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“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’s that supposed to mean,” I asked. 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” is 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 of the old sayings have become obsolete, or have even disappeared. This is unfortunate because some of them are very appropriate, as well as humorous. Following is a list that I came up with that I remember my parents and grandparents using: 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. Lost at sea: Lost, or not understanding something. Bad egg: Someone who was not a good person. Barking at a knot: Means 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: Having a rough time of it. Between hay and grass: Not a child or an adult. Blinky: A condition between sweet and sour, as in milk. Calaboose: A jail. Cattywampus: Something that sits crooked, such as a piece of furniture placed at an odd 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 about something. Needs taken down a notch or two. Like notches in a belt, and usually refers to a young person who thinks too highly of himself and needs a lesson. No spring chicken: Not young anymore. Persnickety: One who is 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 one had. You clean up right good: You look good all dressed up. Tie the knot: To get married. Split the sheets: To get divorced. Too many irons in the fire: To be involved in too many things all at the same time. Plum 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. That dog don’t hunt: I don’t believe that. She looks like she’s been rode hard and put up wet: She looks tired, or she looks older than she is. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise: I’ll make every effort to do it. I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck: I don’t believe you. He’s like a dog with a bone: Referring to someone who won’t let a subject die. He’s chasing rabbit’s again: Refers to someone who takes off on one subject and runs the conversation around to several others. Now that’s too much sugar for a dime!: Meaning something was too much effort for what you would get out of it. I’m going to jerk a knot in your tail if you don’t straighten up: Threatens dire consequences if a child doesn’t behave. I’m as happy as a pig in slop: Now that’s happy! It’s already saucered and blowed: This refers to pouring coffee from the cup into the saucer and blowing on it to get it cool enough to drink, but was also used in the context of having something ready. He’s just barking to hear his head rattle: This refers to a dog that doesn’t seem to be barking at anything specific. If it don’t rain it’s going to miss a good chance: It’s cloudy and it looks like rain. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed: Usually refers to someone who looks fairly good after a night of partying. Don't wear out your welcome: Don't stay too long.
And perhaps
my favorite old saying,
and one I use
myself on
occasion,
refers to when someone asks you if you
want to do something and you begrudgingly assent by saying.... “Well, I can’t dance and it’s too wet to plow…”
Contributed by Jean Cummins of Bakersfield, California |