Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Family Sayings of... Infamy!
My family may be a little goofier than most, I admit, but I imagine that other families also have a few choice phrases that are first uttered as a slip of the tongue and then develop into catch-phrases.
In my family there are two-- one that makes sense, and one that doesn't, as described below:
1) "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it"
A combination, apparently, of "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" and "don't burn your bridges," this one was first used by my mom. It may have been intentional, actually, since it does describe a certain Osler tendency.
2) "Why pay for the cow when you can just have the cow live in your apartment with you?"
This was used by a more distant relative who was condemning the idea of living together before marriage. The idea of describing a woman as a "cow" is bad enough, but there is something undeniably funny about the idea of inviting a cow to come share your apartment. I suppose that at least you would get the milk for free, right?
What are your family catch-phrases?
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"Next time I expect you to use your better judgement!"
This message resonated with me; I'm not sure about my brother. And like Lane there are also assorted un-repeatable phrases.
This message resonated with me; I'm not sure about my brother. And like Lane there are also assorted un-repeatable phrases.
"Dick Smith" -what you call someone who takes care of just themselves (i.e., gets up from the table to get something and does not ask if anyone needs anything, or take the last cookie from the jar.) And no, our last name is not Smith.
# posted by 
: 9:28 AM
: 9:28 AM
We have a couple...
"That other ho got in for free"
Comment made by my little sister upon discovering that when she left a pay restroom in LA, another woman entered behind her before the door closed and without paying. Repeated because it seems to imply that my sister is calling herself a ho.
"I'm having trouble understanding that woman."
Uttered by my mother while watching a woman on TV sing "Oh Tannenbaum." The woman was, of course, singing in German.
"Who reads??"
Exclaimed by my brother after having to carry a box of books while moving some friends. He is not an academic.
This is not an exhaustive list, but just some favorites.
"That other ho got in for free"
Comment made by my little sister upon discovering that when she left a pay restroom in LA, another woman entered behind her before the door closed and without paying. Repeated because it seems to imply that my sister is calling herself a ho.
"I'm having trouble understanding that woman."
Uttered by my mother while watching a woman on TV sing "Oh Tannenbaum." The woman was, of course, singing in German.
"Who reads??"
Exclaimed by my brother after having to carry a box of books while moving some friends. He is not an academic.
This is not an exhaustive list, but just some favorites.
# posted by : 9:41 AM
: 9:41 AM
"Well, look what the cat did!"
This became the phrase used whenever anything got broken.
This became the phrase used whenever anything got broken.
# posted by : 10:22 AM
: 10:22 AM
Oh wow there are so many...
"My hates one more time!"
A three year old Jessica shouted this from the top of a slide when told she would only get one more turn on it. We use that now whenever we don't want to do something.
"Somebody was just dragging a coat..."
My cousin Jonathon used this as an explanation when he smacked his two year old brother in the face with a jacket. We use this whenever someone does something wrong but doesn't want to cop to it.
"Good answer!" and "(Buzzer sound) WRONG!"
Family fued phrases my uncle used to shout at my brother and I when we were doing out homework and either clearly guessing or doing poorly. People ask why I wasn't intimidated by practice court; it's because I was raised in practice court.
Cody and I are working on developing some of our own catchphrases. One of our favorites is "Schmar nar ma lar?"
I won't even attempt to explain that one, except to say it loosely translates to "Why not?"
"My hates one more time!"
A three year old Jessica shouted this from the top of a slide when told she would only get one more turn on it. We use that now whenever we don't want to do something.
"Somebody was just dragging a coat..."
My cousin Jonathon used this as an explanation when he smacked his two year old brother in the face with a jacket. We use this whenever someone does something wrong but doesn't want to cop to it.
"Good answer!" and "(Buzzer sound) WRONG!"
Family fued phrases my uncle used to shout at my brother and I when we were doing out homework and either clearly guessing or doing poorly. People ask why I wasn't intimidated by practice court; it's because I was raised in practice court.
Cody and I are working on developing some of our own catchphrases. One of our favorites is "Schmar nar ma lar?"
I won't even attempt to explain that one, except to say it loosely translates to "Why not?"
Ours are:
"The skeletons are dancing," which is used whenever family members are avoiding conflict or realized secrets.
"Kitty Cocaine" - used now as a reference to a bad holiday. We were with an extended family group and my sister thought she was looking in my mother's purse for something. She happened to find a bag of cocaine in the "perfect" relative's bag instead...
"The wicked flee when no one pursueth." - Definitely my Mother's favorite Proverb. It was used every time my sister and I tried to NOT be in trouble. It was almost a mantra.
Fun post!
Denise
Denise
"The skeletons are dancing," which is used whenever family members are avoiding conflict or realized secrets.
"Kitty Cocaine" - used now as a reference to a bad holiday. We were with an extended family group and my sister thought she was looking in my mother's purse for something. She happened to find a bag of cocaine in the "perfect" relative's bag instead...
"The wicked flee when no one pursueth." - Definitely my Mother's favorite Proverb. It was used every time my sister and I tried to NOT be in trouble. It was almost a mantra.
Fun post!
Denise
Denise
# posted by : 5:18 PM
: 5:18 PM
Oops! I misquoted my mother. The phrase ""The wicked flee when no one pursueth" should be "The guilty flee when no one pursueth." I knew something wasn't quite right...
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# posted by : 6:33 PM
: 6:33 PM << Home
