Weird phrase a parent said that sounded goofy but the famiiy knew what it meant.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

Being a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, here's mine (from my mother and said with a Pittsburgh accent)

"PUNCHA INNA MAUTH"

(Translation: "Punch you in the mouth" said with a big grin and REALLY MEANING "I LIKE you and I know you're teasing me!"

[Aristus]

1. I suspect this one is common among Southerners.

("If you don't stop doing that,) I'll snatch you bald-headed!..."

[some_of_us_are_sane]

2. Made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!

Thanks, Aristus! Those southern phrases are so colorful!!

[Aristus]

3. Glad you like it.

Forty years of living in the Pacific Northwest haven't eradicated the Southerner in me. I had a girlfriend once who mocked my use of 'howdy', so I don't say that anymore. But I will say 'Y'all' until the day I die.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

7. Y'all is fine by me!

[Cirsium]

29. I had forgotten that one

My relatives down south said that. As a child I tried to picture how that would work.

[Aristus]

30. Snatch 'em by the hair.

If'n ya pull hard enough, they gonna be bawld-Hayded!

[Cirsium]

32. Ha ha

Right, sure. We weren't convinced that the adults could pull that hard. We didn't test it though. We took it as a warning that something very unpleasant might happen if we didn't stop doing whatever it was we were doing.

[OldBaldy1701E]

42. My southern mother used to say:

"I am going to jerk a knot in you!"

and..

"You are getting on my last nerve!"

[KarenS]

4. There are two that come to mind:

1. "I'm gonna tan your hide" ~ meaning give you a spanking

2. "Pertaneer" my Dad used to say this meaning 'Pretty much' or close.

[KarenS]

6. and another:

I was one of four kids,,,, Dad called us 'curtain climbers'.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

10. Lol!!!!

perfect! Almost 'poetic'.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

8. Pertaneer is great!

"Tan your hide" always made MY backside RED not tan. LOL!

[debm55]

5. I live south of Pittsburgh and knew it meant Punch you in the mouth . before I read the meaning. Got to go--my jumbo

samich and pop are ready.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

9. YES!!!

AT TRUE burgh gal!!!

[Nittersing]

11. It hangs on the wall and goes drip, drip, drip

This was the standard response whenever we asked for a clue about a gift.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

14. I've never heard that one? First thing that comes to mind....

is a old drunk leaning against a wall, trying to take a p*ss. LOL!!!!!

[pandr32]

12. My Dad had a few.

We had to hurry up and get crackin' and then hit the road.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

15. Oh, yes. I heard that...

what does it MEAN really, to 'hit' the road? Sounds painful doesn't it?

[pandr32]

17. Crackin' sounds painful, too.

We knew what Dad meant, though.

[catbyte]

13. When I was being a whiny, self-pitying brat, my dad, a former WWII Marine and then a cop would say,

"You want sympathy? Look it up. It's between shit and syphillis in the dictionary."

I snapped out of it right quick.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

16. OMG! Split my knickers on that one! LOL!!!

Thanks, catbyte. (I LOVE all your animal videos, btw. They warm and delight me each day. )

[Kali]

18. my Mom hardly ever cussed

so "fiddlesticks" was her go-to instead.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

19. That's such a charming old phrase!

(And of course, it does bring to mind the "Fiddle Dee Dee" that danced out of Scarlett O'Hara's mouth. )

[yellowdogintexas]

20. to indicate something expensive:

"costs like smoke" (it rises high)
or
High as a cat's back

smack someone upside the head

tight as Dick's hatband (no one ever knew who Dick was or why his hat was so tight)

[some_of_us_are_sane]

21. These are all COLORFUL, yellowdogtexas!

(Though dick's hatband WOULD be a compliment if it was dick's jockstrap. LOL!!)

[justaprogressive]

22. Agitate the gravel

hit the road, strike the pavement...

[some_of_us_are_sane]

23. "Agitate the gravel"

LOL!!!

[Mad_Dem_X]

24. My dad had several

If he was ready to leave somewhere, he'd tell us, "Head 'em up, and move 'em out!"

[some_of_us_are_sane]

25. RAWHIDE!

Frankie Lane!!
"Move 'em on, head 'em up, head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up, rawhide
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, ride 'em in, cut 'em out
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in rawhide…"

[Mad_Dem_X]

33. Now I know where it came from - thank you!

[some_of_us_are_sane]

34. Glad to oblige.

[Nanuke]

26. When I was a teenager and my mother didn't care for my outfit...

“I wouldn’t wear that to a worm wrassel.”(wrestle)

[some_of_us_are_sane]

35. Nanuke, I love your mum....

That's one of the cutest phrases I've ever heard.

The "wrassel" has a hint of the Clampets of The Beverly Hillbillies to it.

[livetohike]

27. That's it Fort Pitt! Meaning that's all, or you got it.

Also, Kennywood’s open” meaning the zipper on your pants is down .

[ms liberty]

28. You can drive a car without gas but you can't drive one without oil.

Meaning, outta gas is temporary, outta oil is forever.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

36. Wise words....

ms liberty. Hint of the Jedi in them.

[Cirsium]

31. Ein Hund von jedem Dorf!

"Ein Hund von jedem Dorf!" is a phrase my German grandfather used. It literally means "a dog from every village." I think it is more commonly said "aus jedem Dorf ein Hund."

We understood it to mean that our clothes, our rooms, our toys, etc. were in a mess.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

37. Ach du lieber, Cirsium!

A "schweinhund" no doubt! (I;ve always preferred a 'lived in' look myself.)

[KitFox]

38. My Aunt didn't swear but we knew she was mad when

she said , “Hells bells and little fishes”! When my older sister was in high school, she started wearing heavy black eyeliner on her eyelids and under her eyes. My mom couldn’t talk her out of it so she said, “Your eyes look like two burnt holes in a blanket.” My dad didn’t swear but if he said , “Oh, Thunder!!!” we knew he was upset. A friend told me that when his dad came in to wake him and his brother up in the morning he would say, “Turn loose of your cocks and grab your socks “.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

39. Your family should write a book!

Those are great!

[KitFox]

40. Thanks!😊 I'll share a few from my Uncle who

was a fun and colorful character. Some of his sayings always made us giggle when we were kids even if we didn’t quite understand all of them at the time: Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs; nervous as a whore in church; colder than a witch’s tit; slicker than snot on a doorknob. My mom’s expressions of surprise were “Sakes alive!” or “Lord a Mercy” or if mildly surprised it was “My, My, My”. Thank you for the idea of this post. Brought me back to lots of memories and fun to read all the responses. 😊

[yellowdogintexas]

41. My mom (and her mom before her) said "Hell's Bells and panther tracks". I say it now myself.

one of my cousins always said "Great stars and little fishes"