Familiar Expressions of Home and Hearth

Popular colloquialisms are specific speech patterns of ordinary people used locally over many years. They are familiar and easy to understand. Our grandparents and older members of our family used these expressions daily, though we don’t hear them as often as we once did, we know and love the expressions of our elders. I have just a few of them here, although there are so many I’m sure you can add to them and I hope you will.

Colloquial speech meanings are determined by popular usage rather than literal interpretation. See how many of these popular expressions are familiar to you. These expressions usually go back to older members of our families and childhood. They conjure up good memories from the past of grandmothers, granddads, great aunts and uncles. In short, they are memories of home and hearth. And dear to out hearts.

pull the wool over your eyes

smell a rat

shake a stick at

rob Peter to pay Paul

pay through the nose

mad as an old wet hen

weak as a kitten

stick your neck out

throw cold water on something

a month of Sundays

lower than a hound’s belly

crooked as a snake

spill the beans

hold your tongue

called on the carpet

jumpy as a cat in a room full of rockers

run something into the ground

once in a blue moon

have something up your sleeve

between the devil and the fence post

between the devil and the deep blue sea

between a rock and a hard place

take the bull by the horns

talk turkey

hit the nail on the head

butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth

ugly as sin

pay through the nose

two pigs in a poke

people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones

pretty as a speckled pup

pretty is as pretty does

bright as a brand new penny

put this where the sun don’t shine

running like a scalded dog

that dog won’t hunt

drunk as a skunk

tit for tat

cat got your tongue

fit as a fiddle

sick as a dog

ugly as a mud fence

slick as a Baptist preacher

poor as a church mouse

wet as water

jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof

high as a kite

squeeze a nickle til it hollows ouch

skinny as a fence rail

fat as a hog

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Tulan’s articles:

http://socyberty.com/languages/the-english-language/

http://socyberty.com/people/bits-and-pieces/

http://socyberty.com/languages/the-trouble-with-english/

http://socyberty.com/history/davy-crockett-american-folk-hero/