Yesterday I told you a couple of things my dad used to say, like ‘Pull my finger’ and ‘Listen my children, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice’. No sooner had I pressed PUBLISH when a few other things my dad used to say (he died in 1967) popped up in my mind from the depths of wherever they had been hiding.
I thought I’d share them with you as well:
1. ‘Use your head for something besides keeping your ears apart’.
2. ‘Put your hand on your “huh” and see if your heart’s beating’. (whenever someone* said “Huh?”)
3. ‘ “I see”, said the blind man, as he picked up his hammer and saw’.
4. ‘Can’t never did anything’.
5. ‘Cat fur to make kitten britches’. (whenever someone* said “What fer?” instead of “What for?”) (Note. People in Texas say "What fer?" and people in Missouri say "What far?")
6. ‘I should hope to kiss a pig’. (which meant "Definitely!" and not what you might expect, "Never!")
7. 'Rise and shine, it's daylight in the swamps!'
*The someone was usually me.
I miss him and I don't miss him at the same time.
Your assignment: Pick your favorite(s) and give reasons.
Number 5 is the one I chose. The reason? My nephew was always fond of saying, "I'll give him a whatfer." when he was arguing with someone.
ReplyDeleteEmma, I always wondered whether my dad made that one up or had heard it from someone else. It was vaguely amusing but got old after a while.
Delete‘Use your head for something besides keeping your ears apart’, is my favourite one of the sayings you have listed. It contains humour and it might stop someone stop in their tracks and make them think.
ReplyDeleteThe first "stop" should have been "make". Sorry for any confusion.
DeleteYP, He also said, ‘If I tell you to stop, stop first and ask why later, because you might hav been about to step off a cliff’. I thought that saying was a really good one.
DeleteHmmm. I can see why you might not miss him Dear Bob. The sayings are rather... strong. My own approach to raising children is more encouraging, I have to say. Still, it might work with some personalities with the hide of a rhino. My mother always said 'Anyone just needs to look at you and you'd burst into tears.' No rhino, me! (well, under eleven, anyway)
ReplyDeleteKate, I always tried not to cry because another of my dad’s sayings was ‘Don’t cry or I’ll give you something to cry about ‘.
ReplyDeleteOh, that is a truly horrible one that I was familiar with too. It always MADE me cry. Which is so ironic, donchathink? I never used it on mine for that reason. Although when one is frustrated, the default setting is often a parent's saying! From my advanced years looking back I forgive my parents everything, because they were probably just doing their best.
DeleteGosh. This has got Deep! :0)
Kate, I have come around to that conclusion as well, that they were trying to do their best. They were not perfect, and neither am I. But Mrs. RWP and I have said more than once that she learned how not to be a wife from her mother, and I learned how not to be a husband from my dad. Little by little the species is improving, I hope, though sometimes I have my doubts.
DeleteNot having realised that this post had already happened I commented on your previous post. My Dad's saying that I recall, and use, was "Never hate anything."
ReplyDeleteYour Dad's ‘Don’t cry or I’ll give you something to cry about‘ is a very disturbing one.
On the other hand his ‘Use your head for something besides keeping your ears apart’ is good advice.
Graham, I saw it there and replied to you there. I agree about the one being disturbing and the other being good advice. Another good one of his is the one I quoted in my reply to Yorkshire Pudding above, ‘If I tell you to stop, stop first and ask why later, because you might hav been about to step off a cliff’. And sometimes he would add, "or step on a snake'. That part was especially apropos in Texas, the part about the cliff not so much.
DeleteYes, Bob, I'd go along with that.
DeleteBob, just in case there is a post out there by you entitled 'Say what you mean ..etc.' and you are wondering why no-one is commenting, when I click on the link, it comes up with 'this post does not exist'.
ReplyDeleteKate, thanks for the ‘heads up’. There was a post I was working on that I inadvertently published briefly and then put back in draft status. I have since changed the title as well, so what Blogger told you is doubly true, that this post does not exist. I don’t understand why there was a link to it though.
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