this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2024
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As I was growing up, my family had a couple of sayings I took for granted were universal, at least within my language. As I became an adult I have learned that these are not universal at all:

  • the ketchup effect. It is an expression meaning that when things arrive, they all arrive at the same time. Think of an old school glass ketchup bottle. When you hit the bottom of it, first there is nothing, then there is nothing and then the entire content is on your food.
  • faster than Jesus slid down the mount of olives. Basically a saying that implies that the mount of olives is slippery due to olive oil and Jesus slipped.
  • What you lack in memory, your legs suffer. An expression meaning that when you are forgetful, you usually need to run back and thus your legs suffer.

Please share your own weird family sayings.

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

A Dutch one I got from my Oma: "It's as if the angels upon my tongue have pissed". It means "yum".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Alsof er een engeltje over je tong pist.

[–] NichtElias 55 points 4 months ago (2 children)

The last one's very similar to a german saying: "Was man nicht im Kopf hat, muss man in den Beinen haben."

That literally translates to "What you don't have in your head, you have to have in your legs."

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (4 children)

So that's 3 people in this thread that brought this up. What does it mean? Is it intelligence versus athletics or something else?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Means work smarter, not harder.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I think this one means, either you use your intelligence or use your physical strength to do things. Guess it applies to work and tasks in general.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

If you leave stuff in the other room, you walk more to go get it.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Funny my grandad had a little rhyme related to your ketchup effect:

"If you do not shake the bottle, none'll come and then a lot'll"

Clearly ketchup bottles have been a bigger influence on culture than we realised

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Shaking the ketchup bottle is a great pro tip. No idea why it works but it does.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Vigorous shaking mixes the thicker areas (where the sauce has settled) and the thinner (more watery) areas so they now have the same viscosity (pouring characteristics). Most importantly, this lets the mass of sauce slide cleanly down the bottle, helping the air bubble to also slide up in one unit at the same time, preventing the β€œair-lock” blockage at the opening. Important Note: Before vigorously shaking any container, ensure that the cap is truly secured! Now you are in control!

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 4 months ago

Man the ones I grew up with were far far far more racist than the ones yall had.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 months ago (1 children)

We have your last example in Croatia, usually told as: "they who don't have it in the head, have it in the legs"

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I've heard this in Greece as well.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 months ago (6 children)

To correct someone from saying "so" too much:

"Sew buttons on ice cream"

"Hey" too much:

"Hay is for horses"

"Well" too much:

"Well, well, well - that's three holes in the ground"

Micromanage much?!?!

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago (2 children)

"Hay is for horses" is universal. I do agree that these are all dumb though.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

My dad used to say "Hay is for horses, I eat oats."

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

I like the some in conversation says "but hey..."

I quickly interject "Butt hay is for butt horses"

Dad humor.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 4 months ago (4 children)

My mom often used two:

"Useless as tits on a bull" (often referencing her husband, my dad)

And also, "shit fire and save matches", which I never understood to actually have a meaning, it was more like just an exclamation of surprise.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago

the former is a common, universal phrase.

"like tits on a bull" as a slightly shorter version.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

to be fair if you could shit fire that you would save a lot of matches.

[–] rc__buggy 7 points 4 months ago

shit fire and save matches

If a frog had wings it wouldn't bump it's ass when it jumped.

I've heard these used when someone says something nonsensical, just as a completely worthless reply.

Worst case Ontario!

[–] Brown5500 5 points 4 months ago

My dad used the shit fire expression. I also don't know of an actual meaning.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"watch the ficus" - telling somebody to be more careful after they do something clumsy like tripping or nearly dropping something. I used it in front of some friends once and got confused looks. Apparently grandma used to have a potted ficus tree and used to tell me to watch it when I was playing close to it, so it stuck as a saying in the family.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

haha awesome. So concise, it does sound like a wise saying

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"Life's tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid."

-my grandfather quoting a line from a John Wayne movie I think.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (4 children)

"If you're gonna be stupid, you've gotta be tough," is one I've heard.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Lol well this reminds me of what my Hodor sized buddy's foreman used to say about him, "Thank God he can lift a ton cuz he can't fucking spell it." 🀣

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[–] Peppycito 19 points 4 months ago (4 children)

My mom used to tell my brother's and I to eat vegetables that were longer than they are wide because it's good for growing an ankle duster.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

.... Am... Am I understanding correctly that your mother told you and you brother , regularly, to eat dick shaped vegetables so you could grow a long shlong?

[–] Peppycito 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (6 children)

Spot on! I take it your mother didn't off that advice?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Well my sisters and I don't have that kind of equipment, so no.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (1 children)

You might already heard this one but I didn't learn until a relatively recent internet meme that its only here in Norway that something being "complete texas" means its completely chaotic and messy.

Also I'm using "what the fir forest" ("hva i granskauen") as a replacement for "what the hell" and I have no idea where I've picked it up.. Nobody else around me do, not even family. Works just as fine though against pain and annoyances.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

complete texas

I have distant family who moved to Texas. I will steal this, but only to give it away.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

"Dead meat is hung, live meat is hanged." Turns out most people's grandma's aren't radical leftist english teachers.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (8 children)

My Grandmother used to say "It's better than a kick in the teeth" when deflecting disappointment in an outcome--putting a positive spin on a negative. Being from the UK it seemed universal, but moving to Canada and saying that, people gave me odd looks.

The other one is when somebody is talking nonsense or a bit crazy, they would say "They are out of their tree". For the Welsh the tree symbolizes stability and mental wellness (druids I guess) and if you were stressed or needed to chill their phrase translates to "I need to go back to my trees"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

I'm from the US and "better than a kick in the teeth" and "better than a poke in the eye" are both common around my area. Never heard the tree ones though.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (3 children)

DEGUSTIBUSNONESTDISPUTANDUM

not sure I spelled it right, means "regarding personal tastes, there is no dispute"

Also another good one, "moderation in everything, including moderation."

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

I think the full phrase is De gustibus non disputandum in contradictorium (declinations might be off somewhere)

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Not really a saying, but when I was a kid I wanted to learn how to whistle so badly. I was told that if I ate pickles it would help me learn faster? I didn't eat any, and I still figured it out eventually.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Probably because sour would make your lips pucker? I think lemons would be more obvious.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

β€œDoes a hawks arse pucker in a power dive?” When someone asked a question that had an unequivocal answer of yes. Similar to does a bear shit in the woods,

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (6 children)

You better finish your dinner, don't you know there are starving children in Africa?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Slickern owlshit

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Not a family saying, but my grandad used this joke soooo often:

Q: What's the difference between a snake in the grass and a goose?

A: A snake in the grass is an asp in the grass, but a grasp in the ass is a goose!

My folks liked to purposefully mix metaphors, so instead of saying "The worm has turned", they'd say, "The shoe has turned" and "The worm is on the other foot".

I'm sure there's an origin somewhere, but since I don't know it, the call-out for doing something particularly dumb was, "Why don't you just ram your face into my fist?" (suggesting your stupidity was impressive, but not worth the actual bother of 'punishing' you for it, especially given you were probably stupid enough to punish yourself).

[–] deranger 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Mixed metaphor dad jokes are classic, I really enjoy them.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

The ketchup effect and the suffering legs are pretty common here and I have heard many use it. Especially the one with the legs is more or less a cliche by now.

The one with the sliding Jesus i have v never heard before!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Ketchup effect is known outside your family. Some years ago, the then head of government of my country used the term in the context of COVID-19 vaccines. I can't quickly find sources in English, but: https://kurier.at/freizeit/trending/ketchup-effekt-mcdonalds-scherzt-ueber-kurz-sager/401206246

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

"Don't yuk somebody else's yum."

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

peak late 90s/early 00s internet there.

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