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My Nan's sayings

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Mum used to say, Choke up chicken, there's more hatchin' or choke up chicken, it's only half a brick. Made me smile Jean.
Nan used to say, Carry On London.
 
When asking the way to the post office when I was working in West Bromwich around 1965 an old man said, 'goo dowun the rowud & tern left at the goostops, yow cor missit :unconscious: goostops = traffic lights
 
Carry on London was a catch phrase from the BBC Radio Programme "In Town Tonight"

From Wikipedia: In Town Tonight was a BBC radio programme broadcast on Saturday evening from 1933 to 1960 (except for a period of 26 weeks in 1937 when The BBC presents the ABC was broadcast instead). It was an early example of the chat show, originally presented by Eric Maschwitz.
Its theme music was the Knightsbridge March by Eric Coates. Its introductory sequence had a voice crying "Stop" to interrupt the sound of busy central London, before an announcer said "Once more we stop the mighty roar of London's traffic ..." At the end of the programme the voice would say "Carry on, London".
 
DavidGrain said:
Carry on London was a catch phrase from the BBC Radio Programme "In Town Tonight"

From Wikipedia: In Town Tonight was a BBC radio programme broadcast on Saturday evening from 1933 to 1960 (except for a period of 26 weeks in 1937 when The BBC presents the ABC was broadcast instead). It was an early example of the chat show, originally presented by Eric Maschwitz.
Its theme music was the Knightsbridge March by Eric Coates. Its introductory sequence had a voice crying "Stop" to interrupt the sound of busy central London, before an announcer said "Once more we stop the mighty roar of London's traffic ..." At the end of the programme the voice would say "Carry on, London".
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Thanks David. Any Idea where Mind My Bike and Its getting a bit dark over Bill's mothers comes from?
 
izzy eckerslike said:
When asking the way to the post office when I was working in West Bromwich around 1965 an old man said, 'goo dowun the rowud & tern left at the goostops, yow cor missit :unconscious: goostops = traffic lights
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Well I never heard that before. Do Brummies and West Brommies also say jitty or is that Black Country? Nan also said shut yer clarnet! and, well damn my 'ooray!
 
Apparently Mind My Bike was a Jack Warner catchphrase and was used in the wartime radio comedy ITMA. If I had not looked that one up I would have said it was a Derek Guyler catchphrase.

I am not sure about the phrase that I know as "It's looking black over Bill's Mother's". It is a local Black Country (and possibly Birmingham) term. I remeber Carl Chinn once saying that he thought it came from "black over Bilston" (Bilston = Bill's town, therefore where Bill's mother lives)
 
I read somewhere (maybe on this website, can't remember) that '....black over Bill's Mother's...' refered to Stratford on Avon. 'Bill' being William Shakespeare.

I must admit I was surprised as I've never heard that before!
 
Thanks David and A Sparks for the answers.
When Nan was fed up she would say Ecky Pecky Anna Wine, kissed the baby and the swine.
Mum told me later that it should be Eppy Pecky Anna Wine, not written like this either and that it was a real name for a tonic. So maybe this post should be on one of those disappearing products?
Nan often got words mixed up, sometimes on purpose. e.g. her maternity ring, donnimoes and so and so works at the Dalmer (Daimler)
She also said Mary Jones is a bag o' bones an a bally full o' fat. I don't know if Mary Jones was a real person.
I also asked before about Nanny Goon but didn't get any answers. Nan would say ers uz fat uz Nanny Goon.
Nan used to sing "Allo Allo old Watchername, I know yer face but name I canna tell, there's Mr Watchername, and Misiss Watchername, an all the little Watchernames as well.I think it was a propersong as she sang a whole verse. And I'm gooin back to Imazaz, Imazaz the pub next dooa. Woould this be songs nan used to sing thread? Nico
 
Ipecacuana Wine is a medicine. Never had it thank God. Can induce vomiting but in a diluted form can be good for coughs and can reduce nausia eg in morning sickness.
 
Nan uaed to add at the end of a phrase to emphaaize her point, " with nobs on, with or brass nobs on, or if mum heard a big word she didn't understand she would say, we had one of them but the wheels fell off!
Nan also said when she was being rude and angry (if I was in earshot,) are soldiers, or arm holes.
 
DavidGrain said:
With (Brass) knobs on see https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/with-brass-knobs-on
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I thought it was a popular saying.
My auntie used to say "and one for his knob!" if she was exited. I wonder where that hails from and things like la dee dah for posh?
Nan also said...with a vengeance, "yow an ow's army!", (no one would make her if she didn't want to do something)
and the "giz it eer", for a newspaper or a magazine I guess that came from gazette.
 
One for his nob(s): is a term in the game of Cribbage when a Jack of the same suit as the starter card, either in the hand
or crib, counts one point.
 
jukebox said:
One for his nob(s): is a term in the game of Cribbage when a Jack of the same suit as the starter card, either in the hand
or crib, counts one point.
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Thanks Jukebox, Auntie played a lot of cards, she was my partber or I was her handicap, we used to play Newmarket and many games with toy money. I still have the toy money, tiny coins in a small box with enamel cards on the top.
 
DavidGrain said:
"giz it eer" is simply "give it here" meaning give it to me and does not just mean a newspaper.
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Yes, thanks, David, Nan would say giz it eer then, with a sigh if I couldn't make something work, but she would also say, I read it in the giziteer.
Dad would say titfer for hat but he wasn't a Cockney. He was a Coventry Kid. He had a Coventry Cap with a button on the top.
Nan would say she would put her hard hat with sleeves in, on, if it was cold.She did wear a wooly hat and socks over her stockings in the winter as there was no central heating then was there.
Grandad said his rattin' hat.
 
My Father used to say 'Never in the reign of pigs pudding', meaning i don't believe a word of it.

No idea where that comes from...
 
Oh yes david
pigs will fly before i ever get to under stand them to except things people say or do its beggers beleive
i still used tis expression today [ pigs will fly before i can unstand it ] why people do or except it ;
astonian ;;
 
Nan would say, put the pig on the wall to see the band goo by. she said it came from Gornall. My family also said pigs pudding, unheard of here. A Dublin friend called pigs' trotters crow be ans. Or she would say me crow be ans are killin me. Her feet she meant.
Grandad said you can eat everything on a pig apart from the squeal.
 
DavidGrain said:
Lengthy definition of "la-di-da" on https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/la-di-da.html

Jake Thackery recorded a song Lah-di-dah, lyrics on https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/l/ladidah.shtml
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Love that song and Jake Thackery, and singers of similar ilk, I have heard in French oh la la la la la, not ooh la la, as in oh come on, or to be soothing or vexed, and. dee dee dee dee dee, like now now come come, and turulutututu, pish tosh etc. My teeth tend to come out though when I try.
 
Nan would say, wacker wacker woo, in a high loud voice, reminding me of the roaring 20's maybe. (doo wack a doo) She did this if she was fed up and needed to let off steam.
 
My mothers paternal family hailed from Sedgley/Upper Gornal but those sayings are new to me.

Mind her mother was a Glaswegian so i expect any local sayings may have been lost during her upbringing.


QUOTE=Nico;458113]Nan would say, put the pig on the wall to see the band goo by. she said it came from Gornall. My family also said pigs pudding, unheard of here. A Dublin friend called pigs' trotters crow be ans. Or she would say me crow be ans are killin me. Her feet she meant.
Grandad said you can eat everything on a pig apart from the squeal.[/QUOTE]
 
Still if you mention Lower Gornal to older people in the Black Country they will instantly reply with "That's where they put the pig on the wall to watch the band go by". Origin is not know but the term is used as a derogatory expession about the intelligence of Gornal people. One suggestion is that two men were carrying an ingot of pig iron when a procession went past so they put the pig iron down on a wall to watch.
 
Nan had a freied call Etty Sedgley who came from Sedgley,or maybe Hetty (knowing Nan for dropping her aitches. I always put my foot in it when quoting Nan as in me gran an an ome elp, in front of the class at school. And being ridiculed. And we went to Abberley at the weekend and Imley All. I see the Crooked House was on the news a few weeks back. Where some poor lad drowned. Could anyone tell me where the Bottomless Pool is? Nan always quoted it where many a child was 'drownded.' Maybe it was there.
 
DavidGrain said:
Still if you mention Lower Gornal to older people in the Black Country they will instantly reply with "That's where they put the pig on the wall to watch the band go by". Origin is not know but the term is used as a derogatory expession about the intelligence of Gornal people. One suggestion is that two men were carrying an ingot of pig iron when a procession went past so they put the pig iron down on a wall to watch.
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Very interesting David. Nan always mentioned her ommer ond if she strained her arm mangling and the like. She also went on about Box Hill being rough (sorry folks who live there) it was a long time ago though. Grandad's two aunties lived there, when his mum saw them coming she would say, what them to a wantin they must want summat. Want as rhymes with ant. She also said as fat as George Loveitt. I saw him mentionied on Blue Peter once maybe ,a very fat man. Nan also said of her dad who was bow legged, ee cor stop a pig in an entry. Yet my great gran called the entry the jitty.
Nico
 
As I have a chesty cough it reminded me of Nan again and her sayings, she would say I've got an ackin' cow. She also called prunes and custard, bowel openers and cowsturd.
 
Hi nico, your nan's sayings reminds me of a time when I lived and worked in dudley for a while and some of their sayings. Ge it sum omma was one meaning give it some hammer. Another one was the brummagem screwdriver referring to a hammer. Another one was don't tickle it, hit it and final one for the moment, when you referred to a flat tyre, they would say only on the bottom. Regards nijinski
 
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