We took Emily to lunch at a restaurant one afternoon last week and I jokingly said she had to pay. When she said she didn\u2019t have enough money to pay, Claire said, \u201cwell I guess you\u2019ll have to wash dishes.\u201d Emily had absolutely no idea what that meant. When we were younger, and went out to eat, is was a common expression if someone didn\u2019t have enough money to pay their bill, that they\u2019d have to wash dishes to \u201cearn\u201d their meal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I hadn\u2019t thought about it for a long time, but I don\u2019t remember when I\u2019d heard that expression before Claire used it last week. Of course, that got me to thinking\u2026 There are a lot of phrases or expressions that you just don\u2019t hear anymore. I remember my parents and grandparents saying things that, at least at first, didn\u2019t make much sense to me but over time i grew to understand what they were saying or at least what they meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s some things I remember hearing pretty often in the past, that I haven\u2019r heard in a long time. A lot of them I never figured out what they meant, but some made sense over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember my grandparents saying things like: Last time I saw you, you were knee high to a grasshopper; Land\u2019o Goshen; Heaven to Betsy and Great Day in the Morning a lot. Some other popular \u201cthings from the past\u201d I haven\u2019t heard lately include\u2026.
Cute as a Button; Here\u2019s mud in your eye; Twenty-three Skidoo; The cat\u2019s pajama\u2019s; Sweet as Molasses; Raining cats and dogs; Believe you me; Now we\u2019re cooking with gas; Let\u2019s skedaddle outta here; The proof is in the pudding and Tarnation! What the Sam Hill?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another saying you don\u2019t hear much today \u2014 Close the door, were you born in a barn? And then there\u2019s Drunker than a hoot owl and Three sheets to the wind; Don\u2019t count your chickens before they hatch; We\u2019ve hit pay dirt; Aww, Jeemineez; Well, I\u2019ll be a monkey\u2019s uncle; Phony as a three dollar bill; and Sitting on pins and needles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also remember waiting Till the cows come home; Three shakes of a lamb\u2019s tail; Bats in the belfry; Indian giver: Haven\u2019t seen hide nor hair of him; Not worth a plug nickel; Don\u2019t have a conniption fit; Bet your bottom dollar; Hubba Hubba; Ain\u2019t just whistling Dixie; and Knock on wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And before you can say Jack Robinson, I thought of A fine kettle of fish; Two birds of a feather flock together; Gets my goat; Kill two birds with one stone; Buy a pig in a poke; Sharp as a tack; Quick as a wink; More than one way to skin a cat; Keeping up with the Joneses; Thin as a rail; In cahoots; Couldn\u2019t hit the broad side of a barn; and Living high on the hog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m sure I could think of more, but it \u201cjust goes to show\u201d how much our language has changed. I admit I don\u2019t know what some of these saying really mean, but if I made a list of the popular terms and expressions popular today, I wouldn\u2019t know what most of them mean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After thinking about it, I forgot a couple of terms that should be on my list of things you don\u2019t hear too much anymore \u2014 Please and Thank You\u2026..
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We took Emily to lunch at a restaurant one afternoon last week and I jokingly said she had to pay. When she said she didn\u2019t have enough money to pay, Claire said, \u201cwell I guess you\u2019ll have to wash dishes.\u201d … Continue reading