Colloquialisms

"pert'near" = "Pretty near"

It's good to have someone who cares, isn't it? I don't know what I would've done without my DH through all my foot surgeries. Pert'near drove me nuts not being able to get outside and in the gardens. He takes direction VERY well.

Here's one I just remembered:

"He'd gripe if he was hung with a new rope!" meaning someone who is never satisfied.
Also, "You smell as good as new-mowed hay" (I suppose that is a compliment-LOL)

Easy as pie...piece of cake.

Iffin the crick don't rise!

Psych, we use a little longer term, "God willin' and the creek don't rise".

How about "one apple shy of a barrel", too.

My father would sometimes tell us he felt " a half foot off the ground!" meaning he felt "great!"

That last one reminded me of my Grandma. When she would have a drink, which would be rare, she would say something like she felt 2 sheets to the wind? I know I have that wrong, she has been gone awhile and I must be forgetting? She had another for people getting drunk. She would say they were "snockered".

You got it right "2 sheets to the wind", I am clueless where it comes from and my Mom still uses the "snockered"!! It's been a while since I heard that term!

I've heard both those terms most of my life, cactus. They seem to be universally used for "drunk"

I once asked a fellow who I hadn't seen for a while, how he was.
He replied, "good as a bent nail"
Guess he wasn't well, LOL.

LOL cpartschick!! Too funny!!

"Three sheets to the wind" is the phrase. When windmills are operated, they have to have an even number of sails "to the wind". Two or four. When there is three, the windmill is off balance. When your grandma said "two sheets...", I think she meant just a little tipsy.

How about this one. "He's the 'Cock of the Walk' "?

Thanks kwanjin, that totally makes sense. I have heard the "cock of the walk" we raised chickens so it always made sense to me.

If someone leaves the door open we say "were you raised in a barn?" Gosh I keep thinking of new ones and then forget when I find time to get online!

talking about drunk, in "joJa" my MIL says he's "higher than a joJa piNe!"

Yep, it's 3 sheets to the wind, all right-- don't know why I didn't pick up on that although I never knew how it got started--thanks for the explanation, kwanjin

and there's a restaurant in our area called Cock of the Walk--they serve catfish and hush puppies!!!
--guess that means their catfish is the best around--LOL

and this one may gross you out but here goes; "That's slicker 'n snot on a doorknob" yes, really--someone in my family says that a lot--I won't say who but it isn't me! LOL

Here's something one of my aunts used to say: "A lot of first babies are 7 month babies, you know." Was she naive, or what? (maybe not)

Here in KY people say "ed-ja-cation" instead of "ed-u-cation." My mother, the English teacher, was often heard saying, "People speak what they hear spoken, but when they write they generally write/spell correctly."

Kyjoy: Wise lady, your mother.---and I find myself saying "edjacashun", too.

Yuck! I have heard that gross one a lot too! LOL! I think she meant the 7 month "tongue in cheek".
Just thought of this one "madder than a wet sittin' hen" and "cuter than a speckled pup"

Question - How do you know what a colloquialisim is if you have never been anywhere?

We always call soda - pop and french fries are chips when ordered with fish. We went to Lake Placid a few years back and they looked at DH like he had two heads when he ordered fries with gravy. Doesn't everyone do that? I don't like them that way but it is common here. The waitress had to go and talk to the chef to see if they had gravy.
Locals around here seem to have a saying that is theirs - dumb as a stump. My neighbour grew up in this little village and it seems everyone around here says dumb as a stump.
The dinner, lunch and supper thing is common here. I say dinner for supper but the locals say dinner for lunch and supper for dinner?
How about not the brightest crayon in the box or not the brightest bulb in the package? Or his elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor? When I find something dead such as a mouse and it has been dead for a bit I say he is stiffer than a new broom.

SacValley, Heathrjoy and Marsue you crack me up! I just about split a gut reading your posts. I had tears running down my face.
Too funny!
How did you know that it was Bonnie? I must be dumber than a stump.
Elaine

Cactus, I'm really not sure if my aunt meant it 'tongue in cheek'. You would have to have known her--she was really a sweet, though naive, person even though she had 3 children of her own. It could be that she really did think that many first babies were 7month babies. Also, as long as I knew her, I never heard her refer to her husband by his first name. She always called him "Mr. Nelson"--even after his death.

And one more thing--it's not really a colloquialism but it is an example of customs of the day back in the late 1800's and early 1900's. My daddy's mother was married 3 times and widowed 3 times. She once told my mother that she never kissed any of the men she married until AFTER they were married. My mother told her, "Well, I wouldn't have married a man I hadn't kissed." My grandmother replied: "I can see your point." LOL

Talking about "cock of the walk"...my grandmother would say to us girls " you'll never find a good husband if you become cock eyed!" I always thought she was talking about having a "crooked eye towards boys" I was a grown woman before I got the meaning of that one!!

Procrastinator-- and I nearly "split a gut" reading your post. LOL

Come to think of it--how DO you know what a colloquialism is if you have never been anywhere?

How did WHO know that WHAT was Bonnie? (I've slept since then.)

That supper/lunch/dinner thing still has my head swimming! LOL

garden6--around here, "cock-eyed" always meant "crazy" or "stupid"

Nowadays, we use the word(s) "looney-tunes" if we want to imply someone is "two bricks short of a load":
"Boy, she must be looney-tunes!"

edited to say: "I jist figgered it out fer mah own smart self". It was marcy who knew that defoecat was Bonnie because marcy has "been around the block a time or two" and I can say that about her because I've been going around the block longer than she has! (6 weeks longer, that is) LOL

This message was edited Oct 24, 2007 1:43 PM

Marsue- The Bonnie thing - How did you know who was Bonnie and how did she get a bunch of uninvited guests into this here thread? Am I really dumber than a stump or do I have bats in my belfry? I came in from the rain looking like something the dog dragged in not to be confused with raining cats and dogs. I forgot my bumbershoot so I got soaked to the skin. I can understand why the hen got mad when she got wet and of course people starting saying madder than a wet hen and she got even madder because people didn't care that she got wet. She got herself all in a flap and stormed off. I can understand why she got her girdle in a knot. Some people thought that she was being uppiddy and said she had a pickle up her butt. I know her and she really isn't a snot she just was in a kafluffle because she looked like a drowned rat and she had to get red since she was going to be dinner.
BTW - Doesn't cock-eyed mean crooked? Not like crooked as a Jaybird but really crooked?
Oh my, I'm making myself squirrley!
Elaine

This message was edited Oct 24, 2007 2:47 PM

Oh oh - another one..................Who let the cat out of the bag, my dogs are barkin', I am dog tired so I have to stop this.
Elaine

Elaine: I am ROTFLOL! You certainly joined the right thread because it sounds like you're "looney-tunes" like the rest of us!
You'll have to ask Marcy_1 how she knew who Bonnie was, but as I said, Marcy has been around DG a long time so she knows "pert near everthin'"!

Is "getting your girdle in a knot" the same thing as "gettin yore panties in a wad"?

That poor hen--going to BE dinner! Oh, no! Maybe I can cover her up with that bumbershoot and save her! Come to think of it, fried chicken does sound good. Hide the bumbershoot--follow that hen!

Well heck...here I thought everyone knew Bonnie!!! LOL!!! Bonnie is on our thread on ORVG forum. I have a bad habit of calling people by their real names...when I know them.
You guys are sooooooo funny! I keep thinking of things ...but by the time I get here...I have forgotten them!

Write them down, Marcy, before you have another "senior moment"! LOL

Marsue - The hen is in the pot but she was squealing like a stuck pig when she went flying with the angels. I think that gettin yore panties in a wad must be as uncomfortable as gettin your knickers in a knot. It would make me hornery, maybe even madder than a wet hen but let's not go there again.

Marcy_1 - is it true that you know pert near everthin? How did you know it was Bonnie and it must have been you that let the cat out of the bag then. Do you know where my blue sock is with the purple dogs on it cause I can't find it. I figured since you know pert near everthin that you might know. I called 411 which is information and the woman didn't know. What good is having a special number for information if she doesn't know squat.

Why are some colloquialisims used referring to hardware?
He is nuts!
He has a screw loose?
His tool box if short a few tools?
He is a wing nut!
He bolted out the door.
Hammer down.
I wrenched my neck.
I asked the bartender to make me a screwdriver.............................
Okay this one must be local.
He has more moves than Cal Nicholls. This means that the guy is smooth with woman and Cal Nicholls was once a moving company around here who moved furniture. Of course you could say that the guy seems shiffty, or is slyer than a fox. That of course refers to a guy who is hitting on you and seems untrustworthy. When somebody hangs around they stick to you like S**T on a blanket and you can't get rid of them. Oh I love this one - When someone says something and you don't know what to reply you say -
Oh well then what's the use of dancin with a purple brick if a snake doesn't have armpits? Strange, but people look at me funny when I say that.....Hmmmmm???????
I am getting antzy so I must go and see what kind of trouble I can stir up.
Here come two men with a funny white jacket that has really long sleeves...........H-E-L-P........................................................................
Elaine

Marcy_1 - We cross posted so I missed your explanation about the ORVG thread and Bonnie. See I am dumber than a stump cause I haven't got the foggiest what ORVG means.
I'll guess - Our Really Volumptuous Group?
Elaine

Marcy - Are you having cranium cramps or misfiring of synapses or CRAFT disease or senior moments, or overloading of your head hardware?

Poor thing.... Why don't you set a spell and come on over for some viddles. We are having chicken for dinner.
Elaine

This message was edited Oct 24, 2007 3:37 PM

Procrastinator....you are hilarious!!! I wish I DID know everything!!!
The ORVG forum= Ohio River Valley Garden forum! And yeah...I sure do have cranium cramps..lots of them....LOL!

Geez! Can't stay away long--you guys are so fun. Elaine you cracked me up with your hen story. I say panties in a bunch, never had cranium cramps but get "brain freeze" when I eat ice cream too quickly. We say "dumb as a post" which I guess means a fence post?

We found restaurants to have different menus when we moved too. Our Dairy Queen had a chicken fried steak sandwich that was called a DQ Dude and the double burger was a "Belt Buster". When we moved to SD their DQ only had ice cream, but I didn't read the menus just started ordering and the girls behind the counter LOL at me. Then I did too when they explained and I realized what those names sounded like if you never heard all those tv commercials like we were used to hearing. I recall that I couldn't find green chilies, blackeyed peas, or okra in the grocery stores (it was 1980's) and they had no idea what I was asking for.

We call it arroyo and you may call it a ditch or ravine. Lots of things like that, I was an adult before I realized not everyone knew Spanish words.

Marcy - You can call those brain f*rts but not while you have small fry around because as you know little pitchers have big ears...where the heck did that come from? Obviously someone got into the wobbly pop, got schnockered as we say and three sheets to the wind and then fell on their head. After falling on their head someone being kindhearted and acting like a Good Samaritan tried to help that person up. The Good Samaritan had a small child with him. The Good Samaritan asked the tanked fellow "Are you all right?" The pie-eyed fellow responded with a finger to his lips "shhhh - little pitchers have big ears" and then pointed at the child. That's where I figure that coloquialism came from don't ya think?
Elaine

Procrastinator....I'll bet you're right!!!!!!!

Marcia Sue--I like Our Really Voluptuous Group much better. It sounds like so much more fun! LOL

Elaine: I want to know what a kafluffle is--"By golly, I ain't nivver heerd a' that 'un!

Marsue - a kafluffle is when someone gets in kind of dither. It is somewhat like getting your knickers in a knot but with more a splash of dither thrown in. Did I explain that well or is it as clear as mud.
That reminds me - Where did here's mud in your eye come from, or he cuts a fine figure or he is a stud muffin? These are the questions that will keep us awake at night. Don't call 411 Information cause that gal doesn't know. Remember, I told you she doesn't even know where my favourite blue socks are. That gal should be fired or they should change the name of the service.

Gotta run for a while and make all gone with my dinner. The chicken is cooked and the vittles look good enough to eat.

Elaine

Well, I certainly don't know where "he cuts a fine figure" came from but I personally think the term "stud muffin" must surely be more recent, like in the last 20--30 yrs.

Marcy, you should surely apply for that job as the 411 operator because you know 'purt near' everythin'!

Glad you have to "make all gone with your dinner", Elaine. It will give my 'splitting sides' time to rest!

I hope none of these have already been posted....

"Fixin to"
"Carryin' someone to town"

And my all time favorite (and my sister's) "Hosepipe" instead of hose, or garden hose that is from the Birmingham Al area. My sister was down there visiting when I lived there and she FOTFLOL the first time she heard that one :)

Janis

I worked with a woman who used to say "You got me swingin'" when she didn't know the answer to a question that was posed to her.