Family Sayings, or Idioms for Idiots

 

Last week, I was reading a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Pam at Catching My Drift. Read her blog for her beautifully lyrical take on life. She wrote about the origin of phrases, and in particular, the saying “staying until the last dog dies.”

I was surprised that I had never heard that saying before. When I was growing up, expressions like this were tossed around by my parents – especially Mom – on a regular basis.

My family is a brood of goofballs, with a rich history of silliness and sarcasm. My Mom had a sharp, irreverent wit. I can picture the little smirk on her lips when she’d pull one of the saltier maxims out of her repertoire. Reflecting on her favorite sayings, she cussed more than I realized.

There’s that mischievous look! If there was something funny to say, you could count on Mom to say it.

Thanks to Pam, I’m now curious about where some of these phrases come from. I’ve got some research to do.

Here are some of my favorites, brought to you by fond memories of my cheeky Mom: