie's backside catch fire'
   
   I could go on - but I won't!

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      TransScribblerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I may regret asking this, but... Who died? The man, or the pig?

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         Alison Grahamposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         The pig! My mum used to say it when my dad was trying to get us to eat something we didn't like (sprouts I seem to remember!) and she used to say this to stand up for us as a way of telling him we should not be made to eat them!

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   ahorsebackposted 14 years ago

   You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.

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      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I used to hear that one too! that's a good one.
      
      don't let the cat out of the bag...
      
      watch that chip on your shoulder..
      
      how about, let sleeping dogs lie..
      
      now I'm on a roll. ha!

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   rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

     I used to hear that one too.
   
   sleep tight...
   
   strike while the iron's hot...
   
   grass is always greener... over there..
   
   I don't know if this is odd, but it never made sense to me.
   
   mom- 'don't worry what those kids say, just be yourself.'
   me being myself.
   mom- 'why don't you do what so and so does...??'
   
   xo

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    paradigmsearchposted 14 years ago

    A penny saved is worth two pennies earned (the penny saved isn’t taxed).
    
    And so it goes…

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    Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

    "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."  That one I actually like.
    
    
    One I really hate is "kill two birds with one stone" - too gruesome, violent, and disturbing (even if it is only a saying).   

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    jerrylposted 14 years ago

    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
    
    If you fall and hurt yourself, I'll break your neck!
    
    Speak only when spoken to.
    
    Two wrongs don't make a right.
    
    You're not just whistling dixie.
    
    Another hundred years and you'll never know the difference.
    
    It's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
    
    Who died and made you God?

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    Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

    All "fine" (but often questionable) sayings...
    
    How about, "One day we'll look back at this and laugh."  (I haven't yet looked back at anything that made anyone say that and laughed.  It wasn't funny then, and it still isn't funny now.  It probably won't be funny thirty years from now either. ) 

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    Blogetposted 14 years ago

    "Bob's your Uncle" = "there you have it"

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    Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years ago

    Leant leftist socailists.
    
    I have no idea what that Palinesque term means.

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    Teresa McGurkposted 14 years ago

    "There you are and where are you?"
    
    "Don't teach your grandma to suck eggs."
    
    "A stitch in time saves nine." like a time warp?
    
    "And there he was: gone!"
    
    "Little birds in their nests must agree."
    
    "You have to measure your wants by your means."
    
    "If you weren't so Ballymena with your Ballymoney you could buy a Ballycastle for your Ballyholme[sic]."
    
    "Beat that intil ye!" ("bon apetit")
    
    "You might be a pain, but you're not a very good window."

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    Stimpposted 14 years ago

    My personal favorite:  "it is what it is"   OR
    "wish in one hand and sht in the other, see which one fills up first"....use this on the kids daily.

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       Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       "It is what it is" - that's, I think, the biggest one for professional athletes and coaches when they're interviewed.    That's pretty much what they have to say under most circumstances.   
       
       The other one - I've never heard.  (Maybe just as well       )  (I suppose it may have its wisdom, though.     )

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    Joy56posted 14 years ago

    what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
    
    cast your bread on the water it will return to you many times.
    
    if wishes were horses the beggars  would ride.

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    PegCole17posted 14 years ago

    How about these?
    Don't put the cart before the horse
    A stich in time saves nine
    If it were a snake it would've bit you
    If all your friends jumped off a cliff would you think you should?
    I'm more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs
    I'm busier than a one armed man with the crabs (yuck)
    or busier than a one armed paper hanger
    or busier than a brothel on nickel night
    
    Yikes - I have more. . .

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    Wayne Orvisburgposted 14 years ago

    I think my favorite is "there's more than one way to skin a cat." WHO THE HELL SKINS CATS??  I don't like cats, but I don't skin them.
    
    In what society were cat furs used for anything?

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       SomewayOuttaHereposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       LOL! yes, that is a weird expression...

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    jerrylposted 14 years ago

    like a one legged man in an ass kickin contest.
    
    Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
    
    As nervous as a whore in church.

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       Merlin Fraserposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I think that should have being; " As much use as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest."
       
       Same as describing someone "as being as much use as two men short."

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    Daniel Carterposted 14 years ago

    In parts of Canada, "the baby is making strange."
    Meaning, the baby won't go without a big fuss to another person.
    
    "What's that for?
    Cat's fur to make kitten britches."
    (I have no idea where that came from but my grandad used to say it.)
    
    "Scattered from hell to breakfast."
    
    "My achin' petunia!"
    
    "Hold'er Newt, she's headed for the corn!"
    (Meaning things are getting out of control.)
    
    ...busy as a one-armed jack hammer operator.
    
    "I'll kick your butt so hard you'll have to part your hair to take a crap."
    (Really, I've heard this one a few times...)

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       SomewayOuttaHereposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       you're right about that expression...didn't realize it was Canuck speak!

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    tobey100posted 14 years ago

    My Uncle Frank:
    
    "That just makes my butt want to drink buttermilk"  I have no idea what exactly he means.  He uses it for all occasions, good or bad.

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    readytoescapeposted 14 years ago

    These are a few I have used over the years during my career as an Electrical Project Supt and Manager, mostly directed towards employees and applied as training tools,
    
    “I’m trying is noisy way of not doing”
    
    “I hear better with my eyes”
    
    “Don’t tell me what you can do, show me what you’ve got done”
    
    “There’s the wrong way, the fast way and then there’s my way, and it’s my way or the highway”
    
    “I believe you may have completed your application and been accepted to DTR Electric” (DTR = Down the road)
    
    “Sure we're friends, just not between 6:30 and 3:00”
    
    And my personal Favorites;
    
    “I may be an asshole, but it’s Mr. Asshole to you”
    
    “If you want to be good at your job, learn mine, if you want your men to be good at their jobs, teach them yours.”

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       Jeff Berndtposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       “I hear better with my eyes”
       
       I love this one.

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    jerrylposted 14 years ago

    Rule #1  The boss is always right.
    
    Rule #2  When in doubt, see rule #1.

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    TransScribblerposted 14 years ago

    Listening to the football, I was just reminded of an expression that I truly loathe... "they lead by 20 points to 12." If they did lead by 20 points, the score would be 32 to 12. We can still win. Go the mighty Rabbitohs!

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    europewalkerposted 14 years ago

    There's no fool like an old fool
    
    You can't teach an old dog new tricks

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    Pearldiverposted 14 years ago

    You probably already know this saying from Anham Land!
    
    "Bladdidlue... Bladdidling... Bladdidblohs!"

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    cally2posted 14 years ago

    My dad used to describe grumpy people as "like a Jack Russel with an ulcer"

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    Rainbow Briteposted 14 years ago

    "Two wrongs don't make a right...but three lefts do."
    "Your momma wasn't a glass maker," (which is usually accompanied by)
    "You make a better door than a window."
    There were so many I heard repeatedly growing up, but for some reason I can't think of them now!

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    Rainbow Briteposted 14 years ago

    This one just came to me, it was a favorite of my most favorite teacher in high school....any time you would ask him how long an essay should be, he would reply, "As long as a skirt.  Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting."  This cracked me up on several levels.  First and foremost, we were a class of primarily female students.  Secondly, the males that were in the class were COMPLETE horndogs.  Third, he was gay, so I'm guessing that skirts (let alone whatever was in them) were of absolutely NO interest to him.  I still lqtms every time I hear it.

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    LovinHKbabe14posted 14 years ago

    Has Anyone Heard Of Th Sayings...
    
    "Kepp Your Friends Close, But Your Enemies Closer"
                            Or
    "What You Give Is What You Get"

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