There are probably ones we don't even think about, but one we definitely have is "more so." Or maybe it's become "moreso" -- all run together as one word.

When I was a still in grade school, I came home from school and found my mom and grandmother sewing and talking. I don't know about what exactly, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with my dad. One of them looked at me and told me that when I got older and met a man I might think about marrying, not to think that I could change them or things about them. They agreed and said men aren't likely to change the things that bug you -- they just get more so.

I've remembered that over the years and now that they are both gone. It was our code through my dad's later years and for other situations too. I could hang up the phone and look upset or frustrated and one of the boys would ask what was wrong. I could just tell them who it was and that he was being "moreso."

My Dad was very creative and whimsical so when asked what he would get us for a birthday gift or any gift he would always reply "an amtedam". Of course none of us knew what this meant and he held his position so we would cease asking. That made up word is alive and well in all our family to this day much like your "box of yoyos". Lol

Back in the 1940's, my DM and her friend went out for a drink in Houston. At the time Main St. had grass esplanades. My DM had not yet learned to drive.....somehow, the car wound up in the grass, and her friend had to walk to a store call her DH. When she came back, my DM asked what he said...her Friend said, "He said Stay HERE, don't drive, cause I've had Ti many Martoonis!!!"

That is our line, now!

When my DGD was around 2, her favorite cartoon was 'Toy Story' and her favorite characters were Buzz and Woody. One day she was standing on the hearth at her house and starting shouting 'Domiti' (Doe-me-tee) with a fist in the air and then jumping off. For about 5 minutes we were scratching our heads trying to figure out what she was saying/doing. DD finally got it. She meant 'To Infinity' (and beyond) from the movie. Ever since, when we were headed out somewhere, we just say 'Domiti' and on we go.

Many years ago, while playing cards, a friend said that we would make the bid "down around Dallastown (a small town south of us), she meant that we were doing so in a round about or out of the way manner. From that time forward we use "down around Dallastown" to mean a laborious or difficult manner.

For some reason when the children were young my DS said he was hungry as a bungry. That is now our term for being outrageously hungry.

One episode of the Flintstones the phrase "I am B R O K broke was used. DD and I were returning from the library and I had no money with me. She wanted to stop at McDonalds for fries but I said I was B R O K broke and we just howled with laughter. We still use that phrase to this day as well.

What fun times this post dredges up!

I adore these stories! Keep 'em coming! :-)

My mother's family was very poor when she was young. Her mother would pick buckets of wild blackberries and raspberries in season and can them for later use. Many times my mother and her siblings had to take berry sandwiches to school for lunch, because there was nothing else to eat. Of course, when we were kids, and didn't want to eat something on our plates, we got to hear the 'berry sandwich' story.

Now if one us refers to a financial catastrophe, it's "If that happens, we're going to be eating berry sandwiches."

My mother died when I was very young. My father remarried, and the story comes from the first time he took our to-be-stepmother to meet his parents. My grandparents lived across the road from the local church. As they were all sitting in the living room, the conversation came to an awkward pause. After a few beats of silence, my grandmother looked out the window and said 'Say, they have new reflectors at the church' (on the edge of the driveway.)

This happened in 1968, and ever since then, any time there is a long pause in conversation, someone is likely to say 'say, they have new reflectors at the church.'

May I borrow Hometeapot? I love that. ;-D

I love all these stories! Great topic, Jen.

When my father was a boy he had to do an oral book report on a book and subject picked by the teacher. When he got up to do his report, he opened with. "This book told me more about caterpillars than I wanted to know."

Time passed and my father had a tendency towards verbosity on subjects of great interest to him and not so much to us as kids. My mother would overhear his lengthy talks and call out, "Caterpillars, Herb. Caterpillars!" and he knew to wrap it up! Since then whenever anyone is droning on, someone in the family is sure to mutter caterpillars under their breath - or not!

When our daughter was very young and (mostly) pre-verbal, we were sitting around a campfire with friends, and my husband went off into the dark to get firewood. My daughter turned to me and said searchingly, "Bickey-bock" [bic-ee-boc]. Baffled, we must have asked her a hundred times in the ensuing weeks, pointing to something and asking "Is this 'bickey-bock'? Is THIS 'bickey-bock'?" but she always looked at us blankly. Finally, one day when my husband was leaving for work, we were saying goodbye and I reassured her, "He'll be back!" to which she nodded, "Bickey-bock!"

So to this day, when any of us leaves with the intention of returning soon, we say "Bickey-bock!"

These make me smile. So many variations on the same theme. Makes our families seem like snowflakes ;)

Our most recent family word was coined just a few weeks ago. My DD/SIL, their 6 yr. old DD along with DH & me traveled to Copenhagen to spend holiday time with our DS/DIL & their little DD, who is 2 yrs.

This littlest one is learning to speak in 3 languages - English at home, Danish at daycare and Turkish when she speaks with DIL's family. It's fascinating to see how she knows who speaks what and adjusts accordingly.

....Except for New Year's Eve when fireworks went off early in the evening at dinner time. We were all engaged in conversation and hadn't picked up on them in the distance but little GDD suddenly shouted out over & over, "Oh, no! Farley!" We had her repeat slowly all trying to decipher the word. Finally, another boom went off and she began saying Farley again and pointing outside.

My son finally got it. Back around Halloween a couple kids came to daycare wearing scary masks and the word her Danish counterparts used to mean scary was Farley. I'm sure my spelling is far from the correct one, but it's how she sounded it out.

Since then, Farley has become the family shorthand for something scary. Like when SIL got pulled out from the boarding line at the airport on our return trip home for a random security interview my DD whispered to me, "This feels Farley..." And when I came down with an ailment recently that my doctor couldn't immediately diagnose DH asked if I was okay & I told him, "I am Farley."

So funny that this little tyke has no idea she added something to our family lore that will likely last for years.

In my family, whenever anything went mysteriously missing, we said, "Mr. Nelson took it." We were told that "Mr. Nelson lived in the attic." (we didn't have an attic.)

It wasn't until years later that I realized "Nelson" is a family name (mother's grandparents). I've always wondered if there had been a real Mr. Nelson who "lived in the attic" -- in those days handicapped or senile people were usually shunted away like that.

Violet, your telling of Mr. Nelson reminded me that we always blame things on Casper (as in the ghost). When the children were young and denied culpability we always said well I guess Casper did it.

I have a cousin who is the same age as my youngest brother, and she spent a lot of time with us when they were little kids. When they were around three or four, whenever we were getting ready to go somewhere, she'd say "Gotta go beauty up!" and she'd go wash her hands, comb her hair, etc. We all still say it :-)

I had an elderly great-great aunt who never married, and my grandmother always helped her and included her in all of our family events. She was somewhat particular and difficult. Someone always had to pick her up, take her home, and help her with her hat, coat, gloves, boots, handbag, and so on, which could take an hour. She wore 1950's-60's style hats and gloves well into the 1980's. The designated person, usually my grandfather, would grumble about it. Grandma would say, "Well, this could be the last time, Howard!" This went on for years, until she passed away at the age of 95. In our family, if you complain about having to do something, you still get "Well, this could be the last time!"

When my children were little we had pet hermit crabs. Each child had their own crab and I had one, too and was very fond of it. One day, my youngest got really angry at me and, trying to say the meanest thing she could think of I guess, she said "I don't like your dab!". She couldn't pronounce crab, and she thought saying she didn't like mine would REALLY get my goat.

Now, any time one of the kids is unhappy with a parental decision (No, I won't drive you to your friend's house at 9pm. Yes, you really have to have your room clean before the basketball game) they will say "Okay, but I don't like your dab!"

When anyone would ask my Dad what color something was, he'd say, "Well, I think it's sky-blue-pink." I think of that every evening when we have a beautiful sunset with pink in the blue sky.

When DH and I were first married, there was a Campbell's soup commercial where the little kids were playing outside in the snow but regularly sticking their heads in the kitchen asking, "Is it soup yet?" When supper is finally ready they come crowding around and start eating their Campbell's soup. Then one last kid pokes his head in late and asks, "Is it soup yet?" Now, all I have to holler is "SOUP!" when a meal is ready. Well, actually I don't holler. I text. :)

Each one of these stories is just beyond precious! Thanks so much for sharing here. This is such a happy thread! :-)

We have "buffalo" for breakfast. When I was little I mixed up antelope and cantaloupe. My even littler brother took it a step farther when he learned "oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play".

i don't know where this came from, but my husband and his brother's word for going down the wrong path (eg, thinking the game is on at 3 when it really started at 1, or taking the wrong turn, or adding baking soda when it should have been baking powder) is "chiboued", pronounced "shy-bode" They think it may have native North American roots.

Ever drive in Arizona and the road is contoured to allow for washes? We call those "whooppees" because that's what we hollered going over them when we were kids.

My kid brother was just learning to read, and on a car trip practiced by reading all the road signs. Each. And. Every. One. One sign he didn't quite understand: "Daddy, what does 'Exit Goofed' mean? How does an exit goof?" It took the better part of that trip to finally figure out it was really "Exit 600 ft". Get it? Exit Gooft! So forever whenever we misread or can't read a sign someone says Exit goofed.

My dad's office had an office lady who was, well, the housekeeper. (You know those signs in office kitchens that say "your mother doesn't work here"? Well, Mrs. S did!) She was Ukrainian, and when you can't do anything about a problem, she said "What you can do?" So of course, we all say it. With Ukrainian accent and a shrug.

i think I posted on the other thread about cute things kids say that when we just can't make out what you are saying we ask "You wanna buy an oboe?" (the 2-year-old wanted to go to Barnes and Noble)

When DS2 was 4 years old he was using the iPad to FaceTime with Granny. Granny is a known chatterbox with lots of questions. DS2 had had enough so while she was mid-sentence he announced "I'm hitting the red button" then he hung up on her. Now, whenever something is going on and on we just say "I'm hitting the red button".

When DH was in high school he came home after an evening out with his friends. His parents suspected that he may have had a few beers. Through their conversation the truth was revealed. They asked what he had for dinner. DHs response.... "Falad" (salad). We often say that we're having falad with a meal.

Great thread. It's been fun to read all these family stories.

Amck2: Love this! "Makes our families seem like snowflakes ;)"

I think our family probably has a lot of odd expressions that I'm not even thinking of right now. The only one I can think of is that DD, when she was a baby, called waffles "buppies." Who knows why -- not even close to the word! But anyway, the whole family still calls them buppies now, and DD is 14.

Another one that comes up often when we are going out for ice cream. When DS2 was little, we were getting ice cream and I asked him if he wanted an ice cream sundae. He started to cry and said, "No, I want ice cream TODAY!"

How about the family nicknames? DH has called DS2 "D-Dog" for his whole life. I have no idea why (his first name does begin with D). DS2 is now 20 and DH still calls him D-Dog all the time, hardly ever uses his real name in fact. It must sound strange to other people! Sometimes it's just "Deed" for short. Meanwhile, he also calls DD by a different name, but DS1 (who is difficult and doesn't really have a sense of humor) is always called by his real name. Meanwhile my 80 yo dad has been calling me Sweet Pea all my life.

My mother in-law was known for her parties. They (her and father in-law) were of the martini generation. Still, mother in-law was pretty much a proper English woman and never ever used swear words or profanity of any kind. One year for Christmas she decided on a menu of duck and all the fixings. She was a fabulous cook and prided herself on her beautiful table settings with all her antique China and crystal. This was her first Christmas as an empty nester so she chose two of their best friends to join the festivities. She worked the whole week shopping and baking. The morning before the dinner she got a call from her friends asking if they could bring someone. Sure she said. Plenty of duck. Then, another call about some other poor soul whom they didn't want to be alone. Of course she said (but was worried about having enough duck). Next she got a call from another couple who for whatever reason was unable to make a Christmas dinner. Well, Lil was kind hearted and could not turn them away. About an hour later they called back and asked if they could bring a friend. Finally, fully exasperated Lil yelled FU€K THE DUCK we're having TURKEY!

For years she retold this story and it didn't matter how many times you heard it it was still a shocker hearing the "F" word come out of her mouth. She has long since passed but the legend lives on. Any time there is a worry over a shortage of food its...FU€K the DUCK let's have TURKEY. Or, if anyone is considering duck on a restaurant menu someone in the group will mumble, you know what Lil would say, fu€k the duck!

HaHa Terri, that one is priceless!

Sueb20, maybe your DD meant "bumpies", because waffles certainly are!

sky-blue-pink.

oh, I remember that color well! I think you are the only person I've ever heard say it outside of my family.

This isn't really an expression that we've passed down, but just a family anecdote. My youngest son was very hyper active as a young child and often caused me great anxiety, trying to rein him in. When he was starting junior kindergarten at just under four, I kept stressing to him that "you must behave at school, the whole time you are there." About the third day of school, his teacher greeted me with a huge smile when I came to pick him up. She told me that he always played well with the other children, but she noticed he never responded when she, or any of his classmates addressed him personally.

That morning she instructed him that whenever someone is speaking to him, it is polite to answer them. She said he responded "I can't, I'm not allowed." When she asked him why, he replied "My mother said I must behave at school the whole time I'm here." She told him that if he wants to behave, then he should always answer when she calls his name. He got tearful and replied "But you always call me "Nicholas" and my mother told me I must be "HAVE" (rhyming with 'save') the whole time I'm here." It was then that she realized my son thought I had ordered him to answer to only the name "Have" at school, rather than his own name! He's 25 now, and I'll be sure to tell the story to his future kids, if he has any, lol!

we grew up calling pound cake plain-piprax... i don't think i even knew it was commonly called pound cake until i was at least a teenager, if not older! never, ever questioned why we called it that- that's just what poundcake was called in our family!

it wasn't until many, many yrs later that my dad explained that name came from an old store, robert hall, who in the 40's and 50's who used to advertise that they sold their clothes on plain, pipe racks rather than in fancy schmancy surrounds so they could keep their costs lower... so, that's how they referred to poundcake- because it was a cake without any frills!

I thought of another one. My DD had trouble pronouncing perfume. For a long time it always came out 'pew-ferm'. So, we called it that for many years. In a lot of cases it fit better than the actual pronunciation.

As DD became older, we devised an acronym scheme to communicate, kind of like a code between us. We had several we used when we were out in a crowd, for example, and wanted to comment on something. BOB meant B.O.-Bad (we used this at Disney World & the fair I can recall). MOB was code for an ugly, dowdy Mother-of-the-Bride-type dress. We still use some of these. We still crack up when one of us uses one of these old codes.

This thread is so much fun!!

That's funny, Imhappy&Iknowit - I was born and raised in Iowa. Must be an Iowa thing!

We said sky-blue-pink too. We're in Vermont.

Picky shopper - I really did LOL long & loud over that.

All of these stories are great.

In my family, we refer to ice cream as TDI. My mother used to spell things she didn't want us to know (similar to spelling v-e-t in front of the dog) so she'd spell i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m to my dad thinking she wasn't tipping us off about after dinner plans. Once when my mom was writing out a shopping list, my 4 yo sister said buy some TDI. She didn't know the correct letters but she knew a bunch of random letters meant we were getting ice cream.

Well, my Bailey ancestors came from Vermont! Little bug, do you have any Vermont ancestors? Any McCauleys? Skibby, any of those names in your distant past?

My former husband was a Boy Scout when he was a kid. They went on a very long and exhausting hike and at the end they cooked Spanish Rice. He thought it was the best thing he ever tasted so he asked his mother to make it. Naturally, it didn't taste so good when he wasn't absolutely ravenous. So now whenever we are starved and and absolutely anything would taste good we say "Spanish Rice".

I love this thread.

Ha, thanks Holly. To get how truly shocking (and funny) it was you would have had to know my mother in-law. The first time she stayed with us I traipsed into the kitchen the first morning with my hair doing a pyramid, one eye open and in an old night gown . There she was in a skirt, pearls and heels with her hair all done. All I could think was that boy this is going to be a looong couple of weeks.

When my DGD was about 3, had gone out with Papa to refill the bird feeders. When she came inside, I asked her what she'd been doing. "Oh me feeded the wood puckers." We still call them "wood puckers."

Around the same age, she'd spent the night. She came into our room at the very crack of dawn, and we asked her why she was up. "Someone turned off the dark."

I'mhappyandIknowit - yes, actually I do have some Vermont ancestors but they are VERY far back. Some of my father's ancestors lived in Vermont from 1787-1802 or thereabouts. That branch of our family was named Wellman.

My mom used to say Sky-blue-pink when she didn't want to bother about making a choice, and it wasn't always about color, as in "Oh make mine sky-blue-pink, I don't care".

Mom and dad were friends with a couple who always seemed to luck into a prime parking space, no matter where they went or how busy it was. After a while my folks began identifying their own rare good parking luck with their friend's last name. They are now all long gone, but "I got a Stimson" or "hope I get a Stimson" lives on including through my DD, her husband, and even some of their friends!

Gramarows, funny! My dad always got the best parking spots so we call them Daddy (our surname name) spots. My sister's boyfriend somewhat changed it and calls it "a big daddy".

My mother learned this at, I think CampFire Girl camp: angels-on-horseback. They are s'mores, and I like it!

Here's my favorite-- When my grandmother was alive, she used to ask my mother to take her to the "used bread store" (a pepperidge farms, stroemann's bakery outlet near her house). We never knew if she said it in jest to poke at my mom who frequented antique/consignment/goodwill stores or if she was serious. Either would have been possible lol!

To this day, my nieces, mom and my bf all refer to the store as the "used bread store". I don't drive by the place without thinking of her and smiling.

littlebug, right time, right place, missing that particular name in my tree. BUT I probably don't have everybody yet! Just the first 5,000 or so. I leave my software program open all the time so all I had to do was look over at it to see if "you" were there.

Funkyart- I thought I was the only person who used that phrase! I almost always had to explain it the first time.

Gramarows and HHI, Back in the day before malls we had to park along the street when we went downtown or cruise the small parking lot that the BonTon had for a parking spot. One evening I friend with me. We had just entered the parking lot and there was a great space open. My mom said "that spot has my name on it" and proceeded to park. When we got out of the car my friend was looking all around and puzzled she said "Mrs B. I don't see your name anywhere on this spot". Well of course we just howled with laughter!

imhappy - I don't think I have any of those names in my family history. Most of them were from Maine.

skibby, back in the day, borders were different; names, too. Never say never. And it probably adds to my frustration that I'm looking for place names as I've found them recorded. Who knows what they really were. I have a marriage in "Essex". How many places called Essex can you name off the top of your head! Town, township, county? And which state would that be? And even worse is "Halifax". Which country!?

Love this. Here are two of mine. For some reason I have picked up the phrase, "dealie-do" for something I don't know that name of. Sort of a riff on "do dad." I have no idea where I got it or why I keep saying it when I don't even like to say it. But I say it so often my friends, family, co workers, students, etc. are picking it up and it is my signature phrase.

The second one is a family code phrase. One year we went to the tulip festival in Holland and dad didn't think we needed overnight reservations at a hotel or motel, we could always "find a place." After scouring the entire west Michigan region, we finally ended up in Muskegon at the "Downtowner" which was a somewhat seedy hotel but the worst problem was that the heat was on and could not be turned off for some reason, and it wasn't particularly cold out that spring. Of course the window couldn't be opened very far either, to prevent break ins. It was not a fun night. And ever since, if my dad didn't want to make a reservation or someone said, "Don't worry, we don't need to (take this or that precaution)" we would say, "Remember the Downtowner" which became our "Remember the Alamo" inspirational phrase, albeit to inspire someone to plan ahead better.