Sunday, June 27, 2010

Things I sometimes heard my mother say

I heard my mother say "damn" once for real. That's about it. But she did have other expressions she'd come out with as occasion warranted.
  • That is asinine--when something was clearly stupid.
  • I'll be jiggered--don't know the meaning of jiggered, but I knew what she meant when she said it.
  • Better a poor girl's belly burst than a bit of good food go to waste--obvious, but she was joking, mostly.
  • You impudent little piece; you little assk-your-mother; you little crosspatch--I heard those directed at me a time or two.
  • There. I gave it a lick and a promise--meaning I could have done a better job, but I'm sure to have another chance at it. Then I'll do better. (Like when you give the floor a quick mopping.)
  • For crying out loud--everybody knows that. The Schiesses, my husband's family, said, "For crying in a bucket" or "For crying in a sieve." Brimleys never said either of those.
  • You jassonk--perhaps to a fellow driver who had irritated her.
  • For the love of Mike--always Mike and never Pete.
  • Good night nurse--another expression of exasperation. Occasionally she would add "Tell the doctor I'm no worse."
There are more, I'm guessing. Perhaps I'll remember them.

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