I'm not sure why, but I've always loved expressions from the 20's and 30's... and find myself using them all the time... Cheese it, it's the cops! Now, you're cooking with gas! Okey, dokey, smokey! What a card! Are there any old phrases or slang that you find yourself using?
I use a lot of them, mostly jokingly but I am sure that most people don't realize I'm joking. The phone's ringing off the hook; or dialing a number, despite the fact that it's been a while since I've had a phone that had a hook, or one that could be dialed.
Now we are cooking with gas- was something my grandmother used to like to say, that made me smile For me Once in a blue moon Jeepers creepers all righty then Cool and Groovy both! A penny for your thoughts For awhile I was watching some of the older movies from the 40's, I know there are a few more things that pop out of my mouth but truth be told it is so old most young people have no idea it is an old term.
I never thought of "Cool"... People use that a lot here in California... along with "Dude!" And "Far Out" is very 60's too...
."Dude", "Oh Man", "Cool", "Got To Split", there is another one that I said the other day and my grandson looked at me like I was from outer space. I had to laugh because it sounded strange as it was leaving my mouth. Right now I can't remember what it was but it went way back.
I have to submit my expression from the southern part of the USA. A favorite is: 'Bless your heart!' This phrase covers a multitude of situations such as: - When you don't know what to say when someone has made a big mistake. - When someone is sick and you want to comfort them with a kind statement.
I don't use them very much here in Thailand, but. "Thats bad!" for something that is really good, "Groovy", and the very important California 60's "Bitchin!". A great looking car would be cherry! Now here with my "Broken English" Thai friends, we have "Thank you very big", "Same Same You" and one of my favorites, "Same Same But Different!" among many more!
I don't think that I use any sayings. Not that I am aware of anyway. I do enjoy listening to other people use them. It's interesting. Sometimes I hear people say some that I have never even heard of. I like to think of where it originated from. It's also pretty interesting to hear the differences in slang and sayings when you travel to new places that are different from the area that you live in.
I have used , or at least heard , most of the ones listed here. Another common one was to "hang a right/left" when giving directions to someone. Of course we always said "Night, night, sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite." That was a pretty old one even back then. Apparently , the sleep tight part referred to when the beds didn't have springs, they had some sort of a mattress which was on top of ropes stretched back and forth across the bed. At night, you tightened the ropes, so the bed did not sag in the middle when you got in it. Another saying that my mom always used was "you went all the way around RobinHood's barn", which of course, was Sherwood Forest. This was when I had taken some long and convoluted route of doing something that could have been accomplished much easier.
I use the words "flibbertygibbet" and "groovy" in a joking way, sometimes. When I say "cool," it just means I like something, although that is certainly a dated word that I understand young people don't use as much now as they did even fifteen or twenty years ago. But I am used to using it, so it keeps coming out! I think the word "awesome" is getting to be way over-used but it still works in multi-generational settings, so I use it. But I use it without the sauce. "Awesome-sauce" is a phrase I hear people slightly younger than me use (such as 35-45 year-olds, who picked it up back when their kids still said it), and I disapprove!
I like that phrase, Susan! I am a lifelong Yankee, but I understand from Southern acquaintances that you can say anything you want about anyone if you add the phrase "Bless your heart!" afterwards. It's a sweet and very diplomatic phrase.
Betty, this phrase has helped me in a lot of different situations when generally there's no commentary that is quite appropriate.
Betty, I do love 'groovy' so much! It's so affirmative with a fun twist! I would like to say, I think you are 'groovy'!