Our parent's sayings

[grahamg]

A thread dedicated to sayings, maxims or mottos our parents (and grandparents), used or lived by, might add to the forum, giving a more personal perspective perhaps, than other similar threads.

I've got loads to relate, but I'll kick off with this one my father used infrequently, but to the amusement of some highly ambitious cousins:
"Be Mr. Nobody, with a bob in your pocket" (substitute "bob" with dollar for US members).

 

[CarolfromTX]

My mother used to say "He has more (whatever) than Carter has liver pills." What a liver pill is, is anyone's guess. One of my old standards that I never hear anyone else say, is "Oh, for cryin' in a bucket!"

 

[Gardenlover]

Nice thread!

My dad would say, "When every day is a holiday, no day is a holiday."

A bit haunting today.

 

[Gaer]

"Don't take any wooden nickels." "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." "Whatever will be,will be." "Always keep your knees together." "Batten down the hatches." "A hundred years from now, it won't mean a diddley damn!" "No singing at the table!" " Laugh before breakfast and you'll cry before dinner." "Beware the ides of March!" (never knew what an ide was)There's more, but can't think of them.
My Dad used to always say, "Damn! I'm good lookin!"

 

[Marlene]

Dad always said "wish in one hand and spit in the other; see which one fills up first" when we were wishing for things we couldn't have.

Mom always said, "don't go buying a pig in a poke," meaning don't accept something you haven't checked out.

 

[Becky1951]

My dads, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

 

[jujube]

Of course, there's the classic that every parent in history has said: "So if everyone (said with verbal quotation marks) is jumping off a cliff, are you going to do that, too?"

 

[Pepper]

Gey gezunt aun kum gezunt
Go in health and come in health

One of only 10,000 constant sayings and lecture points.

 

[win231]

My dad was born in Russia & grew up in Chicago. He was a defense attorney for several big mobsters. Most of his sayings came from his clients & are too dirty to post here. But I remember "Make yourself useful" before telling us to do something.
His favorite one was "He's fulla s---."

 

[PopsnTuff]

A thread dedicated to sayings, maxims or mottos our parents (and grandparents), used or lived by, might add to the forum, giving a more personal perspective perhaps, than other similar threads.

I've got loads to relate, but I'll kick off with this one my father used infrequently, but to the amusement of some highly ambitious cousins:
"Be Mr. Nobody, with a bob in your pocket" (substitute "bob" with dollar for US members).

Never heard that one....

 

[ronaldj]

my dad used to say, "a change is as good as a rest." now my children say their dad says that. he also would say if you pushing carrying a wheel borrow of something that was to heavy to push, "that is a lazy mans load, to lazy to make two trips."

 

[PopsnTuff]

Mom often said 'because I said so', when asked something she didnt wanna answer....I Hated hearing that.....
Dad said lots of cuss words like 'J.C. almighty' or 'son of a beeatch', lol.....

 

[Geezerette]

My father’s best one: “ You can do what you want as long as you don’t scare the horses.” Meaning don’t create a disturbance or act goofy. Blend in.

 

[Keesha]

Stop crying or I give you something to cry about
You’re a brat ... ( and I actually am )
You talk too much .... ( and I actually do )
You’re such a show off .... ( yep! Sure am )
You’re just like your dad. ( no I’m not )
You made your bed, you can lay in it.
No talking at the dinner table.
Stop that or you’ll get a thick ear.
Fiddle sticks.

 

[Pinky]

I shared an apartment with a Finnish girl whose father used to say - "when the head is stupid, the body suffers".

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

My dad would say,"don't take any wooden nickles every night before I went to bed. My grandma would say,"don't that jar your Mothers peaches" when something went wrong.
She would say,"Keep your shirt on" when anyone hurried her.

 

[Duster]

My mom would say, "What will the neighbors think?"
My answer, "Nothing, if you don't tell them".
The truth is that I never cared what the neighbors, or the church people, or the relatives thought.
Since I didn't go around telling everyone my business, there was no judgement about it.

Two sayings she said that turned out to be true are:
1. If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. This is especially true when you post things on the internet.
2. You have to make your own fun. I took that one to heart and entertained myself and those around me ever since.

 

[grahamg]

Stop crying or I give you something to cry about
You’re a brat ... ( and I actually am )
You talk too much .... ( and I actually do )
You’re such a show off .... ( yep! Sure am )
You’re just like your dad. ( no I’m not )
You made your bed, you can lay in it.
No talking at the dinner table.
Stop that or you’ll get a thick ear.
Fiddle sticks.

We more or less had the "no talking at the dinner table" rule too.

It wasn't always adhered to, but at one time, with nine around the table, it was necessary to avoid everything descending into a big argument, about this or that (my paternal grandparents had the same rule my father said, when he and his three brothers were young).

"Your just like your dad/mum" rings some bells too!

 

[Furryanimal]

My grandmother-‘I’ve got a bone to pick with you’.Meaning she was upset with you over something.

 

[grahamg]

My mother had a saying I never really believed in, or thought had any merit, and it went something along the lines of,: "Someone is always to blame" when something went wrong!

Maybe there were nuances to it, or the way she said it, and giving my mother some credit now when its too late to tell her, I suppose when something goes wrong "people" (in general) do look for someone to blame don't they, so you might as well be ready for this behaviour.

 

[win231]

Gey gezunt aun kum gezunt
Go in health and come in health

One of only 10,000 constant sayings and lecture points.

My dad always spoke to his dad in Yiddish. None of us ever knew what they were saying, but we would repeat the words, anyway. It always made our grandfather laugh.

 

[Gary O']

sayings, maxims or mottos our parents (and grandparents), used

No mottos, maxims, or sayings

But I got a lot of this;

'Don't make me come back there!!'

Oh, and I made a poster from another I often heard
I never talked back, but I had my thoughts;

 

[Pepper]

My Aunt Dotty:
"Sh!t or get off the pot."

 

[Em in Ohio]

A thread dedicated to sayings, maxims or mottos our parents (and grandparents), used or lived by, might add to the forum, giving a more personal perspective perhaps, than other similar threads.

I've got loads to relate, but I'll kick off with this one my father used infrequently, but to the amusement of some highly ambitious cousins:
"Be Mr. Nobody, with a bob in your pocket" (substitute "bob" with dollar for US members).

MY grandmother's birth control advice: "Don't let your juices mix." (It got passed down the family line!)

 

[Fyrefox]

Most of my father's sayings were along the lines of wise guidance, such as "If it's a job worth doing, do it well." My mother's sayings were usually bitingly critical or sarcastic, such as "You don't know what's good!" when I'd turn down a food, or "You make a better door than a window!" when I'd obstruct her view of the television set...