When my wife's grandfather ate something the he enjoyed, he would say, "Mmmmm! Tastes like more!"
Interesting, funny, odd colloquialisms
- Thread starter KaiserKrebs
- Start date
Here's three for the road:
"It's the cat's pajamas" - I'm surprised that this rather bizarre colloquialism hasn't materialized yet in this thread. I've been using it since I was a kid and I still scratch my head if I take more than a second to think about what I just said.
"You got no flies on you" - My late well-traveled step-father claimed it was a Cajun phrase that meant "you look good," having something to do with a person being so slick that a fly couldn't get enough traction to land on them...or at least that's what he claimed it meant.
"Dumb as a coal-bucket" - My dad used this phrase all the time when I was a kid, specifically during the time he was working in the oil-fields in southern Ohio. I guess coal-buckets are dumb because they're inanimate objects, kind of like you might say that someone is dumb as a post or something similar.
"It's the cat's pajamas" - I'm surprised that this rather bizarre colloquialism hasn't materialized yet in this thread. I've been using it since I was a kid and I still scratch my head if I take more than a second to think about what I just said.
"You got no flies on you" - My late well-traveled step-father claimed it was a Cajun phrase that meant "you look good," having something to do with a person being so slick that a fly couldn't get enough traction to land on them...or at least that's what he claimed it meant.
"Dumb as a coal-bucket" - My dad used this phrase all the time when I was a kid, specifically during the time he was working in the oil-fields in southern Ohio. I guess coal-buckets are dumb because they're inanimate objects, kind of like you might say that someone is dumb as a post or something similar.
Hmm we say "not the sharpest knife in the drawer" and also "not the shiniest penny in the fountain".
As for the rude words... lol... yes. Here in Ireland the "f" word can mean a lot of things. For the purposes of keeping it clean on here I'm going to tell the following story but replace that word with the word "muc". I hope that's ok.
So over here if you throw something down roughly you say you'd muc it. So you'd say something like "don't just come home and muc your coat on the ground" to someone who had thrown their coat on the floor.
I was in college many years ago and was having a chat with a tutor of mine whom I got along with very well and we often chatted just about our day to day kind of things. Now in England, and most places, the word "muc" often means to be carnally intimate with someone. So the following conversation was very amusing for us both once we realised we had our meanings crossed.
Me: "so I was in jujitsu the other night and that guy I like was there"
Tutor: " oh yea? Did you get a chance to talk to him?"
Me: " yeah, halfway through the class we were paired together and he muced me on the floor"
Tutor: "what?"
Me: "yeah it was really hard and everything! He just grabbed my gi and muced me on the floor in the middle of class and pinned me down"
Tutor: "... ..."
Me: "I probably have some bruises from it and everything. I'm okay though. We're a pretty good pairing physical-wise".
Tutor: "you mean he just (carnal term) you? ...WHAT?"
Me: "Ooooo!! Oh no! No he just threw me to the ground. Wait... do you not use that term in that way here?"
... followed by a whole lot of laughing. I never made that mistake again!
What makes it even funnier to me is that the term "gi" is what the martial arts outfit is called but it is prounced "gee". In Ireland "gee" is sort of an outdated but funny term for an intimate lady area! Our jujitsu teacher said he could always tell the Irish people in the class each year because whenever he would say "ok now grab her by the gi" all the Irish would giggle!
I laughed out loud at this story, started Tuesday morning with a grin.
One I'd never heard before moving to NZ is "like a box of fluffy ducks" used to indicate general happiness.
I first encountered it after an operation on my rotator cuff when I was having a very bad time post surgery. Nurse looked at my chart and said "Well you're not a box of fluffies today are you". I thought I was hallucinating because she looked very like a girl I'd been trying to date (unsuccessfully) and the phrase meant nothing to me.
Later in the day it turned out she was the lady in question's sister and she explained the saying. Up to that point I was blaming the morphine!
As a Welshman living in England I'm a mine of quaint colloquialisms for colleagues - one especially is 'tamping' which we use for seething, or barely contained anger, which is said to come from coal mines, where explosives were tamped to make the blast greater.
I use a lot of what I've found out to be archaisms in English that have remained in use in Gower where I grew up. There's 'I can venture' for 'I'd better' and I bemused the office by saying a very slim female colleague had 'a stomach on her' meaning she was very assertive
I use a lot of what I've found out to be archaisms in English that have remained in use in Gower where I grew up. There's 'I can venture' for 'I'd better' and I bemused the office by saying a very slim female colleague had 'a stomach on her' meaning she was very assertive
"the bee's knees" meaning "the height of excellence"
"Slicker than owl 'poop' on a hot tin roof"
If someone is being slow to make a desicion we say they are being the "Long pole in the tent" in other words, they are "holding up the show".
"Slicker than owl 'poop' on a hot tin roof"
If someone is being slow to make a desicion we say they are being the "Long pole in the tent" in other words, they are "holding up the show".
I'm kind of surprised that I forgot this one, as it's one of my absolute favorites:
Five'll get you ten *or alternately* Ten'll get you twenty - The phrase means "it's a sure thing." In the world of gambling $5 getting you $10 is the payout when a bet has even odds (in other words is fifty/fifty), which when gambling is the sure a bet as you'll find.
Used in a sentence: Five'll get you ten that Mike calls off today and I end up having to work over.
Five'll get you ten *or alternately* Ten'll get you twenty - The phrase means "it's a sure thing." In the world of gambling $5 getting you $10 is the payout when a bet has even odds (in other words is fifty/fifty), which when gambling is the sure a bet as you'll find.
Used in a sentence: Five'll get you ten that Mike calls off today and I end up having to work over.
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Just thought of this, my Grandmother's house did not have a couch, it was referred to as a " Davenport " which I always thought was funny as a kid.
Haven't seen it yet, but I have heard the phrase " Sh.....g in tall cotton." before, which I guess means being in relative comfort.
Haven't seen it yet, but I have heard the phrase " Sh.....g in tall cotton." before, which I guess means being in relative comfort.
My great-grandmother said that too!
Yer no half the man yer mother wiz .....
Awa n bile yer heid ....
you couldnae hit a coo in the erse we a banjo ...
Mony a mickle maks a muckle ...
Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs ...
Awa n bile yer heid ....
you couldnae hit a coo in the erse we a banjo ...
Mony a mickle maks a muckle ...
Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs ...
I like this one!
What does "many a mickle makes a muckle" mean? When is it used?
My mum also says "buzzing around like a blue-arsed fly" - ie. buzzing around annoyingly and pointlessly.
Or "I couldnt give a rat's arse" meaning "I couldn't care less".
We also say "sin é" for "that's it/that's correct/spot on"
Eg. "oh this the same girl you were talking about" . "sin é".
and "sin a bhfúil" for "that's just how it is".
Hmm we say "not the sharpest knife in the drawer" and also "not the shiniest penny in the fountain".
As for the rude words... lol... yes. Here in Ireland the "f" word can mean a lot of things. For the purposes of keeping it clean on here I'm going to tell the following story but replace that word with the word "muc". I hope that's ok.
So over here if you throw something down roughly you say you'd muc it. So you'd say something like "don't just come home and muc your coat on the ground" to someone who had thrown their coat on the floor.
I was in college many years ago and was having a chat with a tutor of mine whom I got along with very well and we often chatted just about our day to day kind of things. Now in England, and most places, the word "muc" often means to be carnally intimate with someone. So the following conversation was very amusing for us both once we realised we had our meanings crossed.
Me: "so I was in jujitsu the other night and that guy I like was there"
Tutor: " oh yea? Did you get a chance to talk to him?"
Me: " yeah, halfway through the class we were paired together and he muced me on the floor"
Tutor: "what?"
Me: "yeah it was really hard and everything! He just grabbed my gi and muced me on the floor in the middle of class and pinned me down"
Tutor: "... ..."
Me: "I probably have some bruises from it and everything. I'm okay though. We're a pretty good pairing physical-wise".
Tutor: "you mean he just (carnal term) you? ...WHAT?"
Me: "Ooooo!! Oh no! No he just threw me to the ground. Wait... do you not use that term in that way here?"
... followed by a whole lot of laughing. I never made that mistake again!
What makes it even funnier to me is that the term "gi" is what the martial arts outfit is called but it is prounced "gee". In Ireland "gee" is sort of an outdated but funny term for an intimate lady area! Our jujitsu teacher said he could always tell the Irish people in the class each year because whenever he would say "ok now grab her by the gi" all the Irish would giggle!
That is just hysterical
Not the brightest bulb in the string.
Thinner than guts with the sh@@ slung out of 'em.
Steppin' out like a tall turkey.
In like Flynn.
Not worth a Tinker's Dam.
Tall hog at the trough.
Useless as a milk stool under a bull.
Measure twice cut once.
Beauty skin deep, ugly to the bone.
You'd sooner run through hell in gasoline drawers.
That's for me to know and you to find out.
So dumb he/she couldn't win an arguement with him/herself.
Doesn't have both oars in the water.
Elevator is stuck in the basement.
Couple of bricks shy of a load.
Huntin' with an empty gun.
Fell out of an ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
If his/her brains were gunpowder; there wouldn't be enough to prime a flea's flintlock.
Tighter than a bull's a@@ in fly time.
Tighter than a gnat's hide stretched over a kettle drum/rain barrel.
So tight he/she squeaks when he/she walks.
Drunker than a lord/fiddler's bit##.
So dumb he/she couldn't spell cat if you spotted him/her the c and t.
So dumb/lazy he/she thinks Manual Labor is President of Mexico.
So dumb he/she couldn't find his/her way out of town on a one-way street.
If Christ doesn't know him/her/them better than I do they're lost.
Wouldn't know him/her/them from Adam's off ox.
Drunker than a sh@@house rat.
Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside.
Did your/toobad/his/her/their parents have any children that lived?
Thinner than guts with the sh@@ slung out of 'em.
Steppin' out like a tall turkey.
In like Flynn.
Not worth a Tinker's Dam.
Tall hog at the trough.
Useless as a milk stool under a bull.
Measure twice cut once.
Beauty skin deep, ugly to the bone.
You'd sooner run through hell in gasoline drawers.
That's for me to know and you to find out.
So dumb he/she couldn't win an arguement with him/herself.
Doesn't have both oars in the water.
Elevator is stuck in the basement.
Couple of bricks shy of a load.
Huntin' with an empty gun.
Fell out of an ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
If his/her brains were gunpowder; there wouldn't be enough to prime a flea's flintlock.
Tighter than a bull's a@@ in fly time.
Tighter than a gnat's hide stretched over a kettle drum/rain barrel.
So tight he/she squeaks when he/she walks.
Drunker than a lord/fiddler's bit##.
So dumb he/she couldn't spell cat if you spotted him/her the c and t.
So dumb/lazy he/she thinks Manual Labor is President of Mexico.
So dumb he/she couldn't find his/her way out of town on a one-way street.
If Christ doesn't know him/her/them better than I do they're lost.
Wouldn't know him/her/them from Adam's off ox.
Drunker than a sh@@house rat.
Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside.
Did your/toobad/his/her/their parents have any children that lived?
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Just a few I like:
"More nervous than a cow with a bucktoothed calf"
"He's from so far out in the country, he uses hoot owls for roosters"
"He's from so far out in the country, he has to go towards town to hunt"
"Colder than a mother-in-laws love"
"Well kiss me Kate"
"I was better, but I got over it"
Jeff
"More nervous than a cow with a bucktoothed calf"
"He's from so far out in the country, he uses hoot owls for roosters"
"He's from so far out in the country, he has to go towards town to hunt"
"Colder than a mother-in-laws love"
"Well kiss me Kate"
"I was better, but I got over it"
Jeff
I;m from Cardiff in South Wales and lived "up the valleys" in the Rhondda and Cynon valleys for several years. A few genuine classics I heard there:
See those two 'ouses up there, I live in the middle one...
Who's coat is this jacket?
Flat caps are called Dai Caps.
Someone in a bad mood was described as having his arse in his hand.
Always used to laugh at a lot of houses in the mostly non Welsh speaking Cardiff. I saw a lot called "Ty Bach", literal translation Little House. What they didn't seem to know was that in Welsh that is slang for the Little house at the end of the garden, the outside toilet...
Iechyd da
Gareth
See those two 'ouses up there, I live in the middle one...
Who's coat is this jacket?
Flat caps are called Dai Caps.
Someone in a bad mood was described as having his arse in his hand.
Always used to laugh at a lot of houses in the mostly non Welsh speaking Cardiff. I saw a lot called "Ty Bach", literal translation Little House. What they didn't seem to know was that in Welsh that is slang for the Little house at the end of the garden, the outside toilet...
Iechyd da
Gareth
Here's a 10-minute video from YouTube about the adventures of a young man who moved to Ireland.
My Name is YuMing.
My Name is YuMing.
Light dawns on Marblehead.
I like this one!
What does "many a mickle makes a muckle" mean? When is it used?
My mum also says "buzzing around like a blue-arsed fly" - ie. buzzing around annoyingly and pointlessly.
Or "I couldnt give a rat's arse" meaning "I couldn't care less".
We also say "sin é" for "that's it/that's correct/spot on"
Eg. "oh this the same girl you were talking about" . "sin é".
and "sin a bhfúil" for "that's just how it is".
Mony a mickle makes a muckle .....
Many little things make a lot of things !!!
George Washington used this Scottish phrase in one of his speeches !!!!!!
Here in So/Cent Ill (probably other places also) if there is a meeting or something of that sort that is of a serious nature we call it a "come to Jesus talk".
as in "Yeah the boss said there will be a big come to Jesus talk this afternoon."
as in "Yeah the boss said there will be a big come to Jesus talk this afternoon."
What a great video!
The Irish language in Ireland a funny thing. I could go into a long discussion about it but it'd be a bit off topic to say the least but thank you for sharing the video.
Oh and for something a little more on-topic. My signature is my favourite old Irish saying
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