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

My mum used to tell me I was 'As black as Newgate's knocker' if I got dirty - and for years I thought she was saying 'Newgies knocker' and couldn't work out who Newgie was, which used to worry me.

When me and my sister got a little "carried away" my dad would always say

A jokes a joke but you've gone too far.

Grrrrrrr still makes me cringe today.

My mum often got things wrong - once she said 'You have hit the hammer on the head'. Realising it didn't sound right, she continued 'With a nail'.
A saying of hers which proved to be horribly prophetic was 'You get no better thought of'.

Playing on a climbing frame we got:

"Don't come running to me with a broken leg!"

What's for dinner? we'd ask.

"Duck under the table and grouse all day."

or

"Wait and see pie"

They must think I've fell off a flittin' (ie they must think I was born yesterday)

My father, surprised, would say 'Well, I'll go hopping away...' His favourite expletive was 'Pillooks!' (accent the second syllable).

Mother, asked her age : 'I'm as as old as my tongue and a little older then my teeth', and of a woman who migt be upset by something 'Ooh, she'll have a pink fit with her leg up!'

In our case, Daisy, it was CFFTB - chock-full, fit to bust.

Referring back to Shysal and 'FHB' (Family Hold Back), we would follow it with 'FFT' - Family Fall To, if circumstances permitted. There was also the reply to 'Have you had enough to eat?' - 'Yes, TTT (Tummy Touching Table)'.

'little pigs have big ears'
Whats for supper? -3 jumps at't pantry doer an a bite at't shelf'- in broad Lancs accent
'Let thee meyt stop thee mowth'- (don't talk with your mouth full)
'Experience makes fools wise'

I know it as ' ora pro mea, beata Martin'
I think he was a roman noble who cut his cloak in half to give half to a beggar!
I did use to know my hagiology. But it is so long since I've used it, I've forgotten it all! [ confused]

It probably should have been "Betty Martin" then, Annobel but Mum had difficulty hearing and always said "Peggy". She was stone deaf in her latter years. Does sound a feasible explanation so thanks for that.

Another frequent saying was "All uncooked joints off the table" when one of we five siblings had elbows on the table - a definite no-no!

I heard that it was Betty Martin and some soldiers in the first world war heard catholics praying: 'ora mihi beate Martin' (pray for me blessed Martin).

My lovely old Mum used to say "It's all my eye and Peggy Martin" - meaning it's a load of rubbish. (I still don't know who Peggy Martin was!)
She also used to say "Every time you sigh you make an angel cry" when I did one of my melodramatic teenage sighs!
Another was "Left to leave, right to receive" if you had an itchy palm.

Oh how I have loved reading all your comments. They bring back such memories. My mother was such a funny woman without realising it. She told us once that she had bought one of those new "TELEPATHIC" umbrellas instead of telescopic. The funniest one was when she was talking on the phone to my aunt (both great knitters) "Oh Betty I must send you this great pattern it's for one of those "PSYCHOPATHIC" jumpers that uses up all your old wool, instead of psychedelic. How I miss her one line clangers.

The Weather Man has just reminded me of one of my Mother's sayings. When someone was bad-tempered or sulking or generally making every ones lives a misery mum would say''Oh, the wind's in the east!''

Congratulations Diva

Thanks Carol, she is a little upset at another csection butt has been able to spend time with him every day.

Diva congratulations on the early arrival of your grandson - I hope he is well and will soon be able to go home. My twin granddaughters were delivered 10 weeks early, sugar bag size babies, but now thriving at home. Will you let us know how he is getting on? I hope his mum is recovering ok, too?

Congratulations, Diva! Sounds like you got back from Poland just in time for his arrival! Wrap up warm, then - the weather's set to get colder any day now!

Great thanks - I do lurk a lot and don't post much. Just started a new job which is busy busy busy, just become a gran for the third time, yesterday, he is in special care at the moment as 8 weeks early, and just got back from a weekend in Poland with youngest son and husband so still recovering from the cold.

Divawithattitude - it's nice to see you posting again. How are you?

My Gran would tell me when I whinged about going out in the rain, "we're not made of sugar", I find myself saying it now to small people!

"Don't argue about easliy accertainable facts" were some of my father's wise words!!

A kick at the cellar door.( what's for supper?)