Question of the Week: Do you have any family words of wisdom to share? [closed]

Question

Unique family sayings are so much fun! Share your favorite words of wisdom that have been passed down through the generations.

Comments

One Monday morning, after Grandfather had spent the weekend with us, I complained that I didn't want to go to school but instead to be with him for another day.
Being the wise and loving man he was, he put on a screwed up grin and whispered: "Son, you take a bite off my twist and chew it.  That will make your face turn green and your Mom will believe you when you say you're sick and you won't have to go to school."
I never used tobacco again!

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I raised my sons with these words. "Say what you mean, mean what you say and your only as good as your word"

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My mother's famous saying was....go pick a switch

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I was going to Scotland in my early twenties when my great-grandmother gave me her words of advice for while I was gone. "Find a good Scotish man and never let him go". She had met and married my great-grandfather a Scottish immigrant in Saskatchewan as a young woman and felt acutely his loss still 15 years later. I did not find a Scottish gent that trip but I have not stopped looking.

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On a few rare occasions I must admit that I've had a wee bit O' Scotch in me.

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After insisting that I really needed or wanted something, I would be told - "People in Hell want ice water".

 

A polite way to say 'go to hell' in the family - "Go to Father" taken from the refrain -

Go to Father she said when I asked her to wed,

She knew that I knew that her father was dead

She knew that I knew the life he had lead

So she knew that I knew what she meant when she said "Go to Father"

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Raymond, Did you go to school that day?

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I think not!  Mom was convinced.  Granddad chuckled a lot as I recall.  Always loved that man!

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My Welsh great grandfather had two things he was fond of saying. When seeing someone who looked familiar but turned out to be no one he really knew he would say" He thought it was me and I thought it was him, but it wasn't either one of us"  and if something was rearranged, "Leave it as was it, as was it I had it!" I never met him, but he must have had an interesting way of speaking and a lively sense of humor.

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My mother's most frequent saying: "keep a high thought." Amazing how frequently I repeat it! Fits virtually every situation whether you just want to convey optimism or condolences. Or just (perhaps) convey an interested but neutral comment.

Answer 1

My daddy always told me and my siblings that "Your word is your bond and a handshake is as good as a written contract". I have always tried to live by this lesson of honesty and truth! I miss him very much!

Answer 2

My great Grandfather used to say "You show me a man who makes no mistakes, and I will show you a man who does no work!"  It tended to silent those who were attempting to shift blame. :-)

Answer 3

Mary martens (my father's mom): Always keep a dollar in your pocket so the dogs don't pee on ya

Answer 4

My mother says "I don't boil my cabbage twice", meaning I'm not going to repeat myself. Also, "I'm not as green as I'm cabbage-looking", meaning she's no fool.
Another saying round here is "Huncote - where they put the pig on the wall so that it could hear the marching band."

N.B. Huncote is a village in Leicestershire, England.

Answer 5

My maternal grandmother's headstone has "Y" on it besides the usual name and dates information. The reason for "Y"? As we were growing up, any time we would ask her "why", her stock response was:

"Y is a crooked letter that can't be made straight"

It stopped us in our tracks EVERY time! :)

Answer 6

My maternal grandfather  Hob Hadler,  he always use to say "If my grandchildren do not love me, at least they will respect me."  He was born in 1898....

Answer 7

We live on a dirt road in the boondocks so we have a gate on our property. My dad used to deliver papers in the middle of the night and draft me to help him. One night I was closing the gate behind us and he asked me a question:

"Do you realize how much noise you just made getting the gate?"

I thought about that and still do. Everywhere I go I try to minimize any noise I make and often end up sneaking up on people and wildlife without trying to.

Answer 8

My father used to say "be nice to the people you meet on the way up, because that's the same people you'll meet on your way down."

Answer 9

My maternal grandmother would say: "Always make sure that you have a good bed and a good pair of shoes, because you're always in one or the other."

Answer 10

"Fault is not in failure but in low aim."  From my Aunt who was one of the city's first women police officers and later a lawyer.

Answer 11

"Wish in one hand,Spit in the other,see which one fills first." and "Best not to speak and let them think you are dumb than to speak and prove it."

Answer 12

My dad always said don't dwell on the past, put it behind you. It is what it is.

Answer 13

My dad always told us to tell people that you love them. You never know when it might be the last time.

He came from a poor, unloving family. But he was the most kind, gentle and loving man you would have ever met.

He worked hard, and instilled that in all three of us.  We lost my sister when she was young, and we loved each other even more after that.

Thank you dad for your loving kindness.

Answer 14

My father always said " Lead, follow or get out of the way", when a decision is required.

James