OT-"Everythings chicken but the gravy" (forgotten sayings)

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:36 am

My dad use to have this saying when I would ask him how he was doing. I never understood it but knew it meant all was fine. Toward the end of his life I asked him where the saying came from. He told me when he was hoboing during the depression to get money for mom and my oldest sister he would see a fire off in the woods from the track. He would always carry a can of corn or something similar to add to the pot; if you didn't you wouldn't eat. When approaching the cook he would ask "whats in the pot?" If the answer was "everything's chicken but the gravy" he would offer his can of corn for the stew, sit and eat. If the answer was "I don't know or possum etc". he would move on to the next fire he could find and hope for the reply of "everything's chicken but the gravy".

RKrodle · Post by **RKrodle** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 8:28 am

There is a lot of good old sayings out there that are being forgotten. I've never heard that one, I like it. If you would ask my dad how he was doing he would say "finer then frog hair" If he was felling real good he would say "finer then frog hair split four ways and sanded on the sides"

. That is mighty fine.

76/444 · Post by **76/444** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:17 am

I remember a few stories from my uncle, about leaving home as a kid during the depression, for the open road life of the HoBo. I think it would be nice if someone went around the country and interviewed enough of those old travelers before they all die out ,... and put together a book series like that teacher did with the Foxfire books on Appalachia.

Good post.

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:00 am

My dad would say "rat feathers!" rather than cuss. A former gun dealer I know always says when I say, how are you doing? "I'm slicker than snot on a glass door knob."

(Lets have some more.)

Gun Smith · Post by **Gun Smith** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:07 am

My dad-- "going to see a man about a horse". His answer to my question, "where are you going?", before leaving for his weekly evening poker game with his buddies.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:13 am

My dad's two favorites were that "finer'n frog hair" and "slicker'n snot on a Louisiana swamp". Mine's "cool beans". Still don't know what mine means... but it sounds ok.

Granma's was "DONALD (dad), quit beatin' that boy (me)!" I know exactly what that meant! And looked forward to it ever time I was getting "taught a lesson".

SmokeEater2 · Post by **SmokeEater2** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:30 am

When my Grandpa was aggravated at someone he'd always say " He don't know fat cow from poor bull". (this was often directed at politicians) I don't have a clue what it means.

BigSky56 · Post by **BigSky56** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:42 am

My FIL came from MO and when asked how he was he'd reply fair to middling. danny

mescalero1 · Post by **mescalero1** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:09 pm

Uncle Jack's fav.
" It's 5 o'clock somewhere"

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:23 pm

I can't recall any interesting old phrases, but for about the first 8 years of my life I coulda swore my name was "DAMMIT, BOY!"

SJPrice · Post by **SJPrice** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:51 pm

I had an old friend that when asked if he wanted to do something he would reply "might as well, can't dance and it is too windy to stack rocks"

Another old cowboy friend from west Texas when asked about the cold weather would reply "it is colder than a cast iron commode on the shady side of an iceberg"

My grandfather when faced with a fib would simply state "that dog won't hunt, want to try another"

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:08 pm

My brother used to say when asked "What'dya know", "It takes a darn tall indian to stand flat footed and sh*t in the back of a dumptruck." He had a million of them.

Pathfinder09 · Post by **Pathfinder09** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:11 pm

Some good old ones are:
"When pigs fly"! "
"Gone to hell in a handbasket"

RANisbet · Post by **RANisbet** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:13 pm

When I was a teenager and was obviously going "out", mom & dad would often ask "Where you going?"
My typical answer was "No place special".
The response: Well, no matter where you go, there you are!

rafter-7 · Post by **rafter-7** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:34 pm

Never look a Gift horse in the mouth!

^
7

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:35 pm

kimwcook wrote:My brother used to say when asked "What'dya know", "It takes a darn tall indian to stand flat footed and sh*t in the back of a dumptruck." He had a million of them.

Another response to the "What'dya know" .......It takes a hell of a dog to weigh a ton.

geobru · Post by **geobru** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:14 pm

How steep was it? Steeper than a cows face!

How dumb was he? Dumber than a box of rocks!

How cold was it? Colder than a well diggers *** in the Klondike!

How sick were you? So sick I thought I'd die and was afraid I wouldn't!

How hard did he hit him? Knocked him into the second Tuesday of next week!

How lazy was he? So lazy that he didn't have enough energy to drive a pee ants gocart around the inside of a cheerio

How skinny was he? So skinny that when he turned sideways and stuck out his tongue, he looked like a zipper!

How rough is it? Rougher than a cob!

How smooth was it? Smoother than a babies bottom!

How slick was it? Slicker than a greased pig!

How sad were you? I was lower than a snakes belly in a wagon track!

How bad did it smell? Smelled so bad it'd make a skunks eyes water!

How gross is it? So gross it would gag a maggot!

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:34 pm

From my Uncle and Grandpa: I'm gonna box yer ears.

Mom: Here, I'll GIVE ya something to whine about.

SmokeEater2 · Post by **SmokeEater2** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:46 pm

From an old rancher down the road years ago- " He's about as sharp as a sack of wet mice". And- "I'm so hungry my stomach thinks my throats been cut".

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:57 pm

He's about as sharp as a bananna

He's about as dumb as a hammer

Gettin' that "fresh country air" whenever we'd get downwind of a stock pen

Life ain't no bowl of cherries

Post by **Hobie** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:00 pm

Gen. Ellis W. Williamson on response to "How are you." "I'm fine but on a thin string." He died 3 days later.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:16 pm

In basic training, whatever you were complaining about to the DI, it wasn't as bad as the greasetrap at the mess hall you were about to clean. Most of us learned after the first time.

RKrodle · Post by **RKrodle** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:14 pm

When seeing a curvy women walking..........."She's got more wiggles then a bobcat in a burlap bag"
"Slicker then greased owl sh**"
"Walking in tall cotton." Said when things were going good.
"He ain't got the good sense god gave a goose."
"Prettier then a speckled pup under a little red wagon", one of my dads favorites.

Recently I was at a customers and speaking to an old black gentleman and he asked how I was doing and I said "Fair to middlin". He asked if I knew where that term came from, I told him it was an old term used back in the cotton picking days to describe the weather. When passing another cotton farmer you would ask hows the weather and the reply, if the weather was good, "Fair all the way to Midland". He knew it because he had grown up picking cotton. Now every time I go there we stop and talk.

I remember several times as a kid dad would run into someone he had grew up with, and they would talk about the good old days and how good they were. When we would go on dad would look at me a say those good old days weren't all that good. Dad grew up in the depression and served in WWII. He liked progress, he said he didn't miss walking behind a plow pulled by a mule one bit, he much preferred tractors.

vancelw · Post by **vancelw** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:16 pm

I use my favorite at work a lot...

"Jesus can turn the water into wine, But he can't turn your whining into anything."

bcp · Post by **bcp** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:24 pm

I've always wondered how a comment about a spelling error came to be applied to any other ignorance.

"He doesn't know his *** from a hole in the ground."

burro vs burrow

Bruce

geobru · Post by **geobru** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:39 pm

He doesn't know if he' sbeen punched or bored!

cnjarvis · Post by **cnjarvis** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:49 pm

From my dad: How're you doing? 'Bout as well as a pick pocket in a nudist colony.

rafter-7 · Post by **rafter-7** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 8:49 pm

Hobie wrote:Gen. Ellis W. Williamson on response to "How are you." "I'm fine but on a thin string." He died 3 days later.

My wifes grandpa always said "I am livin on borrowed time!" and when you really think about it he was just waitin to go home.

^
7

Dave James · Post by **Dave James** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 8:51 pm

From the "grandfathers" Ain't got the brains, god gave a groundhog, To slick for sun rise{never understood that one}, Dumber than a goat or a box of rocks,

Ole Man had a bunch from the Navy

Mother in law favorite, Not worth two cents for soap

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 8:55 pm

If I was President, There would be : (A-Nash in every garage) (A-chicken on every nest) and (A-gun in every safe)

Nate C. · Post by **Nate C.** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:08 pm

(How ya been?) "Better than some, worse than most."
(How bad was it?) "Rougher than a cob, and twice as long."
(Can it be done?) "We're like the rabbit. We've jumped up; now we've got to run."
(Describing a stupid person.) "He's dumber than a sack of wet hair."
(Describing hunger.) "My stomach thinks my throat's been cut."
(Describing illness or fatigue.) "I'll feel like I've been eat by a coyote and sh!t off a cliff."

bmtshooter · Post by **bmtshooter** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:18 pm

My Dad always replied when asked how he felt, "Like an ox".

oklahoma red · Post by **oklahoma red** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:33 pm

Good evening all,
being born is Muskogee, OK, these sayings fell out of all of my aunts and uncles mouths.

The poor thing was "Ugly'r than home-made soap", or "homley'r than a mud fence".
Gloves were "hand shoes"
Cloudy out side with no moon was "darker than the inside of a cow".
Big dumb guy was described as "48 shirt, number 4 hat".
Not smart was "didn't know sh!t from brown rice".

And those are just the ones I still use,
happy shootin to ya,
OkR

m.wun · Post by **m.wun** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:57 pm

One of my favs" dont know stuff from applebutter " or What the sam hell...

66GTO · Post by **66GTO** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:30 pm

From my Daddy: "That's about as useful as tits on a boar hog"
"I was sweatin' like a French whore on Saturday night" (he was in the 101st Airborne in France during WWII!)
"He don't have walkin' around sense"
"He has more money than sense"
and a bunch more that slip my mind.

As far as "Fair to middling", that was an expression my Granddaddy used alot. I always heard it was a grade of cotton used at the cotton auctions. The grades were something like, Fine, Good, Fair, Middling, Poor.

From my Grandmother: "Ah Swanee!" or the short version "Ah Swan" (expression of surprise)
"Oh pshaw" (silent "p", expression of skepticism or you don't mean it)

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:59 pm

SmokeEater2 wrote:When my Grandpa was aggravated at someone he'd always say " He don't know fat cow from poor bull". (this was often directed at politicians) I don't have a clue what it means.

According to what I've read, it comes from Plains Indian culture.

Fat Cow times were the good times, with plenty of food, good weather, good friends, and good fights.

Poor Bull referred to the tough old bulls that were hardly fit to eat and referred to hard times, when game was scarce, food was short, weather was bad and enemies pressing hard.

Off-hand, I'd say your Dad meant,"That idiot doesn't have enough sense to know good times from hard times."

Doc Hudson · Post by **Doc Hudson** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:28 pm

I've picked up and used lots of old sayings over the years. As a kid, I'd rather sit around listening to the olod folks that hell around with my cousins so I picked up some pretty good ones. let's see what will come to the tips of my fingers now.

(How do you feel?) Like I've been shot at and missed, and sh*T at and hit. (if really bad) I feel like I've been shot at and sh*t at and hit both times.

I'm hungrier than a woodpecker with a headache.

That gal is so ugly they had to tie a pork chop around her neck to get the dog to play with her.

That feller is so ugly that when he fell in the creek there was a fish kill.

Uglier than homemade sin!

He's so sorry he'd make a preacher cuss.

I was born a day late and a dollar short. i've been falling behind ever since.

he's got more dollars than sense.

(When told something can't be done) never mind the mules, just load the wagon.

Cute as a button.

Cute as a bug.

That young'un is as full of hell as his hide will hold!

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:38 pm

Lots of good ones here! I actually learned the "sharp as a sack of wet mice" saying from Foghorn Leghorn. Who says you can't learn anything from cartoons!

That boy, ah say, that boy's about as sharp as a sack of wet mice...

Nate C. wrote:(Describing illness or fatigue.) "I'll feel like I've been eat by a coyote and sh!t off a cliff."

I've always said I feel like I've been shot at and missed and sh!t at and hit. (Doc posted as I was typing. Oooops!)

He's not worth his salt - dates back to Roman times when soldiers were paid in salt IIRC.
Variation: He's not worth a hill of beans.

He/she fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down

What's that got to do with the price of rice in China?

Hotter than a $2 pistol
Hotter than a jalapeno pepper in an open sore
Sweating like a whore in church

Something new and/or fancy is referred to as a play-pretty. Many moons ago I worked in a pawn shop. I had a middle aged lady come in looking at jewelry and I asked her if she was looking for a new play-pretty. She told me it must be a Texas saying as she grew up somewhere up North and had never heard it until she came to Texas.

Prouder than a pup with two willies.

SNAFU TARFU FUBAR (in that order)

MATS - Might Arrive Tomorrow Sometime. When MAC replaced MATS, it became Might Arrive Complete.

That thing is as usless as:
An eye doctor on a potato farm
A screen door on a submarine
Portholes on a '54 Buick

If wishes were wings, frogs wouldn't bump their butt when they hopped.

When someone wants something unobtainable at the moment: Well, people in Hell want ice water (I use that one a LOT!

)

Used when someone is a little slow or just not quite right: God love 'em
Used by me when someone chaps my hide (usually a product engineer or bean counter): God love 'em because I don't have to

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:17 am

When asked are you comfortable? I'm as snug as a bug in a rug.
When describing someone like Boy George, queer as a sea going frog.
When describing someone a bit slow, not the sharpest knife in the box.
My favorite is: cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!

Fair to middling is also used over here a lot too.

Gobblerforge · Post by **Gobblerforge** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:02 am

"That plow won't scow" = It won't work or I don't believe it.
"Looked like two 50# sacks of potatos fighting." = Following the biiiiiiiig woman in the tight sweats.
Gobbler

cshold · Post by **cshold** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 6:36 am

This is the one I heard about once or twice a week growing up.

“Boy if you had a brain it be lonely.”

Bogie35 · Post by **Bogie35** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:46 am

Fell over "bass ackards"
She's "built like a brick sh**house"
You look like you've been "drug through a knot hole"
That's "slick as an onion"
"If that ain't easy, lard ain't greasy"
"I'm tired-er than a one-legged man in an a**kicking contest"
We need some more "strikin' paper" (toilet paper)
That's "queer as a 3 dollar bill"
I'll take "a couple or 3 of 'em"
It's "colder than a witch's t**t"
"It's not that big around, but it's short"
Wiggling "like a worm in hot ashes"
I went "around my elbow to get to my a**"
"Two knuckles deep" (vigorously picking one's nose)
"A little light in the loafers" (means leading an "alternative lifestyle")
She's "fine as Queen Ann's lace"
He's "tall as a Georgia pine"
"It's hot as a match"
"It's hot as a 2 dollar pistol"
"It'll make a turd" (food that's good enough)
"I'm so hungry, I could eat a pine cone"
He was "bleedin' like a stuck pig"
He's "ugly as homemade sin"
He's so ugly we should "shave his butt, and teach him to walk backwards"

bogie

Nate C. · Post by **Nate C.** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:14 am

(In response to someone wanting something unobtainable.) "Wish in one hand and sh!t in the other; see which one fills up first."
(Describing a moonless night.) "It's darker than the inside of a cow."
(Describing a torrential downpour.) "It's raining like a cow p!ssing on a flat rock."

66GTO · Post by **66GTO** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:27 pm

Doc Hudson wrote: (When told something can't be done) never mind the mules, just load the wagon.

Cute as a button.

(When told something can't be done) My Daddy's version: "If I tell you a grasshopper can pull a wagon.....hitch him up!"

Which reminds me (his answer to "if only ......... had been different"): "If a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his (butt) when he jumps."

Cute as a button. Daddy's version: "Prettier than a speckled pup."

dr walker · Post by **dr walker** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:41 pm

My grand mother had many sayings, I cant remember any of them. I really wish we would have written tham down.

fatoldfool · Post by **fatoldfool** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 12:51 pm

If you don't have time to do it right, you sure don't have time to do it again.

Never trust a man who wears a belt and suspenders at the same time. ( I have never understood that one, and I do wear a belt and suspenders)

Don't walk on thin ice unless you wanta get your feet wet. That's the same as, Mess with the bull, you're gonna get the horn.

Faster than a turpentined dog..(OK, some of you older guys will know about corn cobs and turpentine when the neighbors dog gets in the henhouse)

Prettier than a peach on a June evening.

C. Cash · Post by **C. Cash** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 1:22 pm

One of my favorites from my Grandfather that I do not hear anymore....

"If you don't like my peaches, don't shake my tree."

my Grandma....

"Cute as a bugs ear."

Both of these have to be said with an Okie drawl for effect.

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:40 pm

"it's like tryin' to pick ants out of the coffee"

soon 2 retire · Post by **soon 2 retire** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 3:42 pm

1. I've worked in machining for 40 years. An old bull o' the woods type foreman would comment on excessively hard material as being "Harder than the hobs of hell." A hob is a cutter that cuts gear teeth.

2. A fastener that was overtorqued or rusted in place was "Tighter than Dick's hatband."

3. One bite of something really good to eat would "Make a rabbit slap a hound." Or as late country comedian Jerry Clower would say, "One bite would make a puppy pull a freight train."

4. Here's one my dad used and I never understood as a kid. For example I'd say: "The tooth fairy use ta give 50 cents for a tooth not just a quarter." Pops would say, "Well Useta's dead and his wife's a widow."

Bob in NE Indiana

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 4:32 pm

How about someone being "wound tighter than an eight day clock"?