Things Our Mothers & Grandmothers Said

In honor of Mother's Day weekend, today I'd like to celebrate mothers and grandmothers by sharing some of their favorite sayings. I polled a couple of my friends and added their memories to what I recall being said by the women in my family.

 If someone in the group was dawdling, my grandma knew just what to say:

 "The army won't wait for one soldier" - Mary Pletkovic

 

My grandma Newton was somewhat shy.  I love this picture of her listening to her favorite song on the Victrola.  Underneath the photo she had written "Sentimental...I suppose".  Once she and my grandpa started their restaurant, she worked from dawn till dusk cooking and cleaning.  She used to say this about herself:

"I'm afraid of everything except hard work" - Harriett Newton

 

My grandma also loved to sew, make jewelry, and kept herself occupied with various other handicrafts.  Another one of her favorite sayings was:

"Busy hands are happy hands" - Harriett Newton

I attended a softball game once and overheard a mother talking to her upset son, who had his arms crossed against his chest and his lower lip jutting out in the classic pout. 

"Stop pouting or a bird will poop on your lip" - Unknown

 

When it came to dating advice, my friend Nancy Clifford recommended the "Shop Around" method, and used pasta as an effective analogy:

 "If you throw enough spaghetti against a wall, some of it is bound to stick" - Nancy Clifford

 My mom wasn't one to use a lot of sayings, but she often used nicknames for me, one of which was "Snookey Ookums".  Imagine my delight when I recently came across two sets of sheet music titled with my old nickname!

"Stop snacking.  You'll ruin your dinner!" - Every mom that cooks.

 

 "A penny saved is a penny earned" - Many, many moms.

 "A stitch in time saves nine" - Universal mom-ism.

My friend Gail's mother was famous for these sensible words of warning:

"Don't borrow trouble" - Jan Roehrich

When it came time to visit the "necessary room", my friend Vicki's mother would say something unusual:

"I have to go to the biff" -  Beryl Sutton

She also said this little rhyme to comfort her daughter when she broke a toy or had a mishap:

Suppose my little lady
That your doll would break it's head
Would it mend it all by crying
Til your eyes and nose were red?
Now, wouldn't it be better to treat it as a joke
and be so glad t'was the doll's head
and not your head that broke?

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." - Mothers all over the world.

Generic mother-daughter pic:

If there was ever an opportunity for readers to comment, this is it!  What endearing quips did your mother or grandmother used to say?  Please let us know in my comment section!  In the meantime, I'll sign off with this picture of my mom and me and wish Happy Mother's Day to my mom Lucile and all the other moms and grandmothers out there!

Love,

Snookie Ookums

Comments

[Kat]

I must have asked 'why' a lot- my mom always said 'because I said so'. Another was 'many hands make light work', which worked well when we were down on the farm. I'll think of others when I'm no where near the computer!
Happy Mother's Day to you and all!

[Gail]

That was great, Mitz!

I love Vicki's Mom's saying - the biff? I think I'll start using that.

Oh, I thought of another one from Jan - kind of corny, I know.

Spring has sprung,
the grass has riz,
I wonder where the flowers is?

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Kat,

Oh yes, Because I said so has been used by so many moms! And I like Many hands make light work because its really true. Thanks for your contributions, Kat!

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Gail,

Thanks for the additional contribution! Im not sure mothers today are using such cool sayings. Im afraid to find out what they are using instead.....

Mitzi

[Annette]

Great sayings. If something wasn't quite perfect, my grandma would say "you won't notice it on a flying horse!". And my mother would say, when I wanted to be older or looking forward to an event, "Don't wish your life away...when you get older it will go too fast". So true to both of them!

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Annette,

I love your grandmas saying you wont notice it on a flying horse! Ive never heard that one before. And what your mother said was so true. Thanks for adding to the discussion, and happy Mothers Day to you!

Mitzi

[Felicia Kramer]

My parents grew up speaking Polish, so my Mom would often spout admonishments at us - in Polish! I can't remember some from when we were kids; besides, the translations were really dumb! But in her later years one of her favorites was: "Starosc nie radosc" - loosely translated: "Old age is not joy." Yeah, I get that.

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Felicia,

I like that saying. Ive heard the similar Getting old isnt for sissies which is so true!

Have a happy Mothers Day,

Mitzi

[ronny]

I have heard all of these except the flying horse one.
so my mother and grandmothers must have said them all at one time or another as I was growing up.

Felicias mother was right, in english or polish, "Old age is not joy" !! (I know where with I speak, I'm going on 73 and after spending the afternoon yesterday with my youngest daughter and her two daughters shopping, my body really let me know just how old I was! :)

I always remember some of the things my English paternal grandmother said.
If we had taken her somewhere in the car, as she would get out she'd say "Thanks for the buggy ride"

If we or she had been visiting and were leaving she would say, "See you in the funny papers"!

If we were going to bed she would say. "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!"
When I was growing up I didn't know there actually was such a thing as a bed bug!

Both my grandmas and my mother must have been where the saying originated "so clean you could eat off the floor"!
Everyone in their households knew that you vacumed, dusted everyday, cleaned the bathroom every day, mopped the floors every day and on Friday you moved the furniture in every room and vacumed the floor behind and under where it had sat and wiped off all the woodwork. Mondays you hauled out the wash tubs and wringer washer and did the wash and hung it out. Tuesdays you did all the ironing, this was before steam irons so you had to dampen it all down first. Of course this was besides the daily housework and the window cleaning and the washing the porch and sidewalk off.
Sorry, I got wound up in a lot of memories this column brought up. don't mean to be so long winded. I do love both your blogs, and hearing stories of your family and about your antiques and business. I am so glad you do them.

[BeeZee]

Hold on to your pocketbook & don't let any boys touch you down there - for years my little sister wouldn't let boys anywhere near her shoes!

[Upscale Downhome]

Thanks for the blast from the past. First of all Bee Zee's comment made me laugh out loud! My grandma always used to say, "many hands make light work", too or if you were down, "better days are comin'". The one saying that sticks out in my mind that my mom said was, "Every outfit looks better with a smile." This was to my teenage self who was complaining about their lack of wardrobe. I really enjoyed this post. Thanks, Mitzi!

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Ronny,

I want to thank you so much....you just wrote a blog post for me! I love the sayings the women in your family used, and I recall my mom saying Sleep tight, dont let the bedbugs bite. Now bedbugs are taking over America, if you read the news! I remember the days when my mom would iron sheets and pillow cases, sprinkling them with water first. What a chore! Its so amazing how much work women have done over the years.

Thanks for stopping by today with your wonderful message. Im so glad to have you as a loyal reader! And Happy Mothers Day!

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi BeeZee,

Your comment gets the award for the most humorous, for sure!!! Thanks so much for stopping by and making me (and probably many others) laugh today!

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Sarah, I really love Every outfit looks better with a smile! What a nice thing to say. I think it would be cute to print that on a hang tag for clothing, dont you?

Ive got to visit your blog soon....Ive been super busy!

Mitzi

[katie scott]

My mama would say "two wrongs don't make a right". One year on her birthday I found a Gary Larson cartoon showing 2 scientists @ a blackboard writing a formula. One said to the other : "Yes, yes, I know that Sydney. . . Everybody knows that! But look: Four wrongs squared, minus two wrongs to the fourth power, divided by this formula, DO make a right."
I framed the cartoon for her and just today I noticed it on her desk and we laughed again.

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Katie,

Thats a good one! Ive caught myself saying that from time to time. The cartoon sounds cute, too.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful week!

Mitzi

[sharon]

this was fun! thank you for the smiles, and what a lovely picture of you and your mom!

[sue]

My Aunt Shirley left me with a line to describe frustration; "Like trying to nail Jello to the wall" and I think of her every time I use it. It always gets a smile.

[Sherry Spehar]

My great grandparents were from West Virginia and so my grandfather came with alot of Mountain sayings.The two that struck me the funniest when I was little were:
Lord willing and the creek wont rise.

Wish with one hand and shell corn with the other and see which one fills up the quickest.

Always folky and from the heart.

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Sherry!
Hi Sherry,

Those are wonderful Mountain Folk sayings! I especially like Wish with one hand and shell corn with the other...

Its great to see your name as a commenter! Thanks for writing! I hope you had a happy Mothers Day.

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Sue,

I love it! Im going to put that one in my own repertoire!

Mitzi