cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/14650446
As I was growing up, my family had a couple of sayings I took for granted were universal, at least within my language. As I became an adult I have learned that these are not universal at all:
- the ketchup effect. It is an expression meaning that when things arrive, they all arrive at the same time. Think of an old school glass ketchup bottle. When you hit the bottom of it, first there is nothing, then there is nothing and then the entire content is on your food.
- faster than Jesus slid down the mount of olives. Basically a saying that implies that the mount of olives is slippery due to olive oil and Jesus slipped.
- What you lack in memory, your legs suffer. An expression meaning that when you are forgetful, you usually need to run back and thus your legs suffer.
Please share your own weird family sayings.
You must log in or register to comment.
A few from my grandfather and father which aren’t unique to them but aren’t universal:
- “red as a smacked ass” or just “smacked ass” - referring to someone who is embarrassed so their face is flushed or generally just a fool
- “Born on Wednesday looking both ways for the weekend” - someone with a lazy eye
- “Scissor grinder” - aggravating person, or someone who inserts themselves into other’s business. Ostensibly referring to a person who travels offering sharpening services because they come by unannounced and make a lot of noise in the street.
Related, but not a saying, we had a family tradition at Easter where my grandparents/parents would put all the egg dyes together and dye a final egg a murky brown. That egg was given to the kid with the worst behavior over the last year. It was called the “pissmuckle” egg. There was no discussion after you got it either or any punishment, it was just a censure.
Did the recipient eat it?
That’s what always happened since no one had the courage to just throw it away.
I have recently heard similar saying with legs, meaning is the smae but different wording roughly translated from Czech:
What is not in the head, is in the legs.
Ketchup effect is good, i might use it when the situation comes. Thanks.
Never heard them but there’s something vaguely similar in Italian, going “chi non ha testa abbia gambe” literally “who doesn’t have head, have legs” used in various situations like when you go out and forget something (because you didn’t think of it) you gotta use your legs to go back and take it
Exact same phrase in greek. And pretty sure it’s universal within the language
Similar in German: Was man nicht im Kopf hat, muss man in den Beinen haben. – What you don’t have in the head, you must have in the legs.
That one is stupid with two O’s
So apparently I have a similar contorted expression to my mother when eating sour food.
My father always referred to this as my mother’s-maiden-name-gene. Let’s say her maiden name was Chaplin, he would say “Ah there’s that Chaplin gene again!”
Being young I misunderstood this as a verb, ie. I was “chaplinging”.
Cut to first year of school where I proudly waltz around informing any classmates eating fizzy sweets that the correct and proper term for their reaction is “chaplinging”. It was a few years until the penny dropped.
ha! on an unrelated note I didn’t know that the impression “the penny dropped” was in english always thought that the expression “jeton düştü” was isolated to my language (turkish)
That’s really cool!
My mom comes from rural Ontario, so I grew up hearing the sort of things you hear on Letterkenny all the time. But I grew up in the city, and I slowly realized that nobody else talks like that
For your third example - my mom says “My head wouldn’t save my heels”
№2 sounds like something Biden would say
Yep. It’s a complete sentence from someone who can make those.
“Look, folks, it’s like this—so fast, okay? Really fast, like nobody’s ever seen before. It’s like sliding down Mount of Olives, which, by the way, is a beautiful place, tremendous. But this—this is faster, much faster. Believe me.”
The contrast is stark.
“Let me put my eyes on you,” “I just wanna put eyes on you”: I don’t need anything, but I miss you and would like to visit
“Jimmy legs” : Restless legs
“Hotter than the devils draws (as in underwear) outsides” : It’s hot. No one uses “draws” for underwear anymore I guess, so I’ve started saying “hotter than the devils asshole” but it’s not as “poetic.”
Edit: Forgot one. “Cabbgae story” : When I was a kid, my grandmother told me about the milk man and, for whatever reason, my next question was “and who brings cabbage?” The response was “the cabbage man” which my grandmother explained like it was gospel. When she would bring up something, we started going, “Oh, she’s got a cabbage story.” Now a cabbage story is some old folk’s story. Like, “back when I was a kid, I walked up hill both ways!” would be a cabbage story.
The cabbage story is real cute. Might steal it
Grams pulled an uno reverse when I was complaining about the lack of buttons on tech. She said, “Oh, a cabbage story?” shook my soul 😂
“Hotter than the devils draws (as in underwear) outsides” : It’s hot. No one uses “draws” for underwear anymore I guess, so I’ve started saying “hotter than the devils asshole” but it’s not as “poetic.”
It’s actually “drawers” but I guess they sound the same in certain accents.
When people spell what they hear, it’s the countryside victimized the most. It’s nearly the argument I had with Doctorov (a pointless effort, I’ll tell ya).
Ohhh! Thank you for the correction!
“Put eyes on X” is pretty common that I’ve seen.
My grandma used to say “drinking coffe standing up brings bad luck”.
While I’m not superstitious, I actually believe that taking the proper time to experience the little daily treats is necessary to get the best out of your dayI completely agree, I view it like meditation. Sit down and actually enjoy your coffee, sit and listen to music without distraction, sit and truly enjoy the moment. Without phone etc
What you lack in memory, your legs suffer.
Where are you from? Over here in southern Germany it is quite common.
I’m from Sweden so this one might actually be a European thing.
That explains why I have heard about the ketchup effect before.
I mean, I have heard about it once, but still
“Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.” - Find a way to do it yourself, because it isn’t happening otherwise
Unless we’re related, this one isn’t just your family.
It’s like Olive Garden up in this thread
My family too. They really looked down on cursing but shit was the exception. I remember my mom getting mad at young teenage me for saying “how the hell do you get this thing off” but if I’d said “this is bullshit” it would have been fine.
Another classic. I had never heard her say fuck until she was so mad at me she said it. Then she became even more furious because I made her say it.
That one is in my family so I think it my be a bit more universal than you thought
Unless… This is a family reunion?
I think we kiss now. I don’t know how these things are supposed to work I’m from the deep south
6 one way, a half dozen the other.
This is fairly common in my experience.
Tomato, tomatoe
The last one is a legit saying in Germany “Was man nicht im Kopf hat, hat man in den Beinen” (What you don’t have in your head you have in your legs.)
If you are not german (I guess if you were, you would know this is a common saying) maybe your family heard it from some German friends or acquaintance and adapted it.
“There’s always money in the banana stand”
