Favorite words/phrases your parents/grandparents used
Posted by SaintWillyMusic@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 68 comments
Persnikkity, whogee, wet blanket, hooskow, drip, crumbum, myyy land
what else?
sperrywinkle1@reddit
He doesn't know his ass from his elbow.
Affectionate-Map2583@reddit
My dad's version was he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.
sperrywinkle1@reddit
I've heard that one also đ I love the old time phrases.
Affectionate-Map2583@reddit
My one grandma always said "Wellsa" (like well sir) as an exclamation. My other grandmother said anything good was "out of this world".
MrFishpaw@reddit
My Mom always demanded to know "What makes you so stupid?" whenever we fucked up.
Live_Secretary_219@reddit
I was born at night, but not last night!
Jlr1@reddit
For Pete sake!
Bookofdrewsus@reddit
Dadgumit!
tallCircle1362@reddit
I dated a guy and his father would say this if a female person walked in front of him while he was looking for parking spot, driving down the street, etc. âI can knock you over as easy as I can knock you up.â
tallCircle1362@reddit
If you took my aunt for a ride to the store or wherever, when she arrived back home she would say, âThanks for the buggy ride.â
tallCircle1362@reddit
Every time I left the house my dad would say, âDonât take up with anybody.â
nixtarx@reddit
"Slicker than snot on a doorknob.
C'mon! Do something, even if it's wrong!
Too broke to pay attention.
I'll be set when my rich uncle gets out of the poorhouse."
Pappy had a million of them.
nixtarx@reddit
Smellier than a popcorn fart
Fee fie foe, phooey! Something around this joint smells screwy!
Exciting-Half3577@reddit
The davenport. In some parts of the U.S., a davenport is an especially fancy sofa, while in others it's one that can be converted into a bed. The name comes from a 19th century Massachusetts furniture maker, A.H. Davenport and Company. The family name Davenport goes back to a town in Cheshire, England.
Pirlovienne@reddit
Extra fancy? Thatâs funny. One of my grandmas had a âdavenport.â It was known for its heinous avocado green print and scratchy polyester fabric. According to legend, it was chosen because it was the only one in the store long enough for my grandpa to take a nap on without having to scrunch up. Nothing remotely fancy about it.
NeighborhoodNo4274@reddit
My dad would often say âwrite if you get workâ when I was going out.
TrikkiNikk@reddit
My Mom's response to being told "If you do this, that will be the result" was an angry "Yeah?!? You'll shit regularly if you eat right, too!!"
TrikkiNikk@reddit
My great-great Aunt always threatened to give us such a licking!!
That scared the daylights out of me! And I always wondered why Aunt Eva wanted to lick us when we were bad.
Dry-Praline-3043@reddit
Busier than a one-armed paper hanger; colder than a witch's titty; bit dog howls; that dog won't hunt. I could go on. I'm from the South, and the sayings are endless.
Armitage_Soulshroude@reddit
Quarrel will always be my favorite other than "shenanigans" and tomfoolery.
missusfictitious@reddit
British?
Armitage_Soulshroude@reddit
You know...? She didn't speak with an accent. She was born between 'ought 08-12, 20th Century. Her young adult years were 20-35. Mid 40-55... Old... figure it out.
I'd state that it's regional? But as you suspect, British... again. I don't know, nor have ever realized where her "slang words" came from at her age.
You'd have to ask her dad and his grandparents. Yeah? All due respect and fairness.
vanisleone@reddit
Holy doodle!
Beautiful-Event-1213@reddit
Slicker than snail snot on a glass doorknob
Couldn't hit a bull on the ass with a bass fiddle
Shithouse mouse
john-th3448@reddit
Hee hèf de oorn d'r veur de sier anhang'n.
(When I pretended not to hear them)
houseofyesterday@reddit
âBusier than a fart in a mitten.â - grandma
âHungrier than seven sacks of motorscooters.â - dad (until I was older and then the sacks were filled with a different M-word)
vorticia@reddit
What⌠what business does a fart even HAVE in a mitten, and why would it be so busy in there? Lol
Feeling-Ad-2490@reddit
You fart in a mitten to fight the terrible napthalene mothball stink. Two smells enter. One smell leaves!
vorticia@reddit
lol thank you for solving this mystery! Iâm not sure Iâd have been able to sleep.
Iâm down to one more - talking like a guy with a paper ass.Â
No_Difference8518@reddit
My grandmother would say "Home James" when we got home... I always found that funny.
She also used to say "No rest for the wicked or the weary."
Feeling-Ad-2490@reddit
Ill put a boot so far up your ass, you won't know whether to shit or wind your wristwatch.
Few_Lingonberry7116@reddit
lawzy, tarnation
RealPumpkin3199@reddit
Fat chance!
I don't give a rat's ass.
Hay is for horses (if I said hey).
Who died and left you queen?
Because there are no bones in ice cream (if I asked why about something).
You're full of donkey dust and alphabet soup!
vorticia@reddit
Iâm stealing the bones in the ice cream one, thatâs fucking hilarious!
Exciting-Half3577@reddit
I made this one up:
<disappointed kids.
Me: Well, you know what they say in France...
Kids: What?
Me: That's just too freaking bad.
hotshotheather@reddit
Balderdash!
vorticia@reddit
Poppycock!
My brother and I randomly shout these two at each other through text or in person.
vorticia@reddit
At a traffic light: What shade of green do you want?!
In a parking lot: Move it, lady - I want your hole!
-My GrandmotherÂ
PGHNeil@reddit
I donât remember my grandparents but they were from the old countries and didnât teach the languages to my parents. My mother rattles off something in Polish that her grandmother taught her but sheâs not conversational, which fits in with my mom being in the silent generation I supposed. Back in those days children were meant to be seen but not heard.
Sak-pase7796@reddit
Great grandpa when he was thirsty would say,âIâm drier than a popcorn fart!â đ
PenDependent2582@reddit
My grandmother calls "lunch" dinner and "dinner" is supper. A couch is a davenport and Mac and cheese is kraft dinner.
puertomateo@reddit
That's still true in some places in the Midwest.
Exciting-Half3577@reddit
Canadian. My grandmother was born in England and came to the US via Canada. She also called it a davenport.
nixtarx@reddit
My paternal grandmother was emphatically not Canadian and called it a Davenport. She also still called a record player a Victrola. And, for some reason, pronounced cassette as K-set.
puertomateo@reddit
I just used, "persnickety" in a professional communication about a month ago. It's a good word.
WilliePullout@reddit
That didnât happen I never whipped you
WilliePullout@reddit
Be seen not heard.
Available_Stay_1216@reddit
You can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first. Just why?
mojowit@reddit
âOh, for cryinâ out loud.â And then my Grandmother would say every one of my cousinâs names before saying mine. And I hadnât even done anything.
missusfictitious@reddit
âPritnearâ. Anyone elseâs grandma use this?
rich_mixture_lean@reddit
Busier than a cat covering shit on a tin roof.
gicoli4870@reddit
"We didn't even have a pot to piss in!"
CaptainMahvelous@reddit
Or a window to throw it out of.
Significant_Ruin4870@reddit
Well, stone the crows.
WhiplashMotorbreath@reddit
Grandma's Pisspot. When someone was acting like a punk. most times followed by a slipper in the hand going whack!!!!!!!!
CandyGram4M0ng0@reddit
Granddad would say âdagnabitâ instead of goddamnit.
IronAnchor1@reddit
" layovers to catch meddlers" - Grandpa. " He talks like a man with a paper ass." - Grandma
SaintWillyMusic@reddit (OP)
obtuse!
Avasia1717@reddit
my grandfather: holy mackerel. man alive. sundee, mondee tuesdee, etc.
my dad: all get out. cottonpickin/cottonpicker. supper. hwite.
SaintWillyMusic@reddit (OP)
i still say holy mackerel and geez louise
dolphinsgir@reddit
I'll put my foot so far up your ass, you won't see daylight for a week.
NailsIn9@reddit
You got rocks in your head or what?
Aggressive-Ad3064@reddit
I will knock you six ways from Sunday!
casade7gatos@reddit
Grandma used to describe something quick as being in âtwo shakes of a lambâs tailâ so Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace reminds me of her.
dharmabean@reddit
Itshay irefay andlay avesay atchesmay
Shit fire and save matches in pig latin
Gramma said this all the time instead of swearing in front of us.
arothmanmusic@reddit
My grandma was known for "Hot Damn!"
DemagogDog@reddit
getting my cheeks pinched with a "look at that punim!"
Saul-Funyun@reddit
So forth and so on