Gransnet forums

Chat

daft sayings

(76 Posts)
sassenach512 Sun 20-May-18 18:55:40

I've heard some funny sayings since coming to live in Wales such as: " who's coat is that jacket?" and "I'll be there now in a minute"
But my DH has some great ones from Worcestershire where he is from, he says "nobody will stop their horse to look at that" when he sees I'm undecided about something, but the best one is when he visits the loo, he says " I'm off to turn my bike around" grin
Any other regional daftness?

Daddima Sun 20-May-18 19:39:03

When deciding to spend even a wee bit of money, my granny would say,” To Hell wi’ poverty, put another pea in the soup”.
I’m not sure it was regional though!

LynneB59 Sun 20-May-18 20:33:57

About a person with bow legs - "He/she wouldn't stop a pig in an entry" (Nottingham)

Willow500 Sun 20-May-18 20:45:23

When finding fault with something we say a blind man on a galloping horse would be pleased to see that grin

SueDonim Sun 20-May-18 21:36:39

If I asked my grandad what he was doing he'd say he was going to put a wigwam on a horse's bridle.

If I asked him how old he was, he replied 'Same age as my tongue and six months older than my teeth.'

harrigran Sun 20-May-18 22:52:09

I used to ask my dad what he was making when he was working in his shed "a gewgaw for a wigwam" would be the reply. He was actually building a steam train.

lemongrove Sun 20-May-18 23:04:48

Lynne I remember as a child adults saying ‘ he couldn’t stop a pig in a passage’ ( same meaning as yours) for bow legs, something thankfully that you don’t see nowadays.

A nudge is as good as a wink to a blind man.

Maggiemaybe Sun 20-May-18 23:15:21

Well, I'll go to t'foot of our stairs. Put wood in t'oil (shut the door). And my in-laws always used to call backing dancers/singers the Charlies and Arthurs.

hildajenniJ Mon 21-May-18 00:01:39

When my Dad was going somewhere he didn't want us to know about, if asked he would say, "to the back of beyond, where they clog ducks".
When leaving, after visiting my mother she would tell me, "if I don't see you through the week, I'll see you through the window" . confused

BlueBelle Mon 21-May-18 04:59:26

My grandad used to say when asked where he was going ‘to see a man about a dog’ and if something not too nice was happening he d say ‘better than a slap across the belly with a wet fish’
I used to always tell the grandkids ‘ hold you’re horses’ if they were going too fast and ‘put the wood in the hole’ to shut the door ‘ are you born in a barn’ if they leave the door open

TwiceAsNice Mon 21-May-18 06:27:07

When you were in the way and he couldn't see something my grandfather used to say" let the dog see the rabbit"

Gagagran Mon 21-May-18 06:33:54

"There and back to see how far it is" - answer when asked where someone is going.

Besstwishes Mon 21-May-18 07:03:29

To see a man about a dog, when asked where they were going.

When I asked my Uncle what Windmills were for he would say that they were for grinding smoke.

If she jumped in front of a bus would you do it, when I said that my friend was allowed to do something that I wasn’t.

Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick...

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, everytime I wanted something.

Better the devil you know....

I could go on,my mother was full of phrases, usually that meant I wasn’t getting whatever I wanted, some made no sense at all, I spent my life very confused, however, when I speak to my children and Grandchildren, my Mothers voice comes out!

absent Mon 21-May-18 07:36:28

I had a totally wonderful aunt (well, they all were) who always mangled sayings. So if someone was a bit iffy about a present that she/he had just be given, she would state loudly, "Don't look a gift horse up the nose!"

travelsafar Mon 21-May-18 07:50:47

If the sky was dark with rain clouds and it looked thunderey my mum always said 'it's as black as Newgate's Knocker'

mcem Mon 21-May-18 08:22:00

Mum's saying was "as black as the earl of hell's waistcoat".
Love the thought of looking a gift horse up the nose!!

ninathenana Mon 21-May-18 09:27:20

Hair as straight as a yard of pump water from my West country mum Sadly that applied to me.
Going to point percy at the porcelain shock one of dads.
When I asked DD's partner to 'put the wood in the 'ole' he had no idea what I meant.

Maggiemaybe Mon 21-May-18 10:08:23

As black as the ace of spades. For somebody thin: I've seen more fat on a greasy chip. Someone who can't take a drink: one sniff of the barmaid's apron. For chaos or a mess: it's like Casey's Court or Fred Carno's or Stageabank Fair in here.

Lindylo Mon 21-May-18 10:12:00

Never could understand - when it's over it's over

KatyK Mon 21-May-18 10:13:02

We heard many of these here in the West Mids when I was growing up. The pig in an entry one was used. Also for a woman who people considered 'haughty' they would say 'and she's no better than she ought to be' If I complained that I had a spot or something, my mother would say 'no man will get down off his horse to look at you'. My granddaughter used to giggle when I said 'well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs'.

grannyticktock Mon 21-May-18 10:34:04

A friend of my parents rather shocked them when he headed for the toilet with the words, "I'm just going to shake hands with a friend of the wife's!"

My mother had any number of cryptic sayings. When you were looking for something lost, she'd say, "You'll never got a thing but where it is!" which didn't really help much.

KatyK Mon 21-May-18 10:35:41

I also remember 'Charlie's dead' if your underskirt was showing.

jenpax Mon 21-May-18 10:35:48

All fur coat and no knickers ? as said by maternal grandmother though don’t think it was especially regional? some great examples on here but if people could indicated what part of the country the saying comes from it would be fab ?

KatyK Mon 21-May-18 10:39:45

Birmingham here although my mother was from Southern Ireland and she had some unfathomable sayings smile

KatyK Mon 21-May-18 10:40:28

If anyone was full of the joys of spring, my father-in-law would say 'the black bull hasn't trodden on your toe yet'.