The hen houses rise in the distance
It's been back breaking but satisfying work seeing two of the old hen houses being resurrected . the seven more dilapidated houses and the old goose house , I dragged down the field to add to a rapidly growing bonfire.
My back is aching like a good 'un
At lunchtime I indulged myself in a spot of cloud watching with the dogs around me.
The neighbours are used to seeing me supine in the grass but one did refer to me as being a "Daft apeth" A phrase I have not heard since my mother died.
Daft Apeth is an old North England colloquial saying which means "silly sod..or a bit of a fool"
It's an affectionate term and is one that I expect will die out within the next couple of decades or so
whats your dying out phrase?
My dad would say "He wouldn't know his ass from third base." Haven't heard that one from anyone but me since my mom died.
ReplyDeleteI like " and my dick's a kipper" when not believing a statement
DeleteMy sister says...he wouldnt know his arse from his elbow...for some reason!..We both grew up in the same family,in the same town??,Debi,xx..PS...Can you say thank you to YP for the next chapter of him and Albert..and for the Paul Simon song...which has been playing on my record player for years!.Love it!,Thank you both!,Debi,xx
DeleteThat's another common saying for me
DeleteMy grandad used to say to his daughter's when they were getting ready to go dancing, "now then, tha shouldn't put all in 't window as you 'ave in t shop"
ReplyDeleteToo much bust?
DeleteTwo spring to mind: 'i'll go to the foot of our stairs' (expressing surprise) and 'looking a gift horse in the mouth'.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you have been sorting out the Ukrainian village again. Will you be getting some more hens? My family originate from the South of England and the older generation here still say 'daft apeth'! Dying out phase - thick as two short planks! x
ReplyDeleteYes a few more are on the cards
DeleteMy Mum (Leicestershire born and bred) also used to say, "You daft 'ap'orth!" and that word was an abbreviation of 'halfpenny worth', meaning not worth much at all.
ReplyDeleteAnother saying was , "I count so" meaning "I suppose so."
When asked her age, she would say, "As old as my tongue and a bit older than my teeth!"
That's the one! My nana used to say t and my grandad was a yorkshireman and brought all manner of colourful expressions with him to NZ
DeleteIt's the same as apeth same meaning
DeleteI imagine when I am gone, John, a hundredworth or so will leave the earth.
ReplyDeleteI have to say again, I envy, envy, envy your open window. I'll trade you an American barn for open windows in February.
Yes we were lucky today blue skies and sunshine
Delete"doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground" - this phrase applies to MANY people in this country! :)
ReplyDeleteMy Gran said that too! And “You don’t have the the brains god gave a goose”
DeleteVonne
Where there's muck there's brass is a good old Yorkshire saying and needs a Yorkshire accent to put it across too.
ReplyDeleteTrust you that's such a farming one
DeleteGrandad used to say, "Do you mind?" meaning do you remember.
ReplyDeleteStill used a lot here in south west Scotland.
Deletemy grandmother would say "since Hector was a pup". I said it to my kids and get blank stares.
ReplyDeleteMy 58 year old husband says that!!
DeleteDo you know the origin?
DeleteI knew this was about the Trojan war, but I had to look it up. This was borrowed from the name of the hero of the Trojan War, the son of Priam and Hecuba, who became a symbol of the consummate warrior. By the early twentieth century, pup was also well established as a mildly dismissive name for a young person, particularly an inexperienced beginner.
DeleteThought so, thanks x
DeleteMy Nan used to have them all and I use them now just because I don't want them to disappear. 'As artful as a cart-load of monkeys' or'Needs must when the devil drives' gets a chorus of 'What does that even MEAN??' from my kids.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to my, and as a box of frogs
DeleteAs mad as
DeleteI always try to remember that one! "As mad as a box of frogs!" I've used it a few times! :)
DeleteMy Nan used to say - The course of true love never runs smoothly and nor does any other sort of love and also - my head will never save my legs. My Grandad used to say - her legs go right up to her bum. Both are long gone but those sayings stay with me.
ReplyDeleteMy head will never save my legs.
DeleteWhat does that mean?
It means that if you thought about what you were doing/where you were going before you act, you would expend less energy doing whatever it was.
DeleteDuh of course!
DeleteMy reply went in the one below instead of here!
DeleteMy dear sweet late mother-in-law used to “I’m so hungry I could eat the ass end of a skunk.”
ReplyDeleteLove it! What a gal. :)
DeleteSad that's my favourite so far
DeleteMy Nan used to say it because she would go upstairs for something and then forget what she went for until she was back down again.
DeleteShanty Irish. My Irish grandmother would use it as the ultimate insult.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to " pikey " in the uk
DeleteHere's another one my mother used to say when given a portion of food or anything that she thought was too small or insufficient in quantity: "That's not enough to put in your eye."
ReplyDeleteOne I still say .... 'I'll tell ya how the cow ate the cabbage"
ReplyDeleteAnd it means.?
DeleteI used to hear that plus "mardy arse"-"L O mi duck" x
ReplyDeleteMarry arse is another of my favourites
DeleteMardy arse n me duck is still used alot in my Family in Leicester..Although in my Staffordshire side of Family,they say,Hello ducky,Debi,xx
DeleteDuck ranges from South Yorkshire down to derby
DeleteArse, no I'm not joking, all the older men around here said arse but it is being replaced by the American word ass, so I feel a little culture erosion. My Scottish coworker makes me feel lonesome for my Dad, when he says "in your arse" when he is refusing to do something. There are others but I went for the funny shock value.
ReplyDeleteArse is a great word I also prefer arsehole as a put down rather than the more American asshole
DeleteI love, oh you Daft Apeth. I can't remember the word no one else gets when I say it... will return when I remember it !
ReplyDeleteMe thinks there are a few daft apeth s here
DeleteIn Yorkshire we usually spell that phrase this way - daft 'app'orth. The 'app'orth part means "halfpenny's worth". Of course a ha'penny was not worth very much.
ReplyDeleteYes perhaps it's a mire Lancashire spelling . My mother was from liverpool
DeleteI don't think they do spelling in Liverpool.
DeleteSteady!
DeleteAs someone who was also brought up hearing "Daft/silly apeth!" all around me regularly, I've always wondered what the origin was of such an unusual word. Now, decades later, Y.P. has resolved the mystery, for which I thank him.
DeletePhrases dying out? I'd rather not think about them as my mother has started reviving the ones I thought had died out some years ago. I don't wish to hasten her death but there comes a time when new brooms need to be broken in.
ReplyDeleteMind you, as the Angel (her grandson) said to me the other day "At least she still knows who you are." Yes, there is that. On the other hand,if she didn't it might be easier on both her and my increasingly exasperated self.
So, my dear daft-apeth, as much as it pains me, you are not the only one. Just this once I'll reluctantly concede that there is safety in numbers.
U
I take you don't get on
DeleteMother like daughter!!
DeleteLike mother like daughter
DeleteOuch
DeleteWrong conclusion, John. Despite the fact that my mother and I couldn't be more different, we are close and do get on very well indeed. However, recently I struggle with her time slowly but steadily coming to an end (it's her 85th birthday today, 23 Feb). Whilst fully compos mentis, she has become very protective of her remaining days, merrily rewriting history, handing out rose tinted glasses all round. Her unwillingness to engage with reality (not least family reality) can be difficult at times. Still, it's the least I can do for her now to indulge her and her take on life. But, truth be told, when I come off the phone (we speak every week for extended periods) I often feel exhausted. And at a loss. Which I suppose is what we do [feel at at a loss] when someone heads for exit.
DeleteAs to Anonymous' anonymous contribution: What are you saying? Neither do I see the "ouch" factor. Next time you make a badly judged and piss poor comment do me a favour, Anonymous, and put a name to yourself.
U
My mother says, "I'm off like a maggot on a hot chop." i reference to leaving. It's so awful but so funny coming from her!
ReplyDeleteGood one
DeleteLaughed out loud at this one. It reminded me of when my dad would jokingly say, "They're off!--cried the monkey when he backed into the lawnmower."
DeleteThas a rummun. yew dont 'alf talk a load o' ol' squit
ReplyDeleteThat more Yorkshire than Norfolk
Deletethas norfolk boy
DeleteEye by gum
DeleteThas not Norfolk
DeleteLoL it sounds more like an old pirate!
DeleteMy family also originate from Norfolk (Sheringham)and in fact my mum and some family members have retired back there. Rummun is so familiar and nostalgic to me. I now live in the South outside London, near Windsor.
Delete‘Hang on the bell Nellie ‘ meaning ,wait a minute . My Mums family saying . x
ReplyDeleteAm liking that
DeleteUsually when my dad had bought something she thought unnecessary/extravagant 'we needed that as much as a toad needs a side-pocket'.
ReplyDeleteThat's a new one
DeleteMy husband says - as useful as a chocolate teapot.
Deletesayings leaving the earth? Please, thank you, excuse me, after you. Cynical?
ReplyDeleteYes lol
DeleteThat's a saying we used in our house too. Made me instantly think of my mum. She was a great one for sayings, especially "Who do you think I am - Keyhole Kate?" if I didn't leave the door open wide enough for her to get through. "Fish and guests go off after 3 days" (how true that is.) "You're on a hiding to nowhere." and "a little bird told me" was popular too. My husband's mother used to say "As one door opens, another slams in your face" and "there are no pockets in shrouds". I know a hundred more will return to haunt me when I wake in the night tonight!
ReplyDeleteMy mother also said sanfairyAnne
DeleteIt meant get lost
Heard it, but not used in our house. Nor was the "it's black as Dick's hatband over there" to signal black clouds on the horizon.
DeleteMy Dad had a similar one "it's as black as Newgate's Knocker over Will's Mum's" I think It meant dark clouds over Willesden, in north west London.
Delete'Sanfairyann' was from World War 1, from the French 'Ca ne fait rien' - it's nothing, doesn't matter
DeleteMy Nan used to say - put the wood in the hole, meaning shut the door.
DeleteMy husband (half Welsh) says ‘it’s black over Bill’s mother’s’.
DeleteOh, and my ex-husband used to say he was so hungry he could eat a scabby horse between too mattresses, and of a dark place, it was as dark as a kangaroo's jock-strap!
ReplyDeleteI've heard scabby cow
Delete"two" mattresses. . .
ReplyDeleteI was born near Wigan in 1960, my dad, grandad, and all their cronies spoke together with a thick Lancashire dialect.
ReplyDelete"Ey up owd mon! Art gooin owt fert watch Wigin morn neet?"
translated in southern English as :
"I say old chap! Are you going out to watch Wigan tomorrow night?"
They used to use Middle English words like thy, thee, that have almost disappeared outside some churches.
It's sad to think that regional accents are on the decline
DeleteMy late father (b.1916) was born on the edge of Dartmoor and said up on the moor it was like going back in time as all the old boys said thee and thou (and doubtless still believed in Pixies. . .)
DeleteI was able to translate this as i read it,My Dad spoke like this!Debi,xx
DeleteIt's looking a bit black over Bill's mother's !
ReplyDeleteNow I've not heard that one for a long long time
DeleteMy grandma said "Dressed to beat the band" (or dressed to the nines), "picking in tall cotton", "cash on the barrel head", mom said "madder than a hornet, hungry as a bear, weak as a cat, tired as a dog", husband says "I've got more freckles than Carter's got little liver pills".
ReplyDeleteOnce you start, they just keep on coming
DeleteI have to say, I have loved reading these!!!
ReplyDeleteI knew it would take off
DeleteI remember someone saying to me when I was little "ows ya belly off fa spots!"
ReplyDeleteIsn't that a Yorkshire saying too?
DeleteI don't think it is widely used in Australia, but we use the term often enough when people's behaviour surprises us or is beyond logical explanations, the phrase being, nowt is queer as folk.
ReplyDeleteI just read in a comment, dressed to the nines. It reminds me of, all dressed up like a pox doctor's clerk.
Now that's another yorkshireism andrew
DeleteMy mum still calls woodlicewoodlice 'cheesespiders' - I don't know anyone else who still uses this variant or the phrase 'cheeselogs' (or cheesybobs if you're from the Guildford area)
ReplyDeleteDad's family are all from North Norfolk, heavily reliant historically on fishing so the worst thing that could happen was your boat being damaged. One of my favourite phrases for asking what's wrong has always been "Wha's, yer bottom dropped out?"
Woodlijce have hundreds of strange little names
DeleteIf she didn't like someone, my granny would call them a bugger o' hell; if she really didn't like them, they were a black bugger o' hell. Another one was 'You look like a hoolit lookin' oot a whin bush' like an owl looking out of a gorse bush - meaning generally unkempt looking. Never hear those now, apart from when I use them myself......
ReplyDelete'Wouldnae be seen deid a ditch lookin' ike that' needs no translation lol
Whoops not PC granny XXX
DeleteFrit, Northampton for frightened, only old people use it now. It's dark over Bills mothers- the weather is going to be bad.
ReplyDeleteWorse things happen at sea (always accompanied by an offer to put the kettle on - tea as the consolation for all ills!)
ReplyDeleteEveryone’s mad save thee and me, and I’m not so sure about thee
It’s a sit by Nelly (as in, sit by nelly and learn off her - a task that cannot easily be explained in words but is best learnt by imitation)
What did the Good Lord give you fingers for? (Or legs or whatever was relevant - when we were being unduly nice about something like not wanting to use our hands to mix up oooky stuff for a meat loaf etc)
You've reminded me of auntie Gladys' fav
Delete" don't thank me thank the lord !"
When people's behavior left my husband puzzled, he'd shrug his shoulders and say, "To each his own, said the old lady who kissed the cow."
ReplyDelete" to each their own" comes from the 1500s!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletemy great gran had many saying my favourite is when asked if she would ever get married again her response was "I would rather be tied to a coo's erse and skittered to death"!!!!
ReplyDeleteShe sounds fun
Delete'It's like bringing coal to Newcastle'
ReplyDelete'Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs'
And when you are cuddling up inside on a cold day we say we are 'kootching up'. My mum uses all of these, and I have no idea what the second one means!
Don't be patronising ! X
DeleteTo 'cwtch' is a Welsh expression meaning cuddle. It's also used to refer to a small space.
DeleteYes you are right x
DeleteWhen you didn't get things right when helping my dad he would tell you 'You're useless as tits on a bull'......I miss him x
ReplyDeleteThat's a cracker x
DeleteMy grandmother always said: "No rest for the wicked". Funny thing was she was always busy and not at all wicked! Another I heard a lot as a kid (OK and still use occasionally) was: "A woman's work is never done".
ReplyDeleteThey were common everyday phrases in our house...still are jimbo
DeleteFrom my mother, I have a bone to pick with you, still sends a shudder up my spine.
ReplyDeleteOh yes..........that resonates with me too
DeleteIf I did something badly-"you're as useful as a chocolate teapot"x
ReplyDeleteOr when you are feeling rough and unwelll
Delete" I feel like a donkeys dick"
Flis,My Dad used to say that aswell!,Debi,xx
DeleteMy Mum used to say about a very lively child, "hopping about like a hen on a hot griddle" that's an old one from Northern Ireland
ReplyDeleteMy husband often describes a fall as "going ass over tea kettle". Why speak plainly when a colorful phrase is so charming? :)
ReplyDeleteMimi
Ass over tit ......that's mine
DeleteSorry but may I just say one more-"she's all fur coat & no drawers "x
ReplyDeleteI loved this but know it as " fur coat and no knickers!"
Delete'Mithering' as in 'stop mithering me' to someone being a pain in the *ear. 'Can't be mithered'- can't be *rsed. Can't do with the mither' too much trouble than it's worth x
ReplyDeleteMithering is another of my favourites ruth! Btw are you still so tall?
DeleteMy mother used to use the word "mither" also, does anyone know the derivation. We lived in the W. Mids and I wondered if it came from Welsh.
DeleteDad would use the expression " have your guts for garters".
A foreign born co- worker ( I forget where she was from) used the wonderful expression " she would drown in a drop of water" over someone who was making a huge fuss over nothing!
I thought mither comes from working class lancashire
DeleteInteresting ......gin also fits
ReplyDeleteAbout 20 years ago my brother was enlisted to help evacuating the residents of a flooded rural area in Southern Indiana. He rode a flat bottomed fishing boat deep into a wooded "holler" where a tiny woman lived alone in a primitive cabin. As they poled their way to safety through the shrubbery, she said: "Mind ye th' sarpents!" She lacking teeth and my brother lacking familiarity with the local dialect, he didn't understand her until -- he saw the rattlesnakes hanging from the trees. Her warning has become a catchphrase in our family.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story
DeleteAll from my dad: "Cold as a witch's tit" / ''Black as a well digger's butt"/ "Criminetly" [= fer chrissakes], my dad didn't swear/ curse, or use the Lord's name in vain, hence Criminetly and other odd gosh darn phrases. Oh he also said ''erl'' for oil.
ReplyDeleteI've heard that in movies never in real life
Deleteerl? It's like a white trash rural south-north, north south expression [think southern Ohio, northern KY or TN.
DeleteOh and ''The one who eats the fastest gets the most'', and the variation, ''Squeaky wheel gets the grease'' and "Who wants to be Queen of the May?" which meant the most useless lazy and left behind person. ''Now hear this, all ashore that's going ashore." [get in the car, now; no he was not in the Navy]
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear some more that were not just American British Canadian and Australian ........any takers?
DeleteLike what, in Chinese? "lost in translation"?
DeleteOk John, I have a Chinese saying for you, by Sun Tzu? "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Not fading as it's often quoted and who knows if it was really said, in Chinese or whichever language, but attributed to. And from my great grandparents, said in German" You grow too soon old, but too late smart."
DeleteThank you Liz I believe in this one
DeleteThe full phrase is:
ReplyDeleteA man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done.
My father-in-law (95) always says: Happier than a pig in sunshine.
I never knew the full quote thank you
DeleteMy mum would be stood at the sink, up to her elbows in "Fairy Liquid" suds and say :
DeleteTimes may change and friendships sever,
but washing up goes on forever.
We say pig in shit
DeleteWe do too. Again it must be the Norfolk.
DeleteWe do too
DeleteMay I sneak one in-"a bird? in the hand is worth two in the bush" x
ReplyDeleteDirty girl x
ReplyDeleteBoy, you sure stirred up the masses here.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love ot
DeleteAlthough I’ve read the blog for a long time and love it, this is my first comment, but this resonated.. my papa (grandfather) used to say “ there were nothing but a lot of hoors and comic singers” if he thought he’d been in less than salubrious company. You have to imagine a broad Scottish accent.
ReplyDeleteThe clean your plate, WWII phrases must have been localized. My mother would say, "Clean the plate for the starving children in China." George's mom opined, "Clean the plate for the starving children in India."
ReplyDeleteI just remembered something, maybe some others here remember too. When we were kids and cut a finger or banged a knee we would start crying and my mother would say "Hey, less of you skryking!".
ReplyDeleteI looked it up on the mighty Google and it's based on old norse for crying and has the same origin as the modern Swedish word "skrika" meaning to shout of cry.
Oh, we're back to Sweden ;^)
"It knocked the pee waddling out of me," although I've since found it spelled pee wadding or even pee wadden. I've looked it up, and some think it references something used to keep gunpowder inside the barrel of a musket, but my family always thought it referenced something diaper-like.
ReplyDeleteWe used to use the same expression which originally was 'ha'porth' or a 'halfpenny worth' as in 'don’t spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar.'
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to say ' are you wearing Bill Beaule's tweeds?" She meant our jeans which she considered scruffy. Her other favourite saying was "There is never a road without a turn" I say this to my grandkids as I think it's a good metaphor for life.
ReplyDeleteTwo favorites from my dad:
ReplyDeleteIf he showed you how to do something and you caught on, "Now you're talking!"
When he was working on something and it didn't work, he didn't swear. He said, "Oh, for crying out loud!" Years later, I heard a man from Australia use a similar, "Oh, for crying down the sink!"
Keep band in't nick.......be diplomatic.
ReplyDeleteSome Texas sayings: A stupid person is: "So dumb he couldn't pour piss out of a boot". A stuck-up person: "They're shitting in high cotton". Someone who claims to be an expert is "All hat and no cattle".
ReplyDelete'Since Adam was a lad'
ReplyDeleteEee by gum! That was one of my granddad's expressions.
Well, I'll go to sea! My mum would say that when she was exasperated-usually with me!
Living up steps. Acting posh.
I've had it up to the back teeth! OR 'I'll knock you into the middle of next week'! My mother again fed up with something one of us had done.
Blast and damn it! Those were her favourite 'swear words' and had to be said together!
Chance 'ud be a fine thing.
Granddad always called me 'me old cock sparra'.
There are probably lots more, I just can't think of them at the minute! My parents are both gone now so I don't hear these good old Manchester expressions any more. My husband is born and raised here so had never heard any of these expressions and was quite surprised when he heard some of them on Corrie!
My mother always called me a 'Mochyn budr'.
ReplyDeleteA dirty pig?
DeleteMy mother's family (of Irish origin) would say "Here's you hat, What's your hurry?" to someone behaving precipitously.
ReplyDelete"Black as the inside of a cow" was another used to describe an approaching patch of bad weather. "Gilding the lily" was a derisive remark if someone was over doing it, or "Over-egging it" was used when a story had been embellished.
All pretty tame!! No-one went in for particularly 'colourful' language I realise as I try to think back.
You do come up with wonderful topics John!
He could fall in the dock and come up with a cod in each hand, to describe a lucky man. Or the modern version...He could fall in the dock and come up sucking a mars bar.
ReplyDeleteMy mum watched the younger girls in our local pub and would say 'no one's going to stop a galloping horse to look at them', she was born and lived in Somerset.
ReplyDelete'You daft a'porth' was frequently used in our house and also 'don't stand there like Piffy on a rock bun' .. when someone was stood around looking awkward.
ReplyDelete'Were you born in a barn' was shouted out to anyone who left a door open. And 'you make a better door than a window' if you were blocking someones line of sight.
I don't hear them round here, but perhaps if I was back in Manchester I would find they're not dying out at all.
"I've heard ducks fart in deep water before", meaning I don't believe what you're telling me.
ReplyDelete"I've been up since sparrowfart", I got out of bed really early today.
"He couldn't stop a pig in a ginnel", he's bow legged.
"She's all fur coat and no drawers", acting posh.
"You'll be smiling on the other side of your face in a minute", used by my mum when I was being a 'mouthy' teenager.
"Clapping hands with his feet", very happy.
I've remembered my term of endearment which is, umphable. " oh you are Umphable " usually directed at Billy or Baby the cats. Frankie is not Umphable, she is prissy.
ReplyDeleteMy ex-mother in law used to say "a blind man would love to see it" if I ever complained that something didn't look right or attractive.
ReplyDeleteMy 18 year old daughter once heard me say something and she liked it so much has now adopted it - Has a face that looks like it's been hit with a bag of spanners (using a lancashire accent).
I've loved reading and learning about all the old sayings.
Carolx
I was going to say that one about the blind man!
DeleteCatching up with this post a couple of days late... but yes, my Mum used to say similar if a bit more elaborate.."blind Freddy on a galloping horse would be pleased to see that" This saying has stuck with my husband (a builder) and myself except we have added ... "mighty pleased" .
DeleteAt the end of a long working day and something has not gone quite right sometimes close enough may well be good enough ... hence that saying :)
I love this
Delete"A man's as old as the woman he feels and a woman is as old as she looks"
ReplyDeleteOne of my grandmother's: More ways of killing a cat than kissing it to death.
ReplyDeleteAnd a French one:'Vouloir le beurre, l'argent du beurre, et le sourire de la crémière,' ie you want to have the butter, keep the money for the butter, and have the milkmaid smile at you....which means to have your cake and eat it.
He looks like a Johnny Onions, actually Sioni Wynwns in Welsh, after the French onion sellers that came over to Wales each year.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness I thought you were petra
DeleteOf a politician or similar local figure known to have a roving eye or suspected of adultery: "He couldn't lie straight in bed if he tried."
ReplyDeleteOf a social worker wearing smart clothes to visit a poor family: "She were all dressed up like a tuppenny rabbit."
[Cheap rabbits were sold unskinned. The ones skinned, gutted and ready for cooking cost 2d.]
I suppose you know that 'Apeth' is an abbreviation of 'Ha'penny worth' which is an abbreviation of 'Half-penny worth'? Well, some of your readers might not anyway. We haven't had ha'pennies for years now, so it is bound to die out. My fav is 'face like a smacked arse' (not ass).
ReplyDelete'Your eyes are bigger than your belly' we were told when being greedy. 'It'll all come out in the wash' - used about any trouble that came your way. I was a daft 'apeth a lot and my mother was always going to the foot of our stairs.
ReplyDeleteI frequently hear 'daft apeth' from my generation but sadly the young mums and dads seem to feel that 'F off you daft get' Is a suitable thing to say to their children.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother about my sister in law...Well she is no oil painting
ReplyDeleteUpon seeing a messy kid's room, I remember hearing, " This room looks like a mad woman's knitting!"
ReplyDeleteThis is a great one! JanF
DeleteMy Grandmother would threaten unruly children. " I'll jerk a knot in your tail" and warn small children climbing " your gonna break your neck and it's too short to tie back"
ReplyDeleteThank you cricket, Jan , anon, Cherie, mini and Thomas x
Delete‘Keep your pecker up’ meaning good luck, wishing you the best.
ReplyDeleteDirty gal
DeleteAs written on my wellies-"it's raining cats & dogs"also "let sleeping dogs lie".Sorry but this is really doin my ed in & I can't stop x
ReplyDeleteOne of my mum's - He's as tight as a fishes arsehole, and that's water tight....
ReplyDeleteHe's a picnic short of a basket.
Yum Yum pigs bum....(tastes really nice)
ReplyDeleteI'm as dry as a dead dingo's donger. (when you are thirsty)
I'm reading this a few days after the original posting (202(!) comments later) and it's been the best social history lesson ever! Thank you one and all for your lovely contributions, and especially to you, John, for introducing such a delightful topic.
ReplyDeleteCouple of Valley ones - creating - as in kicking up a fuss, and going home - as in wearing out (a t-shirt with holes in is "starting to go home")
ReplyDeleteApeth - I've always envisioned that spelt ap'orth. As in halfpenny worth.