In American literature, two of the most mismatched couples I can think of are the mom and dad in Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel and the mom and dad in Pat Conroy’s Prince of Tides.
My parents could have given them a run for their money.
Things my dad used to say:
Ilregardless.
I should hope to kiss a pig.
It’s a bra, brit, moonlit nit tonit.
Your word should be your bond.
Excuse a hog, I meant to vomit.
These hands were trained to kill.
It’s neether of nyther, it’s nayther.
Wish in one hand, spit in the other, and see which you get the most of.
Can’t never did anything.
This is going to hurt me worse than it hurts you.
Things my mother used to say:
Pride goeth before a fall.
If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.
Faint heart ne’er won fair maid.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
A soft answer turneth away wrath.
There but for the grace of God go I.
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back.
Vas you dere, Charley?
He never asked to be born.
Many of your mother's saying were in use here too. Your fathers? Not that I recall...
ReplyDeleteThey both sound like informative and entertaining folks! Of course, one of them sounds a bit more informative than the other and one sounds a bit more entertaining... ;)
ReplyDeleteYour father's one here - "These hands were trained to kill." - had me laughing the most. I must do something similar regarding my own parents and grandparents too. I know one of ma's regular ones was - 'always wash your hands in the morning - you never know where they've been in the night". Wise words eh? Hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child, the only person in the entire world I have ever heard say "ilregardless" was my dad. A strange word that defies logic. The Latin prefix in means "not" (and in English we say innumerable, insufficient, incorrect, and so forth) but sometimes the consonant is changed to match the word being negated (as in illegal, immature, irreligious, and so forth). Also, most people know that "irregardless" is not orrect because "regardless" is adequate, but my dad blurred all the rules with his "ilregardless"....
LightExpectations, I never think of my dad as entertaining. To be feared, perhaps, but not entertaining. He regularly scared the bejeebers out of me. I don't know whether he viewed himself as entertaining.
All Consuming, see my answer to LightExpectations. Another of this apparently humorous lines was "Don't cry or I'll give you something to cry about."
Yes, they sound mismatched ... but were they happy?
ReplyDeleteFrances, they were definitely mismatched and definitely not happy. I hope they were happy in the beginning; they definitely were not in later years.
ReplyDelete“Vas you dere, Charley?”
ReplyDeleteYes, you’ve quoted that one to suggest that you question evolution. I know it’s why I question WWI, the Lincoln presidency, and the discovery of America.