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???I??™ll just
give this a lick and a promise???, my mother said as she
quickly mopped up a spill on the floor without moving any of
the furniture.
???What is that
supposed to mean???, I asked as in my young mind I envisioned
someone licking the floor with his or her tongue.
???It means that
I??™m in a hurry and I??™m busy canning tomatoes so I am going
to just give it a lick with the mop and promise to come back
and do the job right later.
???A lick and a
promise??? was just one of the many old phrases that I
remember my mother, grandmother, and others using that they
probably heard from the generations before them.
With the
passing of time, many old phrases become obsolete or even
disappear. This is unfortunate because some of them are
very appropriate and humorous.
Here is a list
that I came up with that I remember my parents and
grandparents using that we don??™t hear much anymore. Perhaps
you have some memorable old phrases of your own that you
could add to the list:
A Bone to
Pick (someone who wants to discuss a disagreement)
An Axe to
Grind (Someone who has a hidden motive. This phrase is said
to have originated from Benjamin Franklin who told a story
about a devious man who asked how a grinding wheel worked.
He ended up walking away with his axe sharpened free of
charge)
A bad
apple spoils the whole barrel (one corrupt person can cause
all the others to go bad if you don??™t remove the bad one)
At sea
(lost or not understanding something)
Bad Egg
(Someone who was not a good person)
Barking
at a knot (meaning that your efforts were as useless as a
dog barking at a knot.)
Bee in
your bonnet (To have an idea that won??™t let loose)
Been
through the mill (had a rough time of it)
Between
hay and grass (Not a child or an adult)
Blinky
(Between sweet and sour??¦as in milk)
Calaboose
(a jail)
Cattywampus (Something that sits crooked such as a piece of
furniture sitting at an angle)
Dicker
(To barter or trade)
Feather
In Your Cap (to accomplish a goal??¦this came from years ago
in wartime when warriors might receive a feather they would
put in their cap for defeating an enemy)
Hold your
horses (Be patient!)
I reckon
(I suppose)
Jawing
(Talking or arguing)
Kit and
caboodle (The whole thing)
Madder
than an old wet hen (really angry)
Needs
taken down a notch or two (like notches in a belt??¦usually a
young person who thinks too highly of himself and needs a
lesson)
No Spring
Chicken (Not young anymore)
Persnickety (overly particular or snobbish)
Pert-near
(short for pretty near)
Pretty is
as pretty does (your actions are more important than your
looks)
Scalawag
(a rascal or unprincipled person)
Scarce as
hen??™s teeth (something difficult to obtain)
Skedaddle
(Get out of here quickly)
Sparking
(courting)
Straight
From the Horse??™s Mouth (privileged information from the one
concerned)
Stringing
around, gallivanting around, or piddling (Not doing anything
of value)
Sunday go
to meetin??™ dress (The best dress you had)
Tie the
Knot (to get married)
Too many
irons in the fire (to be involved in too many things)
Tuckered
out (tired and all worn out)
Under the
weather (not feeling well??¦this term came from going below
deck on ships due to sea sickness thus you go below or under
the weather)
Wearing
your ???best bib and tucker??? (Being all dressed up)
You
aren??™t the only duck in the pond (It??™s not all about you)
Well, if you
hold your horses, I reckon I??™ll get this whole kit
and caboodle done and sent off to you. Please
don??™t be too persnickety and get a bee in your
bonnet because I??™ve been pretty tuckered out and
at sea lately because I??™m no spring chicken. I
haven??™t been just stringin??™ around and I know I??™m
not the only duck in the pond, but I do have too many
irons in the fire. I might just be barking at a
knot, but I have tried to give this article more than
just a lick and a promise!
By
Pamela Perry Blaine
?© September 2005
)
??.?·?? ??.?·????) ??.?·*??)
(
??.?·?? (??.?·?? ??.?·??
`?·-?»Pamy
"Security is not the absence of danger,
but
the presence of God"
My
Website:
http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
e-mail:
pamyblaine@blaines.us
"NO ONE IS USELESS IN THIS WORLD
WHO
LIGHTENS THE BURDEN OF ANYONE ELSE"
http://www.greatcom.org/laws/englishkgp/default.htm |
