Sayings - You Grew Up With

My Grandmother and I spent a lot of time together....we had a lot of fun! She was my best friend. She had many "sayings" that she would tell me..when we were talking about various things.

I would like you all to list the "sayings" you grew up with...and what they mean to you.

Here are a few of mine:

(a stitch in time; saves nine)...I think this means take care of something as soon as possible; so it doesn't get worse.

(you can catch more files with honey; than with vinegar) - to me this means....be polite and diplomatic you will get further in life.

(don't rain on my parade) - don't be negative...be encouraging.

(kill them with kindness) - when someone is being mean and negative...take the higher road and still be polite while getting your point across.

reply to post by caladonea

I don’t know if it’s a saying really but dad was always saying, stone the bloody crows. When he was amazed or annoyed. Depends on the situation was how you took his statement.

And my mum would walk around saying kids,cats and bloody dogs when we all got in her way, especially in the kitchen. With 5 kids, 7 cats and 2 dogs in the house you can understand why she would say such a thing lol

So yeah not really learning phrases but I love them.

"You're going to hell in a hand basket".

"Six in one hand, half dozen in the other" - translation - "Same difference"

My father has used this ad nauseam since I was a child, and I've sworn to never utter these words aloud myself. I suppose writing them is different. Another saying, and one I've always liked, but have never used myself is...

"Bless your heart" - which is Southern for - "[roughly] You ignorant fool"

I got into EVERYTHING as a kid and was always into something. A few of the sayings and their meanings...

They would call me "Fingers" because I couldn't leave stuff alone
"Park it!" A nicer way of "sit down and shut up"
Grandmother would always say "Now was a bit pretty?" Meaning, "That wasn't very nice was it?"
She would also say "I haven't had so much fun since the hogs ate my little brother"
Dad used to say "Poor a** people have poor a** ways" referring to us not having enough money to fix stuff properly.

I know theres more, but I'm having a hard time thinking of them right now. These sayings that we grew up hearing made us who we are today, and I catch myself using them from time to time.

From my Dear Grandma....more my Mother than Grandma in many ways.

Her rhyme to me when I'd snitch on a brother or sister over something so minor, it was a waste of her time.

Tattle tale tit
Your tongue shall be split
Every little dog in town
Shall have a little bit.

Also from Grandma, when I wanted something we couldn't afford...

I wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

From my Mother, who ruled with an iron fist, and knew how to use it in anger....

Children should be seen, not heard.

If you do that one more time, I'm going to kill you
tell God you died, and dig you up and kill you again.

Yes, my Mother was a Sociopath...

"I can't stop you from trying the first time, but I will damn sure break you of the habit."

"It will feel better...when it stops hurting."

heres one i dislike.
"you'll thank me later" = im doing it anyway

Originally posted by budaruskie
"I can't stop you from trying the first time, but I will damn sure break you of the habit."

"It will feel better...when it stops hurting."

lol

this cracked me up, too funny

Quit screaming, or I'll hit you harder!
Meaning: the beatings will continue until morale improves.
Actually my Grandpa had a saying I use.
You can catch more flies with s**t than sugar.
Meaning: there is more than 1 path or one mans garbage is anothers treasure.

My husband can never admit he is wrong, this is his favourite saying I did what I thought was right at the time

A quick one to add my 0.02c - UTTER nonsense, and pointless, but nonetheless...

Never try, never fail.

Meaning, you can't fail if you don't try...

Seriously though, nice thread idea!

From my Devon grandmother, insisting that we eat things up;
"Better belly bust than good food wasted."
A good thing to quote when accepting a second helping.

"Support Mental Health Or I'll Kill You"

I think it was an ad for Prozac or Valium. I get them confused. Or was it Zarloft? Zanex? Thorezine?

One of my favorites that I loved was

"its all in the way you set your mouth"

This was usually said as a joke after someone had tried and tried to do some task, but it kept failing..and when tried again doing it exactly the same way..it works.

I also remember hearing this one after getting into trouble with friends.

"so..if (insert any name here) jumps off a bridge..are you going to jump too?"

reply to post by caladonea


From my mother, all my life...
"Knock it off or I'll rip your arm off and beat you with the bloody end!"

Ah, I love my mommy.

cheaters only cheat themselves
- I totally agree and passed this along to my kids

tables were made for glasses, not a-ses
- haha I still say this one too

children were meant to be seen and not heard
- I never agreed with this. In my mind its a cop out so they didn't have to deal

Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite
- funny.... I always thought they made that up - there was no such thing as bedbugs - I had never seen one (still haven't, except in a picture) - obviously now I know better

reply to post by caladonea


Thank you to everyone who has responded. Some of your posts have made me laugh...some I feel sad about.

Another one I remember is...(it is better to be seen and not heard).......be quiet

(speak when you are spoken to) ...again - be quiet

heres a few more I remember hearing...

"It's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil"

meaning its the one who complains that will get things fixed.

"penny wise and pound foolish"

meaning those who are more concerned about saving a few cents or dollars in some ways..yet spend their money foolishly in other ways.

"don't count your chickens before they are hatched"

don't count on something before it actually can be counted on.

When I would get hurt, my mother always reassured me that "It will stop hurting when the pain goes away"

Ya think