Long forgotten sayings.

[tozzin]

When I dip my toes in my sea of memories as I do quite often, like yesterday I was thinking of my mother and recalled that she never said the phrases, what’s wrong or what’s a matter, she invariably said “ what’s amiss ? “. Sadly when she passed so did the old saying, I’ve never heard it since.

[Sadbrewer]

I use it myself occasionally.

[Lysanderix]

“Amiss “ is a word in the OED and one which, I suppose, is a little dated but still heard in general conversation amongst my friends.

[stephen G]

I feel that this could lead to a whole new topic as it reminded me of some of the sayings my Grandmother used:

"You know what thought did don't you? It followed a muck cart and thowt it wer a weddin!"

And as she would wipe my face with the dish cloth (!) she would say, "Close your eyes and see what God'll send you (wipe)". Being around 5 years old I was always puzzled and would ask, "Who's Goddle?"

She would say 'wather' (Boltonian for water) and also refer to it as 'Corporation pop'!

Another puzzling expression I heard fairly frequently when passing a cemetery was that the place was the "dead centre of Bolton", which I eventually understood quite a few years later!

It would be great to hear what other readers were told by their parents and grandparents.

 

[MartinR]

I must say I use "amiss" from time to time.  Thinking about it though, you don't hear it as often as you used to.

 

I asked my two sons (26 and 22) over dinner if they were familiar with "amiss".  The elder one was, the younger one stumbled slightly with the definition.

[Lysanderix]

Tap water in these parts was often known as,

…Corporation Wine

[Michael W]

Some of the sayings i remember when i was a kid:

In answer to the question where do you live:

the light side of brightside

or the top of heely bottom.

Tha couldn't stop a pig up an entry ( bit bo legged)

Your like a fart in a collender (someone a bit dopy)

The twicker where twatter runs over twear.

I remember being sent into the cellar when the coal was delivered to count the bags!! always came up covered in coal dust.

Being asked to put my ear on the tramline to see how far away the tram was.

[tozzin]

“The t`wicker where t`watter runs over t`wear.” I never thought that was a saying used in everyday conversation, I believe it was a made up one to emphasise the Sheffield “ twang “, all the others that Michael W remembers so do I.

[Athy]

My Nana, from North Derbyshire, used to use "Uster!" as an expression of surprise or dismay, where many people would say "Good grief" or "Crikey". I have never heard anyone else use it since she passed away when I was a small boy in the 1950s, though I sometimes use it.

   Now, some such expressions have an obvious derivation; for example, "Cor blimey" is, I believe, a corruption of "God blind me". But I've not found any reasoning behind "uster"

   My Mum's equivalent was "Good grief and pain".

[tozzin]

My dad always called anyone, man or woman, who was work-shy, “ they’re just husky “ .

[Paul Worrall]

Hi,

My Grand Mother used to say, 'If you sit on cold stones You'll get KingKoff!' An old friend of mine was a GP and remember him saying, 'I went to University for 6 years, I've worked in hospitals and been a GP for 20years, but I've never heard of Kingkoff!'

My Grand Mother also used to say, 'You know your own know best!'  Which was often a way of saying, 'Mind your own business!'

My partners Grand Dad who was from Stavely used to say when You left a door open, 'That a Warsop!' As a young man I imaged that all the houses in Warsop (near Worksop) had no doors!

Wazzie Worrall.

[tozzin]

2 hours ago, Paul Worrall said:

Hi,

My Grand Mother used to say, 'If you sit on cold stones You'll get KingKoff!' An old friend of mine was a GP and remember him saying, 'I went to University for 6 years, I've worked in hospitals and been a GP for 20years, but I've never heard of Kingkoff!'

My Grand Mother also used to say, 'You know your own know best!'  Which was often a way of saying, 'Mind your own business!'

My partners Grand Dad who was from Stavely used to say when You left a door open, 'That a Warsop!' As a young man I imaged that all the houses in Warsop (near Worksop) had no doors!

Wazzie Worrall.

I think “ KingKoff” is a corruption of  “ ***king koff “.

[hackey lad]

On 17/10/2022 at 14:29, tozzin said:

My dad always called anyone, man or woman, who was work-shy, “ they’re just husky “ .

Old chap I know uses same term 

[Judith]

On 13/10/2022 at 11:09, tozzin said:

“The t`wicker where t`watter runs over t`wear.” I never thought that was a saying used in everyday conversation, I believe it was a made up one to emphasise the Sheffield “ twang “, all the others that Michael W remembers so do I.

My father's version was a bit longer : "Has t' bin down t'wicker where t'watter runs o't'wear?" as you say, to illustrate Sheffield "twang".

Judith in France

[Athy]

10 hours ago, Judith said:

My father's version was a bit longer : "Has t' bin down t'wicker where t'watter runs o't'wear?" as you say, to illustrate Sheffield "twang".

Judith in France

Not "t'wang", then?

[tozzin]

Another word which is still used by older people is “ kalied “ meaning drunk, my family used it a lot in the forties and fifties.

[Athy]

19 hours ago, tozzin said:

Another word which is still used by older people is “ kalied “ meaning drunk, my family used it a lot in the forties and fifties.

Yes - pronounced "Kay lied". I think it could mean very tired as well, similar to the now more commonly heard "knackered".

[southside]

I remember buying kali from our local sweetshop as a youngster!  It was some sort of sherbet crystals.

[tozzin]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

Yes - pronounced "Kay lied". I think it could mean very tired as well, similar to the now more commonly heard "knackered".

I’ve never ever heard it being linked to being tired, it was always meant being drunk.

[Lysanderix]

Kalied , according to a couple of dictionary definitions means…extremely drunk. A word I used but I never heard it used by my parents or grandparents.

[hackey lad]

Heard Kalied all my life . Family and friends still say it 

[tozzin]

2 minutes ago, hackey lad said:

Heard Kalied all my life . Family and friends still say it 

I think we've all been " Kalied " at one time or another.

[tozzin]

Another word that I heard quite often  and even today older men use it, any person younger than yourself was described as a “ Chabby “ especially when a group of men would gather ant talk about other men, I often heard “ I thought old Mick was older than you “ got the reply “ nah he’s only a chabby at the side of me. “, I do think it was for children really but you couldn’t leave a saying like that behind when you grew up.

[Suzy]

Hi 

Remember mum using ‘come on me old duck’ At the time my son was young and thought this was hilarious .He was brought up with the Cornish lingo . Lol

[Lysanderix]

Chab or chabby was the occasionally used dialect word for a baby. Duck and Love are words I use on a daily basis.