Did your parents have any phrases, sayings or wise words?

My friend's husband comes from the Angus area of Scotland - on his way to the lavatory, he says "I'm jist awa' tae poor the tatties!" Meaning "I'm just going to peel the potatoes".......um, I don't really know why he has to say that though..

My dh refers to going to "beany bose", as in bed, I have never ever heard anyone esle say this! Beddy byes, yes, he insists that it was what his parents used to say.

My uncle would say "just going to point Percy at the porcelain"

helshea - just noticed your posting. My Dad would often say 'I'm going to see a man about a dog'. It was years before I realised he had gone to the loo!

Sometimes it was "a blind man running for his life would be glad to see it!" for a bit if variety.

Oh yes - I can hear my Mum saying "a blind man would be glad to see it". That brings back memories

When something wasn't quite right and she couldn't be bothered to fix it my Mum used to say:
"A blind man would be glad to see it".

Of course when it was someone else that had to do the work she's say
"Don't spoil the ship for a ha'penny worth of tar".

"There will be tears before bedtime" usually said as a dire warning that we would be in big trouble if we had any fun!

My mother always said you must cut your coat according to your cloth-wish our politicians' mumshad said that to them

Good one Bunch.

My Mum used to say "If wishes were horses beggars would ride". I still think of this whenever I want something I can't afford.

So many of these were familiar.My Father who was born in 1884 and 65 when I was born used to say I have a bone in my leg and i never understood what it meant.He also said I am going to see a man about a dog when he was off for a drink before Sunday lunch.
I had totally forgotten Charlie's dead which we said at school (did we really wear petticoats?)

Among the many things my Mum always said, was
"You can never go BACK". She was right. And anyone with an over-inflated opinion of themselves, thought they were "the ant's eyebrows". She was still saying, "I wish you'd wear a vest", when I was in my early 50's! I could go on....

I think it was my Grandmother who used to say 'when you're as old as me you won't know so much'. What I do know now is exactly what she meant!

My granfather, about anyone who was not too particular about personal hygiene;'' He/she has never been washed since the midwife last bathed him/her''.
My uncle, about someone who thought they were better than others; ''He/she goes to the toilet''.
The same uncle, when on his first leave home from the navy was tucking into one of his favourite sweets, tinned fruit with loads of Carnation milk.My great gran asked him''Do you get Carnation milk at sea?'', he replied ''No just the Captain''.Ever since the my family would call Carnation milk ''Captain's milk''.

You had petticoats! Aw.. But as my mother used to say, 'if you've never had it, you can't miss it'.

Oh so many! Soap is cheap and water free.

My mum used to say "put can't behind the door and try" and "two wrongs don't make a right". How true!

No jangly ...petticoat showing ...was ...'you've got fairies at the bottom of the garden'!

As well as "Charlie's dead" they used to say "Your father loves you best" I think (hope) it meant that mother couldn't be bothered to keep you looking nice, not that father had evil designs on your petticoat.

I am very lucky, I still have my Mum and Dad (both 87 this year and married for 67 years!) and they still say all the following!!

You will always reap what you sow.

If you don't ask you will not get!

There's always some poor "b!gger" worse off than you!

As long as you tried hard, that's all that matters.

"If you really feel sorry for yourself then I could send you on holiday to Africa (or wherever Mum thinks people are having a hard time of it) and then you can see what it is like to be really hard done by!"

The early bird catches the worm (you know what - I can never be late for anything and it always worked for me!)

So I feel blessed knowing that everything they said above, really helped me get on with my life and I have passed them onto my children and now their children.

It was "Charlie's dead"!

What was it they'd say if your petticoat was showing? Somebody's dead. Was it Joey?

"up the little wooden hill" (to bed)

If we hankered after some unaffordable luxury we heard "You can't have butter and jam and bread"

In those days you usually had bread and butter, or bread and jam, but seldom all three.