@Nrdsb4 I’ve heard that often.
I was kind of trying to say that without actually saying it because it seemed kind of mean. But, yeah. And also a hard look about her, leathery skin from smoking so much, so long, etc.
@Nrdsb4 I use that phrase all the time, and I’m from MA. But I did grow up with horses.
ETA: I don’t use it to refer to someone who looks sleazy-for us it’s someone who’s been working out super hard and is completely sweaty and exhausted. Or hung over.
I love the origins of words and idioms.
I just used ‘putting on the dog" and wondered "Where in the heck did that come from?’ Turns out it likely dates to when people started keeping lapdogs as pets as a status symbol. So ‘putting on the dog’ meant to show off or to dress for ostentation.
Two Current expression from my college kids
“Everything”. Meaning " the best" and indicates a level of obsession. As in “chocolate banana pudding from Magnolia is everything”
“A lot” In reference to a person " She’s a lot" meaning " She’s hard to take" perhaps because she’s whiny or demanding or has some other difficult aspect of her personality.
My FIL who was from the Pittsburgh area always used the “ridden hard” phrase to refer to a woman who has had a difficult life. He said he first heard the phrase from his days in the Navy.
I love this thread–so many expressions from so many places.
Trying to be delicate here, but to me the “ridden” part of the expression was not in reference to the woman riding a horse, but in being the one ridden, and then discarded / tossed aside.
In my mind, there’s a difference between “bless your heart” (said directly to the person with a caring tone and a smile) and “bless her/his heart” (when talking about a person and excusing some fault, not necessarily snarkily, but possibly so)
Actually, as I think about it, tone may come into play
“don’t be ugly”
- often from a parent to a child and "ugly" means uncharitable, mean-spirited, or just plain nasty behavior towards others.
I’ve also heard “God don’t like ugly.”
Not sure this really fits with this thread, but there is something that I’ve noticed that male professionals, business executives, and politicians do that I do not see female professionals or executives doing. (Not sure about female politicians). And that is that men often speak on behalf of their spouses when publically offering congratulations, accolades or sympathy to someone.
I go to a lot of business and charity events where awards are handed out right and left and the male presenters introducing the recipients often say, at the end of their speeches, “so Jane and I want to congratulate Jim on blah blah blah” or “please join Jane and me in expressing our most hearty thanks for blah blah blah.” Most of the time, we, the audience, don’t know Jane and the reference to the spouse just comes out of the blue. It is a very common trope.
BUT I hardly ever hear women doing this in a business or quasi-business (charity) setting. (The only exception is, in the charity setting, when the husband is the big-wig and the wife is speaking as wife-of-big/wig.) I also don’t see it much with same-sex spouses.
I very much notice this with male politicians on both sides of the aisle. Obama does it. Ted Cruz does it incessantly. I haven’t been able to figure out if female politicians do it.
I don’t know why, but it always bugs me a little bit in the business setting. Do other people see this kind of gender divide? Or are some of the colloquialisms we are talking about gendered in this way (i.e., only hear one sex using the phrase).
When I grew up, the expression wasn’t “don’t be ugly”. It was “don’t be fresh”. Meant essentially the same thing. It basically meant don’t be a smart aleck. Or a wise guy. Or as my late dad used to say, a wisenheimer.
Not in my mind; snark can appear in either case. As an example:
Q: You seem very pale. Are you pregnant?
A: Why, thank you for your concern. Bless your heart.
Himom, all pau. Nice memories of college friends came back, Thanks for the memories.
Catty people have pretty much ruined ‘bless her/his heart’ for anyone wanting to use it sympathetically. Better say it another way.
‘Ain’t got a dog in this fight’
‘Cute as a speckled pup’
‘A lot of sugar for a nickle’.
‘Could go bear hunting with a switch’, or as my dad one time said: ‘a gal who leaves tracks when she walks’.
I think the issue with “bless his heart” in the non-serious context is that even when it is not catty it often is a little condescending – to mean “poor dear” or “poor little thing,” for example. If those are the sentiments you are trying to convey, using an alternative phrase is not going to help.
What does “could go bear hunting with a switch” or “a gal who leaves tracks when she walks” mean? I don’t understand those colloquialisms. Thanks!
“Catch more bees with honey than vinegar,” is an expression I’ve heard and like.
“Why buy the cow when the milk is free?” is an expression my mom used when people lived together before marriage.
“Golden rule: he who has the gold rules,” is an expression that is often applicable but I don’t really like.
I prefer the other golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Our world would be a better place if more followed this rule, IMHO.
“Above my pay grade,” is handy for questions that are the domain of someone with more authority. H worked with military and they use the term “con” or “watch” to talk about whose responsibility something is–“Who has the con?” “Not on my watch…”
Years ago my uncle, a field trial judge, was mentioned in a magazine article, in which the author noted that there are certain sayings that one has used for a lifetime without ever hearing them in their proper context. At a field trial, the judges and spectators follow the dogs on horses. At one point the dogs were getting crowded and my uncle held up his hands and said, “Hold your horses, boys.” At the end of the interview the writer asked about the most unlikely field trial winner and how he came about winning. My uncle’s response: “Well, every dog has his day.”