We need your assistance. My husband and I have been trying to come up with those strange sayings we say and have no idea why we say them. For example: kicked-the-bucket spilled-the-beans Now I know what they mean; if we kicked the bucket then we died. If we spilled the beans then we told a secret we shouldn't have told. But our question is why spill the beans. Maybe because beans are stinky and if you spilled a secret you spilled something stinky. I don't know, but anyways, here is a list we have come up with and please add more on if you can think of any. We have a good time doing this. Sometimes he calls me from work and says, "Add this to the list." So if you can help and think of any, it would be an awesome addition to our strange list. So far we have: spilled the beans kicked the bucket scott free beat the band green with envy cought red handed cock-eyed Thanks.
Sami loves "raining cats and dogs" AN apple a day keeps the Doctor away let the cat outta the bag more the merrier land of Nod no place like home practice makes perfect
while watching the treasurhunters t.v. show we found out what "bite the bullet" really refers to, in the civil war they had hollowed out bullets that they would hide secret messages in, if they were caught with these secret bullets, they would swallow them so that the enemy couldn't read the notes.
OH! I thought it had to do with giving them a bullet to bite on for pain when they did surgery without antithesia. (Actually, it's probably both!)
I've heard many people say this: "Good grief Hannah." Why Hannah? Who IS Hannah?! How about "off the cuff" There are more, I just can't think of them "off the top of my head".
lol I never heard "Good grief Hannah." but as a kid I remember lot sof people said, "No Way, George!" I say it to Sami too and she thinks it's really funny. Maybe Hannah and George are related?
by the skin of your teeth.. I never really got where thta came from.. (It was used in the Bible but STILL)
What about "sic'em" I think it's spelled sic....maybe I should look it up in the dictionary and see if they have a meaning for it???
spit it out put a sock in it sweating bullets(we have been doing this a lot lately!! We are on our 8th day of over 100 degree temps!)
Barking up the wrong tree Don't count your chickens until they hatch Got the short end of the stick Got your feathers ruffled No axe to grind Like a bump on a log That takes the cake dumber than a box of rocks She can sure "bend your ear." Hold your horses You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear If you wallow with the pigs, don't expect to come up smelling like a rose The apple doesn't fall far from the tree There's more than one way to skin a cat Up a creek without a paddle Put that in your pipe and smoke it I've got a bone to pick with you Don't put the cart before the horse My Dad thought he was funny when he said this "Make up your pea brain." He was such a cornball. That makes me want to slap my grandma. You're not just a whistle'n dixie He's not the sharpest tack in the tool box. Another one my Dad said "Birds of a feather flock together" Takes one to know one A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush A fool and his money are soon parted A friend in need is a friend indeed A rolling stone gathers no moss A watched pot never boils A tree is known by it's fruit The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence I need that like I need another hole in my head Keep your head above water Don't lose your head You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink (but you can put salt in his oats) You can't get blood out of a turnip Don't throw the baby out with the bath water Like a bull in a china store. Like the kettle calling the pot black Here's a link to a ton of old sayings http://newtontxnetwork.com/tour/oldsay/
My grandma had all of us grandkids saying "that smarts like the dickens" when we would get hurt on the farm. What are dickens and why do they hurt?? My other grandma is the only person on the planet that I know of who would say she had "duck-bumps" instead of goose-bumps. Oh, or someone walking over your grave. ?? That's the bees knees. momx3
I always heard "be back in a jiffy" I think "Birds of a feather flock together" and some of those other ones you wrote, Sherry, are from Benjamin Franklin. He had a lot of one-liners like that.
My fil always told his kids "you can't soar with the eagles in the morning if you fly with the buzzards at night" ....now my husband teases us and says that when we've stayed up too late and want to sleep in the next day!! LOL
Caught red handed refers to the branding that theives used to receive on their hands when they were caught stealing. Rule of thumb came from a historic (British I think) law that stated that a man could not beat his wife with anything thicker than his thumb. I guess the best was to deal with that was to marry a man with no thumbs . . . The one I always though was funny was "I'll buy that for a dollar!" Why a dollar? To me that is still pretty pricey - depending on the item!
