Old expressions not in general use.

Let the tea draw---I'm a Southerner. A passageway is a twitten. We also said "skin a rabbit" when pulling a child's jumper over its head and "getting black over Will's mother's" presaged bad weather. When the cat gets skittish, it has the wind in it's tail, or is rizzling.

My OH is a northener and always describes a certain shade of salmon pink as "Nettie pink". Apparently it was the colour usually used when painting the outside toilets (netties).

Cat got your tongue (no idea what to say), black as the ace of spades (self explanatory) dog's dinner (right old mess), three sheets to the wind (drunk), his bark is worse than his bite (dogs, he's not as scary as he sounds). We used 'brew' for tea.

My dear aunt when she was surprised at something always said "well I'd go to the foot of our stairs". No idea how it came about.

Side the pots
You'll be laughing on the other side of your face
I'll box your ears
Scriek for crying/mither for pestering/ fair clemned for feeling hungry (or starving hungry)
What's for tea? Two jumps at the cupboard door (???)
Ay up!
Has the bin man bin mam?
All hilarious and double-Dutch ( there's another one) to anyone under 30

Ronnie, my granny talked about the ‘glory hole’, but when my brother went to live in Brighton he found it had another meaning!

‘ He/she’d skin a louse for its tallow’, about a mean person.

‘ She let the bunnets go by because she was waiting for a hat’, about someone who rejected suitors she felt were beneath her.

‘ Nae sense in wastin twa hooses’, when two unattractive people got together.

We live in Lincolnshire and our grandsons were born in the States and still live there. When telling our 3yr old GS he had done a good job, I said, "absolutely splendid" as my old aunt had always said to me. The next time he had done something well, he called to me in broad American, Grandma (and then in a very old fashioned English voice), "Is it absolutely splendid" and had us all in fits of laughter for ages. He's seven now and still remembers, needless to say he's a little comic.

Daddima, Scots is full of brilliant sayings......anybody ever heard " Aye ma lassie you'll no be so jacko the morns morn"

Remembered another one...the fire needs mending. = needs more coal and the poker to stir it up a bit.

As nesh as a gas mantle ( a fragile person who can’t stand cold, wet, discomfort)
I’ll smack your bottom til it bleeds buttermilk
Gornall - the place where they put the pig on the wall to watch the fair go by.
He’s from over Jordan - someone of Middle eastern appearance
All Black Country expressions

When we asked where Dad was going the reply was “to see a man about a dog”.
We always laid the table. Londoners.

"Charlie's Dead" meaning your underskirt is showing.

"Blow me down with a feather" - being amazed and shocked.

Maribel, “It’s Looking black over Bill’s mother’s” was used a lot in the West Midlands.

When we used to,ask my Dad where he was going he would often say he was going to see a man about a dog. It was usually to the pub but we used to ask him when we were going to get a dog before we knew what he meant.

JaneD3, my DH is from The Black Country and he has his Dad’s book of Black Country stories featuring Enoch and Eli. They are very funny.

Bijou I think our posts about ‘see a man about a dog’ were made at the same time.

Nonnatimesfour, yes Charlie’s dead was used a lot when I was growing up.

Go all around the Wrekin (go miles out of your way to get somewhere) - the Wrekin is a large hill near Telford.

I'm Yorkshire through and through and heard Leggs55's sayings in my family. My father used to say 'Stone the crows' and 'Pull up the ladder, Jack, I'm in the dinghy' - probably from his time in the RAF in the war. If I asked what was for dinner I was told 'dry bread and pull it'. We still set and side the table. Bedtime was time to go up the dancers.

am from Lancashire and my dad also used to say "up the dancers"
Also skriking(crying)& mythering (asking/talking too much!
Nanny used to call all us grandchildren..Childer!

It's snowing down south - if your petticoat was showing
'She's had everything taken away' this was said in hushed tones when someone had an hysterectomy.

..also..she's all fur coat and no knickers! haha

When asked what was for dinner my mother would reply ‘neck of nothing and no turnips’.

My children always laughed when I said ‘fossilised fish-hooks’ when I was frustrated, I have no idea where that came from.

Terrystred, my mum always called us guttersnipes if we got too dirty playing (mainly my brother ?
Grandmama, I thought only my mum said 'bread and pull it' if we dared ask what was for dinner ?
We say 'lay the table' - London and Bucks.

Set the table,lay the table...it's interesting! We say set the table, after reading all the posts....doesn't seem to be a North South thing...hmmm!!

Yes we went all round the Wrekin! Jane43 the Black Country and in particular, Bilston, is a source of tales! Aynuk and Ali part of my past!

MyMIL used to say ‘it’s black over Bill’s mother’s’ when clouds were dark.