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My grandfather, apparently, would utter the phrase "We're rivaling the big lot!" when more lights were on than necessary in his home, meaning that the light output of the place was on par with the referenced "big lot." This was long before Big Lots wholesaler, which is inside, anyway, so I am thinking he was referring to a large car dealer or car auction lot and the prodigious lights of either. This was circa mid 50s. Did any of our more senior members ever here this?
It makes zero sense when people say “I could care less” when what the mean to say is “couldn’t care less”. If you say “I could care less”, that means the level of your concern has NOT bottomed out, and your indifference could in fact go lower. “I COULDNT care less”means the amount of concern has hit the least possible amount of concern or interest.
People who interchange “literally” and “figuratively”.
One old timer I worked with always said someone “didn’t have **** in their shorts” meaning they had no hustle, or just did everything at a leisurely pace. I always thought he used the phrase wrong, or there was more to the saying. If you have **** in your shorts, that suggests to me the time has long since come and gone to hustle!!!
My wife and kids LOVE to point out misspellings, especially on commercial signs or professional advertisements. Some of their all time favorites was at a flea market, someone had a booth selling things to save money for “cologe” and another booth selling antique “docments”.
My personal favorite (I didn’t have my phone or I would have taken a picture) was a guy at a swap meet selling a bunch of parts for “tri 5 shivies”. I’m not the best speller, my punctuation leaves much to be desired (a fact my wife and kids absolutely love to point out!) but if I’m selling CHEVY parts, I should know enough to not spell it as “shiviey”.
Whenever my wife and kids point out my punctuation or spelling errors, I reply with me of these.
One of my favorites was when things were going good (like winning a croquet or card game) my grandfather would say "We're cooking with GAS now!" And when things were going bad (like losing a croquet or card game), he'd say "We're sucking the back TIT now!"
Last edited by JohnnyBs68S; Jun 15, 2021 at 09:50 AM.
Sorry Koda, never heard that one. however I can add a few.
here are some I frequently heard as a kid. When I would leave lights on the Oldman would always say "turn out the damn lights I'm not paying to support Com Ed "referring to the power company Commonwealth Edison. My mothers favorite was " they ain't got a pot to **** in or a window to throw it out" referring to poor folks. my mom was quite a colorful gal who had no problem getting a point across, another one of her favorites was " he needs his *** tanned " she wasn't referring to a day in the sun !! she was referring to someone who needed some discipline to the point where his rear turned to hide !! another couple were go **** up a rope and useless as **** on a bull.
Despite some colorful language my folks were a match made in Heaven. A German Irish farm girl and son of Russian Jewish immigrants what a match !! best damn parents in the whole world !!! I never knew my dads folks they passed when he was 13 so I never really heard many from my Grand parents however I did spend some time with my moms folks and one I do remember was sitting out with my Gramps in his back yard he was enjoying a Oldstyle or two or three and the neighbor came out to water in her garden, they exchanged hello's and when she went in he looked at me and said nice woman but uglier than a mud fence !! I never forgot that one !!!
Usage similar to "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!" (which itself derived from the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial).
My dad would sometimes say "I'll be kiss-my-***" and years before Warren Zevon wrote the song my Aunt Evelyn would say "get lawyers, guns and money" when someone had got themselves into a bind, or as she would say "got their *** in a sling".
My Dad had a few. When answering the phone, "Go ahead its your nickle". -The price of a phone call back then. He said it till he died.
Don't get your titty caught in a wringer
Put the wood in the hole. Get your head out of the gutter guys, It meant shut the door.
Some of these sayings are becoming as rare as hens teeth.
Not used a whole lot these days " a pig in a poke " (purchasing something without researching it )
don't get your ***** in a bunch or panties in a twist ( don't get upset)
My dad always referred to chipped beef on toast as shi# on a shingle (army term) he made it a lot !!!
one of moms favorites was "he couldn't find his *** with both hands" or " he has his head up his ***" (her way of saying he's not to bright)
"closer than a tick in a dogs ear"
One of my personal favorites is one my old buddy used frequently " I smell skullduggery " or "I believe there is skullduggery about"
My middle daughter is famous for covering for her big sister when she would do it I would say "I believe there is skullduggery here "
(underhanded or unscrupulous behavior) they now us it on their kids !! ( I know your lying to me )
My Dad had a few. When answering the phone, "Go ahead its your nickle". -The price of a phone call back then. He said it till he died.
Don't get your titty caught in a wringer
Put the wood in the hole. Get your head out of the gutter guys, It meant shut the door.
Some of these sayings are becoming as rare as hens teeth.
Tit in the wringer was from the old Maytags. Used to have one. I did get it going and wrung a sock once for fun.
Tit in the wringer was from the old Maytags. Used to have one. I did get it going and wrung a sock once for fun.
How cool is this !! a washing machine even gear heads and restorers can appreciate !!! doesn't appear to be the safest machine I can see the potential for mussing fingers and some knock outs !! , watch the following video's the later models (*1926-27 ) seem a little safer.
Safe or no, when you'd been washing clothes over an open fire in a black iron pot, or worse beating them on rocks in the creek, and then hanging them to dry on bushes or fences, that gas powered Maytag was a big step up!
Or as me bald-head ancestors would have said, "$hittin' in high cotton!" That saying never made much sense to me either but it meant they had improved their lot a bit.
I have a 1958 Maytag wringer that Mama used till she got a Kenmore automatic washer in 1976. Avocado green. She really thought she was in high cotton! Me dad grumbled because they had to run water and drain pipes for it.
When I used to spend summers on my uncles farm in Indiana he had all kinds of cool stuff, I remember he had this old hand crank John Deere
corn sheller (for taking feed corn off the cobb) I thought that thing was amazing I used to volunteer go to the crib and shell corn. My uncle Rod loved to tease me, the next year when I returned he said I got something for Yall, he collected hit and miss engines and he had taken one
and attached it to the sheller !! and said here ya go I CITYFIED it for ya !! I know how dainty you city folk are !! but now ya gotta shell twice as much and walked away laughing ! so I guess we can add CITYFIED to the list. I don't know if I shelled more corn cause now I was mesmerized
by the old hit and miss !!!
Solly, I'll get some video of the hit and miss assembly at the newport hill climb this fall. Usually about ten of them there. They typically idle, although one old boy had his loaded up and it was firing almost every turn.
Solly, I'll get some video of the hit and miss assembly at the newport hill climb this fall. Usually about ten of them there. They typically idle, although one old boy had his loaded up and it was firing almost every turn.
I noticed in the one video when he applied a load to the flywheel the firing changed !!! That would be great.
My Grandmother would always say, Heavens to Betsy! I know a lot of people say that. But another one I haven't heard from anyone else, she'd say, Gosh All Friday!
Sorry Koda, I never heard your grandfather's expression, but I suspect it was dismay that there was enough light going in the house to light up the big lot close by. With the accompanying light bill.
That’s funnier than a barrel of Monkeys, have you ever seen a barrel of Monkeys?
It was a toy. The barrel was filled with flat monkeys that had one arm hooked and the tail hooked and you had to lift the monkeys out of the barrel with one of the hooks to another monkey's hook in the barrel and continue to try and hook the lowest dangling one to another and on and on until you got all of the monkeys out of the barrel (if you could).
My Dad had a few. When answering the phone, "Go ahead its your nickle". -The price of a phone call back then. He said it till he died.
Don't get your titty caught in a wringer
Put the wood in the hole. Get your head out of the gutter guys, It meant shut the door.
Some of these sayings are becoming as rare as hens teeth.
"Get your head out of the gutter guys" it meant stop thinking evil or dirty thoughts. A gutter was where the street's water would travel and would gather trash and would wash down into the sewer.
A common one at the powerplant was "busy as a cat in a sandbox" or when something was going bad wrong with no good way out of it "like a cat trying to cover up **** on a marble floor". Plumb futile in other words.
Me dad had a "busy as" too but I wouldn't dare say it here!🤗
Another one I frequently heard was " He doesn't know **** from Shinola" (not very bright, cant tell crap from a can of shoe polish )
or another " cant tell his *** from a hole in the ground"
Damn I miss these phrases !! Good thread Koda sorry you may not have gotten the exact answer you originally wanted.
