Favorite quirky sayings

[Gypsy]

I''ve had this phrase stuck in my head. And I think it''s going to become part of my regular speech.

"That dog won''t hunt"... it makes me smile when I hear/ say it.

Any weird things like that stick in your mind?

 

[Lynn B]

When something surprisingly good happens, a co-worker''s husband always says, "The sun even shines on a dog''s @$$ once in awhile!" Which is a lot like, "Even a blind pig gets an acorn once in awhile!"

I don''t know why, but both of those phrases just crack me up!

I think this is gonna be a great thread, Gypsy!

 

[iheartscience]

I'm from a rural area, and I'll never forget the phrase my brother heard a big ol' redneck say (with a redneck accent, of course):

"It's fixin' to rain like a big dog!" Hilarious-I ALWAYS say it when it looks like rain!

 

[neatfreak]

This is something that may be totally normal phrasing for many people...but I never heard it before I moved to Wisconsin from Massachusetts. Here people always use the phrase "grilling out" for cooking outside in the summer. I have no idea why I find this so amusing, but I do. I''m weird.

 

[sumbride]

My mom is the queen of these... she says "Lord love a duck!" and "Heavens to mergetroid!" I''m fairly confident both are from tv but I don''t know where.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 4/8/2008 9:10:24 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
I know this is going to come as quite a surprise to you all.........

Oh......... My........... Stars!

Hehe, that''s your signature phrase, and it always makes me smile Michelle.

 

[KimberlyH]

"...a big gazoont" is a big one in our family. Used in the following way: I don''t want to write a paper that is due so I''ll say "Paper, shmaper, a big gazoont." It works for anything that is frustrating. "Dinner, schminner, a big gazoont" when I don''t want to cook, "Clean, shmean, a big gazoont" when I don''t want to clean, and so on and so forth. My mom, sister and I all say it.

Don''t know if this counts but I call my parents "The Parental Unit" or "Mother Figure" and "Father Figure."

 

[diamondfan]

I know those too Sumbride. Cannot recall from where.

I always thought "Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick". I cannot think of many things that would be worse, so it is an odd thing to say.

I also like the saying "Whatever blows your skirt up".

 

[Haven]

I love "Robert''s your father''s brother and Bob''s your uncle". I don''t hear many people use it in the states but I adore it.

I just heard a great Southern phrase, it was something like "Boy, you better stop bein'' saucy or I''m going to paint your back porch red." So intimidating.

 

[Kaleigh]

I was on the phone with Nan, I said gosh I got this invitation to go to a Tea. I said a Tea, is just not my thing. I said what do you think, would you go? She said she would go to the opening of an envelope. I died laughing, had never heard that before.

Now I have to use that on Hubby, as he goes to everything!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Whene there is something I don't want to do I say I would rather poke my own eyeball out. So, like tonight (when I should be on the phone with my damn client *right now*) I would rather poke my own eyeball out than explain the attorney review process to him one more time...

 

[diamondfan]

Haven, would that mean giving a spanking?

I always hear funny things but cannot recall them now.

My mom used to say, If my aunt had balls she''d be my uncle and If wishes were horses beggars could ride.

Kaleigh, I heard that phrase, it is too funny!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

"I don''t know her from a bail of hay". Still my fav.....

cheers--Sharon

 

[Skippy123]

hehe these are funny. I always say "too bad so sad." I guess meaning get over it and move on.


Michelle, growing up I had a close friend (we still keep in contact) and now she is a Fashion Editor of a major NY magazine and she would always say "Oh my Stars." So everytime I see you write that I think of my good friend and it makes me smile!

 

[justme1]

Date: 4/8/2008 9:28:11 PM
Author: Kaleigh
I was on the phone with Nan, I said gosh I got this invitation to go to a Tea. I said a Tea, is just not my thing. I said what do you think, would you go? She said she would go to the opening of an envelope. I died laughing, had never heard that before.

Now I have to use that on Hubby, as he goes to everything!!!

LMAOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Haven]

Date: 4/8/2008 9:34:16 PM
Author: diamondfan
Haven, would that mean giving a spanking?

I believe so, yes. A colleague shared that with us at lunch and I couldn''t get the image out of my mind. I can''t imagine I''ll spank my future children, but boy would that phrase be a good way to let them know they were getting close!

 

[Haven]

Date: 4/8/2008 9:57:38 PM
Author: justme1

Date: 4/8/2008 9:28:11 PM

Author: Kaleigh

I was on the phone with Nan, I said gosh I got this invitation to go to a Tea. I said a Tea, is just not my thing. I said what do you think, would you go? She said she would go to the opening of an envelope. I died laughing, had never heard that before.

Now I have to use that on Hubby, as he goes to everything!!!

LMAOOOOOOOOOO

I LOVE IT! I cannot wait to use it!

 

[Gemma12]

I used to use ''build a bridge and get over it'' all the time. Kind of like Skippy''s ''too bad, so sad'' I guess?

Aussies love their rhyming slang in some areas: there''s an ad on TV at the moment where someone says ''Gotta do the Harold Holt'' which means ''bolt'' or run away. I giggle whenever I hear that.

Another one I''ve heard (that you only get here) is ''He''s got a few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock''. It''s the equivalent of ''a few sandwiches short of a picnic'' type of thing. It''s usually not derogatory though, more just a bit unusual.

If you really want to sound like you''re from the outback, and you''re really busy, if someone says ''How are you?'' You say ''Flat out like a lizard drinking.'' (I always picture a thirsty lizard lying on its tummy for that one!)

A lot of Aussie slang is pretty rude so I won''t assault you with any more!

Great thread!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I grew up with a bunch of them without realizing it. My parents are well read and speak very well and it was not until college that I learned most people don't say things like "don't cut off your nose to spite your face".

My FI's favorite is one he came up with, "it makes sense in a things making sense sort of way"
My favorite as a kid was, "he did what, with who, for how many jelly beans?"

There were so many I loved in Ireland I can't list them, but I used them for months after I got back. There is a statue of Molly Malone, from an Irish song, who is buxom and not afraid to show it as she " she wheeled her wheel-barrow, through streets broad and narrow". Anyway, the Dubliners call her the "tart with the cart". One day my FI got a picture of me reaching into her cleavage to pully out a 5 cent piece. It is certainly not a misnomer.

My absolute favorite though, is from college. I went to a very liberal school in a VERY conservative, religious city and we were not looked upon favorably. There was a lot of local drama because of it, so my friend started saying, "Darwin loves you". Everytime I think of that it makes me smile on so many levels.

 

[Gypsy]

WOW so many great ones already! Fun thread! Makes me smile. Michelle, I''m not shocked in the least! It reminds me of... scooby doo?? Some cartoon character I remember with fondness everytime you say it!

I LOVE the Lizard one. I love lizards (from afar). They are so cute!

But Nan''s is one I''ve heard before and LOVE! LOL. Opening of an envelope. I love that one!!!

 

[katebar]

Date: 4/8/2008 10:45:49 PM
Author: Gemma12
I used to use ''build a bridge and get over it'' all the time. Kind of like Skippy''s ''too bad, so sad'' I guess?

Aussies love their rhyming slang in some areas: there''s an ad on TV at the moment where someone says ''Gotta do the Harold Holt'' which means ''bolt'' or run away. I giggle whenever I hear that.

Another one I''ve heard (that you only get here) is ''He''s got a few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock''. It''s the equivalent of ''a few sandwiches short of a picnic'' type of thing. It''s usually not derogatory though, more just a bit unusual.

If you really want to sound like you''re from the outback, and you''re really busy, if someone says ''How are you?'' You say ''Flat out like a lizard drinking.'' (I always picture a thirsty lizard lying on its tummy for that one!)

A lot of Aussie slang is pretty rude so I won''t assault you with any more!

Great thread!

Gemma how about "You wouldn''t be dead for quids" which means that your having a great day
"Back of beyond" somwhere far away
"somewhere near woop woop:" ditto
"Big note yourself" Think your too good
"It will all come out in the wash" it will all sort itself out
"Thingamajig" whe you can''t remember the name of something
and this from my father who said this all through my childhood"What''s that a wigwam for a goose''s bridle" WTF!!! Which meant if you said you couldn''t find something and then it turned up!!
"Lights on but there''s no one home" someone not very smart

 

[Selkie]

Sumbride, my grandmother and mom said "Heavens to Murgatroyd" too. I always thought it was a woman''s name, for some reason but apparently it was from Yogi Bear!

Also, "This room looks like the wreck of the Hesperus!" meaning it is a total mess. It''s from a Longfellow poem about an shipwreck that apparently was popular enough for the phrase to become a saying.

My favorite for someone who isn''t so bright is "Sharp as a raisin, that one." Except you have to pronounce it with a slow Maine accent: "Shaaap as a raisin..." Hell if I know where that one came from.

DH has all kinds of great Cuban colloquialisms...

 

[oobiecoo]

My best friend''s step-mom came up with the words "tatreashed" and "cacreashed". Its like "that girl is so tatreashed(trashed)" and "I cacreashed(crashed) my car into a telephone pole!"

My VERY country grandmother used to say "Well I Swanny!" which I ASSUME means "I''ll be darned"

 

[sera]

My dad uses the word "cattywampus" and it cracks me up every time. Funny word.

I love (and use) "put the cuckcoo back in the clock."
As a procrastinator, I love, "The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

I have a lot of sayings and what really cracks me up is hearing my 1:1 student say phrases that I say and the same way I say them or picks up my mannerisms.

 

[simplysplendid]

The tail wagging the dog..

 

[zoebartlett]

When I was growing up, a classmate of mine lived next door to us. His mom would drive us to school every day, and every time we set off for school, she''d say, "we''re off like a herd of turtles." That used to bug me so much but now I catch myself sometimes saying that to my FI when we''re heading out the door.

This is an odd one and I''m not sure where it first started. I went to college in MA and my roommate used to say "cool beans!" when she thought something was cool, great, etc. I told my FI about that one a few years ago and he occasionally says it.

I know there are others I''ve heard and like but I can''t remember any at the moment.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/8/2008 9:03:25 PM
Author: sumbride
My mom is the queen of these... she says ''Lord love a duck!'' and ''Heavens to mergetroid!'' I''m fairly confident both are from tv but I don''t know where.

That one has been said for years in the UK!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/8/2008 9:28:11 PM
Author: Kaleigh
I was on the phone with Nan, I said gosh I got this invitation to go to a Tea. I said a Tea, is just not my thing. I said what do you think, would you go? She said she would go to the opening of an envelope. I died laughing, had never heard that before.

Now I have to use that on Hubby, as he goes to everything!!!

Another good saying which is similar, is " she would go to the opening of a handbag" to describe the antics of some of our Z list celebs....

Another one ' he couldn't manage a p-$$ up in a brewery' is an excellent saying to describe someone's incompetence!

 

[Delster]

I don't know why but I feel like I've heard a lot of these before, even the Wisconsin grilling out and the yogi bear mergatroiding and the rushing to the envelope opening

brazenirishhussy there are loads more of those Dublin sayings - in fact, all of the statues have nicknames. The Annalivia statute (naked lady reclining in a fountain with only her hair preserving her modesty) is known as "the wh***e in the sewer" (it's pronounced 'hoo-urr' in Ireland). The Spire (enormous lighted needle on the main street that can be seen from anywhere in the city) is "the stiletto in the ghetto". The Dublin wags are great! I bet bee can chime in with some more classics.

What else. In Ireland the meaning of a word is changed if you repeat it. It kind of adds emphasis. So "are you going out?" means 'are you going to the pub?'. And "are you going out out?" means 'are you going clubbing?'. Similarly "do you smoke?" means 'do you smoke cigarettes?' and "do you smoke smoke?" is asking you if you smoke something stronger! "Were you with him?" means 'did you kiss him?'. I'll let you work out for yourselves what it means if you are asked "were you with him with him?'!!!

My Mam says "oh, ho hee harry" when she yawns. That one is entertaining to watch!

A friend in college used to say "bless me" when she sneezed. She figured why wait for anyone else to say it, why not bless yourself?

BF is from a place in Ireland known for its eccentric dialect. Sometimes it seems he starts every second sentence with "well, 'tis and 'tisn't...". Adorable and irritating all at the same time! He also says this one a lot and he swears he learned it from his mother, who would tell him this every time he came running to her crying with a skinned knee or whatnot: "don't worry, sure 'twill be better before you're married"!!!

I'm sure there are loads more - we speak a very unique brand of English over here!

 

[LitigatorChick]

My GF and I have a silly saying. You know the saying "not the sharpest tool in the shed". Well, one day her little brother called her not the "brightest tool in the shed", which of course, makes absolutely no sense. We use it all the time.