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February 22, 2007
old sayings
A Lick And A Promise
"I'll just give this a lick and a promise", my mother said as she quickly mopped up a spill on the floor without moving any of the furniture. "What is that supposed to mean", I asked as in my young mind I envisioned someone licking the floor with his or her tongue. "It means that I'm in a hurry and I'm busy canning tomatoes so I am going to just give it a lick with the mop and promise to come back and do the job right later."
"A lick and a promise" was just one of the many old phrases that I remember my mother, grandmother, and others using that they probably heard from the generations before them. With the passing of time, many old phrases become obsolete or even disappear. This is unfortunate because some of them are very appropriate and humorous. Here is a list that I came up with that I remember my parents and grandparents using that we don't hear much anymore. Perhaps you have some memorable old phrases of your own that you could add to the list:
A Bone to Pick (someone who wants to discuss a disagreement)
An Axe to Grind (Someone who has a hidden motive. This phrase is said to have originated from Benjamin Franklin who told a story about a devious man who asked how a grinding wheel worked. He ended up walking away with his axe sharpened free of charge)
A bad apple spoils the whole barrel (one corrupt person can cause all the others to go bad if you don't remove the bad one)
At sea (lost or not understanding something)
Bad Egg (Someone who was not a good person)
Barking at a knot (meaning that your efforts were as useless as a dog barking at a knot.)
Bee in your bonnet (To have an idea that won't let loose)
Been through the mill (had a rough time of it)
Between hay and grass (Not a child or an adult)
Blinky (Between sweet and sour as in milk)
Calaboose (a jail)
Cattywampus (Something that sits crooked such as a piece of furniture sitting at an angle)
Dicker (To barter or trade)
Feather In Your Cap (to accomplish a goal. this came from years ago in wartime when warriors might receive a feather they would put in their cap for defeating an enemy)
Hold your horses (Be patient!)
I reckon (I suppose)
Jawing (Talking or arguing)
Kit and caboodle (The whole thing)
Madder than an old wet hen (really angry)
Needs taken down a notch or two (like notches in a belt.usually a young person who thinks too highly of himself and needs a lesson)
No Spring Chicken (Not young anymore)
Persnickety (overly particular or snobbish)
Pert-near (short for pretty near)
Pretty is as pretty does (your actions are more important than your looks)
Scalawag (a rascal or unprincipled person)
Scarce as hen's teeth (something difficult to obtain)
Skedaddle (Get out of here quickly)
Sparking (courting)
Straight From the Horse's Mouth (privileged information from the one concerned)
Stringing around, gallivanting around, or piddling (Not doing anything of value)
Sunday go to meetin' dress (The best dress you had). We wash up real fine is another goodie...)
Tie the Knot (to get married)
Too many irons in the fire (to be involved in too many things)
Tuckered out (tired and all worn out)
Under the weather (not feeling well.this term came from going below deck on ships due to sea sickness thus you go below or under the weather)
Wearing your "best bib and tucker" (Being all dressed up)
You ain't the only duck in the pond (It's not all about you)
Well, if you hold your horses, I reckon I'll get this whole kit and caboodle done and sent off to you. Please don't be too persnickety and get a bee in your bonnet because I've been pretty tuckered out and at sea lately because I'm no spring chicken. I haven't been just stringin' around and I know I'm not the only duck in the pond, but I do have too many irons in the fire. I might just be barking at a knot, but I have tried to give this article more than just a lick and a promise.
This nifty piece of Office Spam was submitted by a chattanooga wedding photographer.
| By Cube Dweller | 3:16 PM
Comments
Two Rolls No Coffee (getting something that seems like a good deal but isn't quite what you expected or getting only half the measure of what you expected)
Posted by: Norm Nicastro at February 23, 2007 10:25 PM
Put the bee on [me/you/him]: Hit somebody up for money
Posted by: Alex Addison at February 24, 2007 4:38 PM
More Than One Way To Skin A Cat( there are more ways to get something done)
Posted by: Greg Smith at March 10, 2007 11:45 AM
it's colder than a well diggers ass
livin' the life of Riley
i feel like 10 pounds of poop in a 5 pound bag.
Posted by: Lisa at April 3, 2007 10:23 AM
I (he. she or they) don't have a pot to pee in, or a window throw to throw it out. (mighty poor.)
Posted by: Bk at June 15, 2007 7:12 PM
who let the cat out of the bag (let out a secret)
Posted by: Chris Litherland at July 27, 2007 5:59 AM
The whole scoot and kabang.
Posted by: Mathew McGill at August 7, 2007 8:34 PM
You ain't whistling Dixe
Posted by: Mathew McGill at August 7, 2007 8:36 PM
"he didn't know if he was cut or punched." Huh?
Posted by: Paul at October 5, 2007 4:00 PM
I'll give it a lick and a promise.
Posted by: Cathy Lance at August 13, 2008 4:26 PM
Never could figure this one out. When my Grandfather became annoyed he would say."This world is one more in a turnip patch."
Posted by: Tommy at June 25, 2009 3:58 PM
Don't know where I picked this one up, been saying it for years when I'm aggravated:
Short version for quick use is "Shot a duck!"
The entire version is:
"Shoot a duck from a hot tin roof on a Sunday mornin' singing Hallelujah."
Over the years my profanity tainted this one.... But its just as good.
"^*$@ a duck on a hot tin roof on a Sunday Mornin' singing Hallelujah."
Posted by: Trena L. at June 2, 2010 8:18 PM
My Mother used to say that she was "so hungry that her stomach figured her throat must've been cut". I always thought that was odd. But the funniest one I ever heard her say was that she was so hungry that she could "eat the ass-end out of a rag-doll"!
Posted by: Holly Jackson at December 14, 2011 10:24 AM
