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sayings

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Hi All,

When I was a lad and returned home to find my mother out I would ask my father "Where's Mom?" He invariably replied "She's gone off with a black man" Today, of course such a remark would be considered racist but in those days poiitical correctness did not exist and in any case the number of black men in the country was few and far between.

Old Boy
 
If I asked my Mom where she'd been she would often reply - there and back to see how far it is!
 
Re: Where have you been?

which jim,i'm related to' 2 jim who was my brother and jim my nephew.from quinton
 
Re: Where have you been?

gunna rav some donnak on the bombers (going to have some fun on the bomb buildings) donnak also meant good, its come up a donnak. can anybody else remember
this word?
 
I may have posted this previously, can't remember, but my mother was always very outspoken about a person's looks. If she thought that someone (a woman, in particular) was unattractive, she'd say so. We'd reply along the lines, "She can't help her looks", to which Mom would invariably say, "Well, at least she could stay at home". Her other common comment about a person's looks was, "She's got a face like fourpence!" We never did figure that one out.

G
 
Big Gee said:
I may have posted this previously, can't remember, but my mother was always very outspoken about a person's looks. If she thought that someone (a woman, in particular) was unattractive, she'd say so. We'd reply along the lines, "She can't help her looks", to which Mom would invariably say, "Well, at least she could stay at home". Her other common comment about a person's looks was, "She's got a face like fourpence!" We never did figure that one out.


G
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In a similar vein, our Dad used to say " 'er's gorra face like a bostid boot ".
 
Big Gee I wonder if your mothers comment was anything to to with on of my Dad's sayings "I will give you a fourpenny one." This was usually when we were naughty...ha ha
 
Continuing with the money theme, " penny for your thoughts". Never use this myself but lots of people still say it. Viv.
 
I do not know where this came from, but my Wife and I would have a saying where one of us would start with, " How's your mother off for dripping?" and the reply was, "Up to her neck in lard." Thinking about it, the saying probably originated during the war years when dripping was used for spreading on bread. It tasted lovely on toast.
 
I remember when women were in a group having a natter my dad would say "They are chewing the fat". Jean.
 
Wendy said:
Big Gee I wonder if your mothers comment was anything to to with on of my Dad's sayings "I will give you a fourpenny one." This was usually when we were naughty...ha ha
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Could be, Wendy! I wonder why 'fourpence'?

I was on the receiving-end of a many a "fourpenny one" when I was a nipper, usually from my gran who lived with us.

G
 
When i used to ask my Dad where Mom was, he used to say she's gone to the shops and probably got caught up 'canting'




G G Jean said:
I remember when women were in a group having a natter my dad would say "They are chewing the fat". Jean.
Click to expand...
 
When asking my Mom (What have we got to eat), she would say !! SOME OF THAT TILL THE OTHERS DONE!!
 
I wonder if 'canting' stems from the word incantation, just a thought..
 
Growing up as a Coventry Kid if I had my hands in my pockets my Dad, a Brummie, would say I had my Brumagem gloves on or that I had my elbows in my pockets. He used to call Brum the Holey City, more holey than righteous, because of all the manholes in the streets I think. He'd call sausage and tomatoes - bangers and red lead. He'd say donnies (from the French?) for hands, the wooden hill was stairs, and a slice of bread was always a piece. If you asked what was for dinner it was bread and duck under the table! He used a lot of sayings mentioned in other posts too.
One saying I've never heard from anyone else was "It's enough to make a parson spit blackin')
 
Re: Where have you been?

HI GUYS ;
Another old saying i learnt and heard when i was growing up and i was going to use it this morning when i done my thread to lindy
this morning ; and its when some-one is getting married ; and the word a figure of speech ; was they are getting spliced
meaning married together ;
my old tater or are you alright my old cock ;which some parts of the country they still used like in nuneaton by the old people in the eighties
and i have older rellies in the burmuda village old coal miners they are and they express themseklves to people with that expression ;
tera our kid catch ya later best wishes astonian;;
 
Barbinoz said:
Growing up as a Coventry Kid if I had my hands in my pockets my Dad, a Brummie, would say I had my Brumagem gloves on or that I had my elbows in my pockets. He used to call Brum the Holey City, more holey than righteous, because of all the manholes in the streets I think. He'd call sausage and tomatoes - bangers and red lead. He'd say donnies (from the French?) for hands, the wooden hill was stairs, and a slice of bread was always a piece. If you asked what was for dinner it was bread and duck under the table! He used a lot of sayings mentioned in other posts too.
One saying I've never heard from anyone else was "It's enough to make a parson spit blackin')
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Where in Cov did you grow up Barbinoz as I was one too.
Nan always said donnie hands. she was from Stourbridge.Don't think donnies come from French could be wrong though. French for hands is les mains. Dad always said Okey doke and the Brummigen 'ow doo ya do" never heard it since.
If he was ready to do something he would say, shoot, fire, bung! My brummy cousins said peacie for bread or a sandwich. Other relatives said a sheet for a note of money. Nan would say I wouldn't give a brass farthing for that. Grandad would say he was spittin feathers or he was as dry as the bottom of a budgies cage. (our budgie had sandpaper on his).
Nico
 
Hi nico ;
i myself still use that
expression when i have been a long time before i last had a cuppa of tea
i still say i,m spitting feathjers whem stone dry and i need a drink ;
 
As a child l remember my g/mother "who was from the black country", would use the expression "its coming up on a handcart" if one asked when dinner or tea would be ready,.....Brenda
 
If I wasn't relaxed or if I wasn't sure I was allowed to do something, Nan would mean I could, aand would say, you are in your grannies, my Irish friend would say you are in yer grannie's yacht. Sometimes I was allowed to eat a chip or a fish finger, with my fingers when mum would say, fingers were made before forks. Did any one have this happen, if we found ourselves with say, 2 knives = a quarrel, 2 spoons = an ew baby and 2 forks = a gathering? And I still haven't found out who Nanny Goon was? Nan would say, I look as fat as Nanny Goon in that frock! Any offers? Or if the teacher told me off, Nan would say, goo an tell er to fry er ferce in drippin! - I never did though.
 
Hi Nico, I was from Radford, a very long time ago! Sorry I meant to say from the French verb donner - to give.
It's really sad all these old sayings are being replaced by boring mid-Atlantic twoddle! The same has happened in OZ, they used to have such colourful sayings but they have almost gone.
I use some old sayings all the time - just because I can!
 
Barbinoz said:
Hi Nico, I was from Radford, a very long time ago! Sorry I meant to say from the French verb donner - to give.
It's really sad all these old sayings are being replaced by boring mid-Atlantic twoddle! The same has happened in OZ, they used to have such colourful sayings but they have almost gone.
I use some old sayings all the time - just because I can!
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Me too and I find them crepping in it makes me feel that my family are still here as I don't plan to say them, and I never used to say them, they just come out. I used to drop mum and dad off at Radford club. I said, when are they going to do it up? mum said, they have just done it up!
Had many a good night at Merrick Lodge also. Used to clamber over the barrier on the ring road to get to it and fall over it coming back. Yes I hate the new language but dad used to say honey lamb honey sugar honey pie. I don't know if it was an American expression or an advert or a film? I see donner. My Black country Nan used to be good at French, (she said) I wondered if it was her accent as she would say bonk for bank and French for bank is banque pronounced bonk. And for bench. The French don't like it either, the English words coming in but I think they are Americanized words. My friend over there is a retired teacher she had a lad in her class called Brandon and his sister is Sue-Ellen.
 
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