As I have grown older (not up), I’ve picked up a few sayings/expressions/phrases along the way. Some from college, some from the Army (not all can be repeated in public), some from Germany, some from Scouts, some from work, some from home. A number are a mishmash of German/French/Spanish/Army. Even though I graduated from school many, many decades ago, I am always learning new things/expressions as I encounter new people and situations. Occasionally, a few old sayings will crop up in my conversations with others as the situation presents itself.
Of course, as I hear or encounter new expressions, I will make a mental note of the special ones for future reference/use.
A few of the “jewels” I’ve collected over the years:
- That idea is like a fart in church (nobody wants to claim it)
- Busier than a one armed paper hanger with an itch (one of my favorites)
- If we were having any more fun, we’d have to pay admission to get in the door
- If Barnum and Bailey ever found this place, they’d throw a tent over it and charge admission
- Who’s in charge of this Mickey Mouse operation? Goofy?
- That idea will float like a rock
- That’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine (an old one)
- I’m not your momma (from the Scouts)
- You’ve mistaken me for someone who cares. I’m a feeling kind of guy, not a caring one. I feel bad, but I just don’t care. (ref Grace Under Fire)
- Sometimes you’re the bug, sometimes you’re the windshield
- Sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail
- Sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the fire hydrant (my favorite)
- Time to cowboy up and get back in the saddle
- Time to put on your big boy pants
- That’s about as easy as herding cats
- The problem with the Gene pool is there aren't any lifeguards
- Ever stopped to consider some people’s existence is to serve as a warning to others?
- He’s got that seagull style of management down pat (flies in, dumps on everyone, flies off)
- Macht nichts to me (doesn’t matter to me)
- À bientôt (see you later)
- D ‘accord (ok, or I agree)
Macht Nichts to me. I used this earlier today in an e-mail exchange with a couple of engineers. Most ignored it (I doubt they got it) but my buyer came to me on the side and asked me what the hell I said. Sometimes I’ll lapse into my old Army expressions just to get a rise out of people.
How about it? Any expressions you use ad nauseum?
À bientôt!
6 comments:
I like "sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield!" reminds me of ridin'. I've never used the phrase before, but I think it's time I start.
Hubby uses the "pull up your big boy pants" a lot with the kids.
I'll say "pick yourself up by your bootstraps and move on".
Fun compilation of phrases! Thanks for collecting them! :)
You've got a good list here! "Macht nichts" wasn't familiar to me.
I find myself saying "Shoot yourself" (in place of 'suit yourself'), an expression I got from an engineer co-worker years ago. I also have a few choice phrases I learned while growing up in a largely hispanic/Italian small town.
Another fave is, "If I wasn't me right now, I'd sure wish I was!"
I don't use many expressions in the course of daily conversation, though I might now that you've shared so many good ones!
When I'm feeling productive and getting a lot done, I'll say, "I'm kickin' *ss and takin' names."
Sometimes I'll steal a phrase that I remember from a movie. Yesterday a coworker said something not very nice about another coworker. She knew I would agree with her, but I guess she felt bad for bad-mouthing someone. She followed up her comments with, "I'm not very nice."
I said, "I always say, 'If you can't say something nice, come sit next to me.'" (from Steel Magnolias.)
"Sometimes you’re the dog, sometimes you’re the fire hydrant"
I love that one.
My grandmother used to say, "If three people tell you you're drunk, fall down."
And what she meant by that was if one person tells you something, you can ignore it. If two people tell you something it's a coincidence. But if three people tell you the same thing, it's probably true.
Thus.....falling down!
Think you covered all of them. ;-) I think my favorite was the problem with gene pools. Thanks for the laugh.
I use the 'herding cats' one - that seems to be where i always end up ....
Post a Comment