Monday, August 8, 2011

Shut the Front Door!

Slap Your Mama  ....What does that mean anyway?  I gather it means "Good job!", "awesome", etc, all out great.  Better than great even.

There have been all kinds of slang and catch phrases through the years.  We Boomers have gone through decades of our own.  :There are generational phrases and words and there are regional ones.

There are ones that we hold onto and others that are no longer pertinent in our lives.  Mostly we don't want to appear dated or more likely, ridiculous.  "far out, groovy and right on" come to mind.

My husband grew up in northern Michigan just south of the Mackinac Bridge that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan.  He went to college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan which also has a bridge that connects it to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.   Living that close to Canada, as long as I've known him he has used Canada's # 1 slang export. "Ay?"  pronouced "A".  Down here, at the Marine base, the guys kid him about it.  It's regional, ay?

The words and phrases that amuse me most are the ones that I say still, that came from my Mother.  Just last night Terry and I were changing our sheets on the bed.  They are t-shirt sheets that have stretched out and are no longer square , so I told him they were "Whoppiejawed".  He calmly said, "That's your mother ."  Of course it is.  So is Cattywampus.. What the heck?  Also "Stoop".  If your porch is not big enough to qualify as a porch, it is a stoop. Right?  Terry had never heard that before he met my mother ( and me apparently). The one that drives him nuts is "stuffy".  I cannot breathe  if the room or car is stuffy.  I think he's heard that a few times over the last 30 years.  How do northerners communicate without these colorful terms? 



Mom with my younger daughters when they were little, about 20 years ago.  They are 26 and 28 now.  They had many saturday night sleepovers in Grammy's big bed. 

I know, when we were children, my mother would say "See ya later alligator" to us and wait for the "after while crocodile."  She had my daughters saying it when they were little too.  So, forget the whole "Kibash".  No way.  I say "Heebie Jeebies" but I'm not sure if I got that from my mother.
.

I've also said " Run around like a chicken with its head cut off",     Unfortunately, I saw that at about 5 years old, at one of my grandmother's and that's a sight that sticks with you. Lordy......

 My father may have his favorites too, but because he worked nights and I was in school or working during the day, I rarely spent any time with him.  In later years, after he retired, he was and is pretty much a loner so I didn't have the hours and hours of time with him like I did my mother.  Her slang greatly influenced mine.  

She had others that I didn't adopt.  For instance: " Piddlin, Fit to be Tied, and Walking in Tall Cotton." 

 I'm sure my daughters could have their own list.  Some of these have to stuck with them too.

Do you hear your parents slang or phrases coming out of your own mouth too?  I'd love to hear what they are.   I can't be the only one brainwashed out here.






13 comments:

rockygrace said...

Oh, boy, "got a hitch in my giddyup" means I've got a limp. "Cop a squat" is a *very* indelicate way of saying "Have a seat". Give me some time - I'm sure I can come up with some more old family sayings. :)

Oh yeah - "You'd lose your head if it wasn't attached" applies to someone who's always misplacing stuff.

Anonymous said...

That's a good question. I often think of their slang phrases in my head, but rarely say them out loud. My parents were older when I was born, so what they said was already out-of-date when I was a kid.

The one phrase that I do say out loud is when someone is running late-- and he or she says: "I'm coming." I always respond, just like my father did, with: "So's Christmas!"

Deanna said...

Land sakes, child, we had so many. You have touched on quite a few of them. One I still find myself say is "I'll Swarn", which I believe was something her generation made up to take the place of the word swear. Then there is the one that Jim always did with our kid and now the grandkids.... "Morning Glory" and they respond "Evening Star", (him) "Think it'll rainbow?" (them) "It might snowman." I'm always fixin' to do something. I don't say it, but have cousins who still say "You-uns come see us now, ya hear?" There are so many! Great post.

Mary said...

My Dad used to say, "he doesn't know his *ss from page 8". The word "grubby" comes to mind and "toidy" as in, "do you have to go "toidy?" I really hated that one...

Just Stuff From a Boomer said...

Ally - I don't think "Woppiejawed" was ever "in" accept at my house growing up.

You would think as a teen I would have been mortified, but, I don't think I was.

I love all these others and I have heard them, for sure.

Chatty Crone said...

When my 35 year old was a teen he bought a CD by Guns and Roses and it said something to the effect - kill your mama - needless to say hubby ripped it in two pieces.

Sweet Tea said...

"kaddywonk" - crooked

Remember when a cute guy was referred to as a STUD?

Kathy said...

Another fun post! I love these...One word that my in-laws used strikes me funny. They called the trunk of their car, a "cooter shell"! I've never heard anyone else say that.

I say "wankerjawed" for crooked.

My husband and our granddaughter used to say the "see ya' later, alligator/after while, crocodile scenario for a while.

mary said...

You do bring back memories! My dad always repeated the "tall cotton" phrase, only never said sitting (but something that sounded almost the same). We were always describing things as "nifty", "keen" and "cool" and the kids we didn't like at the time had "cooties". My mom always said "night, night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite". Unfortunately, that may be too close to home for some people based on the recent news.

Far Side of Fifty said...

We have said "A" since vacationing in Canada in the 1980's..it makes us smile..it is like a family joke!
I loved all your phrases..I still say see ya later alligator to my Great Nieces and Nephews:)

Lisa Gioia-Acres said...

My Polish grandmother would say, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph", in Polish, of course. She's been gone for a decade now but I will say that once in a while.

Tina L. Hook said...

Cattywampus. I think I need to bring that one back.

Feisty Crone said...

Every once in a while, I will say to myself, "that person is crazier than a shit house rat," one of my Dad's favorite sayings. And these days, I usually say this about a politician (Republican OR Democrat). Makes me smile as I think of my dear Dad.

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