Things my parents said ...

I'd love to know where 'over the back of Foster's front' really is.

My MIL used to say it to vaguely describe a location but nobody had a clue where she was talking about and I'm not so sure she did either.

We had dry bread and pullet (pull it?). Put wood in t'ole.
Were you born in a barn
Pulled through a hedge backwards
Time to go up the dancers (stairs, it's bedtime)
Take off your coat and look as though your're stopping
Pride's painful (wearing fashionable but uncomfortable shoes).
My grandmother used to say if I picked my nose I'd get a pig's foot - anyone know what a pig's foot is?

Has anyone mentioned "Going to see a man about a dog" meaning going to the loo?
I had set my heart on a puppy and cried buckets once when my Dad returned once without the aforementioned dog.

My granny used to refer to being punctual (or even early) as "falling in with the doors".

My Scottish grandpa would occasionally press a threepenny bit or even a sixpence into my hand and say "Mind you don't spend it all in the one shop"

Or, 'shaking hands with Nelson'

My mums favourite saying if we asked what was for dinner was "a Wigwam for a Wild Duck" or Scotch Mist and Gravy!
My Uncle Jacks was Duck and Pea, duck under the table and pee outside

We were offered Scotch mist too

My Dad - Have you heard the story about the three wells? No? Well, well, well.

If we threw a tantrum, my aunt would say we should get a place at RADA.

Maw I am slow tonight - just got the joke about the puppy!

When asking "What's for dinner" the response was often "wait & see"....I thought 'wait & see' came in about 40 varieties until I was about 8!

"Stand for something or you'll fall for anything" was another favourite of mum's when encouraging us to take part in events, or when homework was having to put one side of an argument forward for debate.

And the response in our house to "It`s not fair" was "It is fair, it`s not raining."

in the states in the 50s-70s it was
"children starving in china would be glad to get that""
"keep it up your face will freeze like that"
(on pouting/stick out tongue etc)
have heard"i brought you into this world,i cantake you out."(uncle to obnoxious cousin)
oh good lord i used to have hair in rags torture too..and i didnt even want the ringlets.
we lived on a river so it was"if your friends jumped off the bridge would you"
my argument tho was not appreciated(dad and friends used to jump off the railroad bridges into the river)

whats for dinner
elephants ears and saurkraut???????????

When my hair was messy, my mom used to say my parting was like a donkey's hind leg which always made me laugh. OH said his mother used to say it, too but he misheard her and, for years, was puzzled about a donkey with an iron leg!

Another favourite, if little Sis or I were pouting about something, was, "Put your bottom lip away or I'll hang a bucket on it."

"Going to see a man about a dog" meant my dad was going to the pub in our house. That and "Back of Bill's mothers to see Mary" or "There and back to see how far it is" were the only answers I ever got when I asked an adult where they were going.

I'm sorry to lower the tone but here's my mother's favourite saying. We'd shout "it's not fair" she'd reply "nor is a pigs arse" I was over 50 before I 'got' it. A pigs arse isn't fur it's pig skin! Or when we exaggerated she'd tell us "that's as far fetched as a bucket of shit from china" she used most of the saying quoted here. At the time it really wound me up. Of course now I remember it with affection and when our family are together we love regaling all her funny saying and making our children and each other laugh.

Ps this thread has made me smile, for a change thanks

Made me smile, your mums sayings, morethan. I've had to leave out some of the less savoury sayings my mum had.

Upon seeing an unattractively turned out person my Mum would say "Och! The sights ye see when ye haven't a gun. "(....in her Scottish accent.)

My mum used to say "they buried him with ham", meaning a good send off at a funeral. For years when I was young I had visions of people being buried with a leg of pork. She also used to say "well I'll go to Holland on a cart" when something surprised her, never understood that one. "Blow your nose and dust your brain" and "It's dark over Wills mothers", I had a friend called William and thought it would be raining at his house So many of the others bring back happy memories of childhood.

"Beauty has its price!" when I was complaining about my hair being brushed.

The old 'Sticks and stones' rhyme. (Not true of course!)

AND the infamous ' Wait 'til your father gets home!' Which did actually strike a bit of fear ...poor dad!

If we pulled a face when in a mood or crying my mum would say,' your face looks like a cat's bum turned inside out!!! lol

If we asked what was for dinner it was always 'if i've got it, you can have it, if i haven't then you can't!!!

Another was 'it's as black as newgate's knocker over there' if the sky was really dark before a storm or heavy rainfall.

I often wonder now i am older where these strange sayings came from, there are so many different ones.

Black as newgates knocker was pronounced "Newgits" by my mum.

Jollyg life's too short not to have a bit of fun and lightheartedness now and again. There are times when we all need cheering up a bit, especially so if going through difficult times.

Newgits knocker is something we used to say MissA it refers to the heavy black knocker on the door of Newgate prison