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Re: 'he has only got 2 hairs and a nit'....no I don't recall this....but I think it should be re-instated, as it made me smile ;-)
 
My dad often said "Its not fit for a dog to be out - send your mother!" Charming!! I like to believe (no, I am sure) it was said in jest! Hmm!
 
I have been given this today, but I cant confirm its correct.

Where did pi** poor come from

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot, then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

if you had to do this to survive you were "Pi** Poor".But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...They "didn't have a pot to pi** in" and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500's

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May so they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies, by then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.it was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals(mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existance.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door and it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire., every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving left-overs in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old � .

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special so when visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom; of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people, so they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive, so they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was "considered a dead ringer.
 
caroline, thank you very much for that insight into all those origins. But to get myself back on track "if you fall and break your leg, don't come running to me, and you can stop that blartin or I'll box your ears. The wisdom of my forbears!!!
jimbo
 
I really enjoyed reading this Carolina, thankyou very much! The only one I can think of at the moment is a snitch stitch, used by sailors when sewing the canvas around a sailor who had died would put a stitch through his nose incase he was faking death because of the terrible conditions. If you have anymore I would love to read them. best wishes,

Chris
 
Thanks for that Carolina. I did know some but learned some new ones.

I never understood what my Dad meant when I asked whats for breakfast he would say "A cornflake and a caraway seed".
 
These are the ones I remember from the top of my head..
Got a face as long as a flag pole
You are enough to make god swear (charming)
You wanna be careful you don't go cock eyed....no one says that anymore do they 'cock eyed' lol
:)
 
Shut up or I'll give you something to cry for. I'll box your ears in a minute ( I was long gone before the minute was up). Have you washed those ears today, you could grow spuds in 'em.
 
LucyJayne said:
These are the ones I remember from the top of my head..
Got a face as long as a flag pole
You are enough to make god swear (charming)
You wanna be careful you don't go cock eyed....no one says that anymore do they 'cock eyed' lol
:)
Click to expand...
No we don't hear cock eyed or boss eyd, or blartin anymore's the pity. It's enough to make a saint swear. My sainted aunt. 'Blige me 'Arriott.
What yaw want yow most want soomat. Whas oop a soomat. (What's up).
(said of a strange married pair,) they'd spile another coople. Dinna fret thee sen. Type it 'ere (for the coal). "er's got fayte like an 'osses 'oof.
Worra motley crew, like a cart load o' monkeys gooin t' ell t'ava sxxt. A sxxt, a shave an a clayne shairt an' yowm an know mon.
I passed the Stewponey this weekend. Brought back a load of memories, Kinver, Stourbridge Enville and Stourton.
The Old Cat yer mother in law! (the pub.)
 
carolina said:
I have been given this today, but I cant confirm its correct.

Where did pi** poor come from

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot, then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

if you had to do this to survive you were "Pi** Poor".But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...They "didn't have a pot to pi** in" and were the lowest of the low.

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500's

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May so they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies, by then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath.it was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals(mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.

This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existance.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door and it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire., every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving left-overs in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old � .

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special so when visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom; of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people, so they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive, so they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was "considered a dead ringer.
Click to expand...
Nan sang, Oh feyther look at your unlce Jim, divin in the pixx pot learnin ow to swim,. From the soldiers' chorus. (I may have posted this before, to the sort of intro before the verse in Colonely Bogey) Don't throw the lamp at mother it's a shame to werst the isle (oil)
 
Re: Where have you been?

I had forgotten a lot of these. Nan said when she came in from the wind, I look like the wild 'ooman of Borneo.
I thought Borneo was in Birmingham. Must have got mixed up with Bourneville as a kid.
Also if someone maybe wore a small hat or grandad received a small portion he would say it's like a tom tit on a hayrick.
 
Re: Where have you been?

Nico said:
I had forgotten a lot of these. Nan said when she came in from the wind, I look like the wild 'ooman of Borneo.
I thought Borneo was in Birmingham. Must have got mixed up with Bourneville as a kid.
Also if someone maybe wore a small hat or grandad received a small portion he would say it's like a tom tit on a hayrick.
Click to expand...
I always thought it was a "Tom Tit on a Round of Beef". Must have come from the "Posh" end of Brum, Erdington.
 
If you had a skinny kid that was complaining about getting fat, the saying was "I've seen more fat on a butchers apron" or as an alternative, " I've seen more fat on a greasy chip"
 
Yes Bikeral72, my grandad said to me I've seen more mate (meat) on a butcher's 'ook. Or when he came in from the cold late from work he would say I've just seen 3 brass monkeys looking for a blow lamp. Nan would say, I'm fit to bost or fit to bostin. I knew a girl who worked Erdington, she wreckoned it was posh! Worked in the Co Op. Her husband was a DJ in the 70's called Bilbo Baggins, from Handsworth. Nan and Grandad were Black Country. Ees like a dig with 2 tails!
 
From other parts of the country came- " I've seen more meat on a chicken's lip" and "I've seen more meat on a bone handled knife !"
Probably Liverpool.
 
My mate's Irish granny, of someone with a bare chest, he's very hot in his leather. His auntie said, of an argumentative soul, that man would raise a row with a stuffed dummy. Nan would say I'll either go bald or daft, and I'll goo mad an' give rock away!
 
I just thought of another one - mum used to refer to anyone of a larger build(!) as being "as big as Bess Nutt". I wonder if Bess Nutt was a person? s'pose she must've been! Another one was if you were a bit of a loud mouth you had a "mouth like a barn door".
 
Nan used to sing this to me if my hair was unkempt. (It still is)

Sam! Sam!
A dirty old man
Washed his face in the frying pan
Combed his hair with a leg of a chair
Sam! Sam! the dirty old man.

I wondered if she made it up or is it a real rhyme or song anybody?

And if I had a little accident, grandad said, you've mucked yer ticket.

Nan assailed one of our neighbours once. (The woman's daughter could do no wrong in her eyes) "The next time yow bath yower Mary 'ave a look an see if 'ers a sproutin' wings!

When anyone had a skirmish, Nan would say, It want's me there! No it doesn't mother, mum would whisper under her breath.

Or if Nan was arguing with someone she would say, an' yow can put yer ruddy eyes back in yer 'ead!
 
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