DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 

DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Favorite sayings (or I'm a little sick and bored)
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 25 of 68, (reverse)
AuthorThread
12/13/2010 02:32:13 PM · #1
Living in Holland now, I am learning a different cultures sayings. What are some of your favorite sayings - what country are they from?
My two favorite American sayings right now are:
"Its better than a poke in the eye" as in: How's that new job? Better than a poke in the eye. (not bad, thanks...)
or my all time favorite saying:
"More (something) than you can shake a stick at" as in: Texas has more cows than you can shake a stick at.
Cause I can shake a stick at a whole lotta cows!!

Dutch (correct me native Nederlanders) Varkentje wassen or washing the little pig
I'm told two meanings, one is its an easy task, and others say its a seemingly easy task that is hard.
Since washing a little pig is probably harder than it looks, I lean to the latter definition.

Get better Doc, maybe you will get a chuckle from someones funny sayings. Laughter if not the best medicine, makes for a good roommate.
12/13/2010 02:35:02 PM · #2
Oh, I also like the American "Cute as a bugs ear"
I imagine bugs must have very cute ears...
12/13/2010 02:37:10 PM · #3
How about a "shotgun wedding"? This a forced wedding, the idea being that the groom is being forced to the altar at the business end of a shotgun.

"In the doghouse". Origin of the phrase: You are in trouble with the wife. Hence you are not allowed to sleep inside and must sleep in the doghouse for shelter.
12/13/2010 02:43:55 PM · #4
Just for fun - I think the appropriate name for these is a colloquial aphorism

ETA: Here is an old thread on the subject :)

Message edited by author 2010-12-13 14:44:55.
12/13/2010 02:49:03 PM · #5
"Rule of thumb"

Some say it comes from an old law that states it is illegal for a man to beat his wife with a stick that is thicker than his thumb.

Good to know there were some rules around that sort of thing. I think it's an urban legend, or maybe a suburban one.
12/13/2010 02:49:45 PM · #6
Originally posted by amsterdamman:

...washing the little pig...

That sounds more like "Waxing the weasel", or "Spanking the monkey" to me.
12/13/2010 02:50:34 PM · #7
'Up shit creek without a paddle' = in deep trouble

'Face like a slapped arse' = refers to a person who has unpleasant facial features (aka Ugly)

Message edited by author 2010-12-13 14:52:19.
12/13/2010 02:56:02 PM · #8
Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

All dinosaurs destroy, but only a tyrannasaurus rex.

12/13/2010 03:07:48 PM · #9
Here's some I jokingly say to my 5 year old quite often:
"Why you little...!" (thanks Homer)
"One of these days, Riley, POW! to the moon!" (thanks Ralph Kramden)
"Why, I oughta..." (thanks Larry, Curly and Moe)
12/13/2010 03:15:57 PM · #10
"The cat's pajama's" I have no idea how this one originated.
12/13/2010 03:17:08 PM · #11
The motto of American Conservatism:

"My mind's made up -- don't confuse me with the facts."
12/13/2010 03:20:18 PM · #12
Some that my dad used say that still crack me up. My cuosin and I usually work in at least one "Patty Mac" quote whenever we get together:

"She was uglier than a basket full of assholes" - that one's not to hard to figure out

"I was tickled pink" - I was very happy

"She was cherry!" - usually when talking about a car; it meant it was perfect!

"You know, when you were born, the doctor slapped your mother" - yeah, you're ugly.

He had a ton of them.... :-)
12/13/2010 03:20:34 PM · #13
As easy as sliding off a greasy log backward

Busy as a stump-tailed cow in fly time

Chugged full

Full as a tick

Either fish or cut bait

like a chicken with its head cut off

butter my biscuit (or the ever increasing popular one -- butter my butt and call me a biscuit)<--personal favorite

rode hard and put up wet

actin' above your raisin'

like white on rice

I'm in the Southern Appalachians, there are hundreds more. One of the quirks of our dialect (especially in older generations) is to put "a" in front of random words -- "I'm a-goin to get ready to go."

afore = before
12/13/2010 03:36:53 PM · #14
Eatin' like a chained dog. (very hungry)

Ain't that just the bees knees? (wonderful)

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Knee-high to a grasshopper. (in reference to a small child)
12/13/2010 03:38:32 PM · #15
Originally posted by karmat:

As easy as sliding off a greasy log backward

Busy as a stump-tailed cow in fly time

Chugged full

Full as a tick

Either fish or cut bait

like a chicken with its head cut off

butter my biscuit (or the ever increasing popular one -- butter my butt and call me a biscuit)<--personal favorite

rode hard and put up wet

actin' above your raisin'

like white on rice

I'm in the Southern Appalachians, there are hundreds more. One of the quirks of our dialect (especially in older generations) is to put "a" in front of random words -- "I'm a-goin to get ready to go."

afore = before


When I lived in North Carolina I learn several new words and phrases

younguns = children
grand younguns = grand children
front room = living room
eatin' table = dining room table
hey = hello (universal throughout the state, no one ever said Hi or Hello, always "Hey")

my favorite phrase = "You're dumber than a sack of hair."
12/13/2010 03:47:42 PM · #16
Someone who fidgets about alot: Up and down like a whore's drawers. Has ants in their pants.

Someone who is very excited about something: Like a dog with two dicks!

Face like the back of a bus - Ugly

It's the dog's b******s! - It's excellent.
12/13/2010 03:50:06 PM · #17
"It is what it is..." The situation isn't going to change, you just need to deal with it (mostly used in a crappy situation).
12/13/2010 03:54:12 PM · #18
Originally posted by The_Tourist:

"It is what it is..." The situation isn't going to change, you just need to deal with it (mostly used in a crappy situation).


I have that saying on a sign hanging in my kitchen...
12/13/2010 04:04:38 PM · #19
Life's uncertain. Start with dessert.
12/13/2010 04:12:37 PM · #20
I like the italian "Se non è zuppa, è pan bagnato" , much more than the same expression in french which is "C'est blanc bonnet et bonnet blanc" (that is more or less "Six of one and half a dozen of the other").
At home we use a lot "Al pan, pan y al vino, vino" (spanish) ("to call a spade a spade").

And of course "curiosity killed the cat" (la curiosidad mató al gato).

(I'm french, I live in Spain).

Message edited by author 2010-12-13 16:17:05.
12/13/2010 04:21:12 PM · #21
My dad used to like to say "Same thing, only different".
12/13/2010 04:47:50 PM · #22
I love how sayings in some countries make absolutely no sense when translated to other languages.

My mom says this one to me all the time and is one of my favorites: (German)
Ich liebe dich, du holdes wesen, du ausgenutzter Kuhstall Besen

Translated to English:
I love you, you awesome being, you used-up cowstall broom.

=)

Some other translated German sayings:

-When the mouse is full, the flour tastes bitter.
-Girls that whistle and Roosters that crow. Both should have their necks rung
-When the rooster crows in the hay, either the weather will change or it will stay the same
and so many more...

Message edited by author 2010-12-13 16:51:24.
12/13/2010 04:59:07 PM · #23
Originally posted by Yo_Spiff:

My dad used to like to say "Same thing, only different".

... and the corollary ...

"Remember you're unique -- just like everyone else."
12/13/2010 05:01:03 PM · #24
Some I've heard over the years, all are pretty much self-explanatory:

Got hit with the ugly stick

Dumber'n a sack of dead mice

Dumber'n a box of rocks

Colder than a whore's heart

Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

Has the IQ of a grape
12/13/2010 05:33:18 PM · #25
Grotesquely rural Austrian saying in tortured German dialect:

Wenns arschls brummt ists herzel gsund.

"When your ass thunders, your heart is healthy," referring to a unique way to excuse excessive flatulence.
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 03/29/2024 12:41:02 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/29/2024 12:41:02 AM EDT.