Posted on 10/31/2026 7:29:31 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Language is always in flux, with different phrases and slang coming and going. Similar to inside jokes and cultural references, what was commonly said in one generation sounds bizarre to another. The idioms and sayings of our grandparents' generation don't make much sense to us, so we choose to use language that we can relate to. In this process, then, the older phrases begin to disappear.
If you've ever rolled your eyes at one of the seemingly silly things your grandparent said, then you are in good company. Some of us might say the phrases of our grandparents' era, but they've become more of a tongue-in-cheek usage. These expressions are just stuck in the past, and soon they will be completely foreign to younger generations.
"The bee's knees"
"Now you're cooking with gas"
"No comments from the peanut gallery"
"Mind your 'P's and 'Q's"
"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades"
"Don't get your knickers in a twist"
"Goodness gracious, great balls of fire"
"You make a better door than a window"
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You bet your bippy!
Some things our grandparents did not say (at least in public)
The four-letter curse words and loud bleeps that infest our airwaves and the internet. And, all too often, Free Republic posts.
The explanation for “mind your p’s and q’s” I have heard many times is that it originated in English pubs. If a fight broke out the bartender would tell the patrons to mind their own business as in mind your pints and quarts.
My grandfather was a WW 1 combat vet and later raised cattle.
He could make a tractor blush with the cursing he could bring out. But around any females, he would turn all that off.
Manners.
Always confused us kids. But grandma’s replay when one of us youngins would snidley say ‘So’. Was:
Sew buttons on your old man’s pants!
Any help with that one would be greatly appreciated it. We all struggle trying to figure out the origin of that one, even today!
[[No comments from the peanut gallery]]
I used that last week.
[[You make a better door than a window]]
I always use that one
one not listed “Doesn’t amount to a pee-hole in the snow”
“Here comes da Judge!” ;)
Hold your horses!
Dead as a doornail.
Don’t take any wooden nickels.
Yep- very few manners and decency today- and dont even bother asking them to tone it down- they just get louder and angrier and more foul
“We need to leave the world a better place for our grandchildren.”
I use 6 of them myself. Two very frequently, Im a machinist so the “Close..” is a staple, and the “...better door...” Is what I tell my son when he is in my way.
I’ve never heard that last one, LOL! And you’d think that would be common up here on The Frozen Tundra. ;)
Grandma would get hers mixed up. Instead of, ‘You made you bed, now sleep in it!’ she would say, ‘You buttered your bread, now lie in it!’
Same gist, but it was always funny. :)
He’s got the bit in his teeth!
“Watch your language”. “Mind your manners”. “Don’t talk back”. For some reason I seem to remember ones related to behavior.
My grandad’s favorite was one he used if you were looking for something that was right next to you. “If it was a snake it would have bit you.”
We kids always got, ‘Sew buttons on your underwear!’
AI says:
“The phrase ‘sew buttons on your underwear’ is a humorous way of telling someone to mind their own business or to focus on more important matters. The origin of this phrase is not definitively known, but it likely stems from the idea that sewing buttons on underwear is a trivial and unnecessary task, much like meddling in others’ affairs. It is a playful and lighthearted expression used to dismiss nosy or intrusive behavior.”
I always heard sew buttons on your underwear.
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