Delia Online

By treehugger: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:38
seem to remember a thread on a similar subject a while ago...
when my Dad was here recently he came out with several sayings 'his granny used to say' (i think he was winding me up with some of them?!)
but i'd love you to share any that you know- or that your 'granny used to say'
(and i mean the old fashioned ones like 'keep your hand on your ha'pennies' or 'keep your breath to cool your porridge'!)
(- obviously food related if at all possible!!)

Replies

By Sam, worthing west sussex, uk: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:41
don;t cast a clout till may is out

By Sam, worthing west sussex, uk: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:41
look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves

Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:45

great Sam- thats exactly what i'm after- more please!!!

btw. mine shouldve read- 'save your breath to cool your porridge!'
and whats a clout?!

Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:51

I believe it is a piece of cloth and the May in question is May blossom rather than the month of May.

Lin

By Patsy-Ann: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:56
My Mum when reluctantly putting down her library book to do a job would say - "This won't buy the baby a new bonnet." For a food one - she'd also say 'this won't butter any parsnips' A clout was any item of clothing.

By Rob!!: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:56
stock's as good as money, as my old nan used to say!

By foodie from Luton, Bedfordshire.: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:56
Hold your horses & wait til the cows come home!!!...foodie.

Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 17:59

"...come over 'ere and i'll give you a clip round the ear..." as my other, somewhat grumpier nan used to say!

xxx

By Dolly: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 18:11
Does anyone know where "hot press" comes from....
my mum used to say this instead of airing cupboard....
funny cause I do say this and my daughter said it to one of her friends and he asked her what she was talking about....I thought perhaps an old irish phrase but one of daughter's other friends said they call it that in their home
too.....
Dolly
:0)

By Merrie: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 18:19
My MiL had a few sayings two of which are food related : Chase me I'm a cream bun, and Come into my arms like a bag of chips ..... no we never knew exactly what they meant either but they caused a laugh !
Merrie xxx

By Noreen Collins, Message Board Moderator: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 18:24
If we were stretching the truth trying to pull the wool over my mum's eyes she would say "You must think I came up the Mersey on a bike!".

By kiwi: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 18:47
Hi Dolly. 'Hot press' is a Northern Irish expression. A press is a cupboard, and a hot one is an airing cupboard.

By Karenskitchen: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 18:58
My granny who came from Leith, Edinburgh used to call the living cupboard, the press. I thought it was a Scottish word. The cupboard in the hall which kept all the clutter was called the "glory hole"

By Biggles: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 19:06
"make hay whilst the sun shines"
:0)

By Becki B: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 19:12
If we talked to much at the table mum and dad would say 'be quiet, let your meat stop your mouth'.,

By Annie: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 19:34
Hi Noreen, our equivalent when telling porky pies in Glasgow was " Do you think I came up the Clyde in a banana boat?"
As far as I know, 'the clout' referred to would be a vest or simmet! In other words don't take off any cosy undergarments until the May blossom is out.
When it was time to go home, my mum used to say "Home James and don't spare the horses" in an English accent. I don't know where she got that one and I've never heard anyone else use it.
My dad always said "waste not, want not".

By nanny ogg: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 19:43
Love is blind and marriage is an eye opener.
Fur coat and no knickers.
It looks black over bills mothers.
these are 3 sayings my mum used regularly
x

By Lin: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 21:09
Yes Nanny. 'It looks black over Bill's mothers' is used in the Midlands too. No idea where it comes from.

Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 21:20

Dolly down here in OZ we had what mum called a "linen press" aka cupboard.

Better than a slap in the belly with a dead fish. LOL

By The Original Anastasia: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 21:32
My nan used to say whatever the time was say 6 oclock, she would say "6oclock , & not a child in the house washed"
Anastasia

By The Dinner Service: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 22:40
"she could eat her way through an entry full o' muck"
and another expression about big eaters "I'd rather keep 'em for a week than a fortnight!"

By Dolly: Re: old fashioned sayings
18 Nov 2008 23:41
Treehugger,
lovely thread.....
Karen, my parents also used the phrase "glory hole"...
and Annie, I have heard that one many times, "waste not want not"...
and thanks to Kiwi and cake eater.....glad someone else knows what we are talking about....
Dolly
:0)

By Essex Girl: Re: old fashioned sayings
19 Nov 2008 08:12
When buttering bread "don't forget to plough the corners"!

By Essex Girl: Re: old fashioned sayings
19 Nov 2008 08:15
My mother believes in giving "thank you" gifts and tokens for kind deeds as she says "there's no taste in nothing". True, isn't it?

By Yummy: Re: old fashioned sayings
19 Nov 2008 08:20
Sorry it's a bit late for this, and I may have duplicated some:-
“I wouldn’t like to buy his drink when he gets older”, a child who is forever thirsty
“You would make a better door than a window”, someone who stands in front of the television
“Sharp as a box of knives”, some one who is quick witted
“ You are so sharp one day you will cut yourself”, someone who is a little too sarcastic
“In for a penny, in for a pound”, if you are going to take a risk or gamble over something
Yummy