Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Sayings They Grew Up With That Are Actually Unique To Their Family

People Explain Which Sayings They Grew Up With That Are Actually Unique To Their Family
Photo by Surface on Unsplash

Well, that's the way the apple pie bakes. You know that saying, right? ...No? Okay I'll just leave now.

Every family has a set of idiosyncrasies that are related to them and only them. Included among that? Sayings.

What were some of your family's?


tysmily asked:

What are sayings you grew up hearing only to find out they were unique to your family?

Here were some of those answers.

The Expensive Monster

Younger Me: "Dad I don't want to walk downstairs at night. It's too dark."

Dad: "There's no monsters. We can't afford monsters."

nkmos19

O_O

My mom would always say "it's behind the milk!" when we would look for something and couldn't find it. Inevitably whatever we were looking for one day was simply behind the milk in the fridge and we couldn't find it. My mom exclaimed this from across the house in frustration and it became the exclamation for anything someone is trying to find. Meaning look harder, actually move other objects instead of just blankly staring.

savetheaglet

At Least It's Not Canned Bread

I used to run a pub. I had to refuse to serve a rather inebriated young man. Rather than say 'you think you're the best thing since sliced bread' he actually said: ' you think you're a slice of bread'.

Since then, in our family, anytime one of us does something rather clever, we are accused of thinking we are a slice of bread.

Mancsnotlancs

Someone's UK

"Not Kicking The Arse Off" generally meaning 'about' and 'around'. E.g "It's not kicking the arse off 10 o'clock" My mum made it up many years ago and we've always used it, however the full saying is "Not kicking the arse of a donkeys back" Didn't know it wasn't an actual term until a few years ago.

GegeE98

Is This Like White Shoes After Labor Day?

"Red shoes, no knickers."

My mum said this, that there's an implication women wearing red shoes weren't wearing any undies. Still haven't met anyone who has ever heard of it.

BPD_whut

The Skittles Approve

My mum often says "they have a face like a slapped arse" whenever she is talking about co workers who aren't taking her constructive criticism well. They often have a pinched expression, lips pressed tightly together/puckered like an actual arse hole...

When my dad is done eating and is asked if he wants more food, he will often reply "mate, I'm full as a zoo keepers boot!" (I'm Australian)

He also says "they were giving out brains, you thought they said trains and you missed it" when I didn't listen to instructions.

My personal one is "they're a few skittles/crayola short of a rainbow" if someone is a bit off mark on something.

HailCrystals

English?????

"What time dark" was something we would say to ask like the general question of when was like dinner and down time.

Turns out my parents were a** face drunk on vacation in a different part of the world before me and my sister were born when my mom turned to my dad and proclaimed "what time dark". Because she wanted to see the sun set but couldn't get the thoughts together.

So from 1-16 I thought it was a common saying, and from 16-24 when my mom passed every time she said something stupid we would just go "WhAt TiMe dArK???"

something98123

The Poor Goats

"You got goats"

My family's way of saying you had a wedgie, because it looked like there was a goat in your crack eating your pants. Quite embarrassing when I found out that wasn't a common phrase...

theothersoul

From All Sides

I didn't have any family "sayings" growing up. When I married my wife, though, dayum!

"At a hundred yards on a galloping horse, they ain't gonna notice." Obvious mistakes to you aren't obvious to anyone else.

The answer to how're you doing? "Fair in the middle, better'n some, worse'n others."

And instead of saying Um or Uh, or other follow on "fillers", they'd use "Well, what I'm gettin' at is:" or "With that..."

cwjbrownict

Well, 'Tis

Growing up with an Asian mom that was working on perfecting her English, she would often say "Aw that is the suck" instead of, you know, "that sucks".

Didn't take long for us to catch on and correct her but it was so funny we just kinda stuck to it, so when something is crappy now I'll instinctively say in my head "well that is the suck"

slothbarns7

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Ken Jennings; Timothee Chalamet
Robin L Marshall/Getty Images; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

'Jeopardy!' Just Threw Some Epic Shade At Timothée Chalamet Over His Claim 'No One Cares' About Opera Or Ballet

If you've been anywhere near the internet lately you've like heard about the uproar over Timothée Chalamet's recent comments about how "no one cares" about ballet and opera.

The comments were not taken kindly, and now the ire has reached such a fever pitch it even made it onto Jeopardy!or the gameshow's Instagram, at least.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Megyn Kelly and Lindsey Graham
The Megyn Kelly Show; Fox News

Megyn Kelly Tells 'Homicidal Maniac' Lindsey Graham To 'STFU' About Iran War In Brutal Rant

Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly criticized South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday, calling him a "homicidal maniac" and demanding he "shut the f**k up" following his calls for intervention in Cuba and for President Donald Trump to join Israel in attacking the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In particular, Graham urged Middle Eastern partners to do more to support the U.S. war effort, telling countries such as Saudi Arabia to “up your game.” He also criticized Spain after its leadership strongly opposed the attacks on Iran. Graham said Spain had “lost your way,” and called on the U.S. to cut ties with the country and withdraw its military air base from Spanish territory.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gen Z couple
Olga Pankova/Getty Images

New Study Finds Alarmingly High Percentage Of Gen Z Men Think Women Should Be Submissive

As of 2026, members of Generation Z (typically defined as born 1996/97–2012) will be approximately 14 to 30 years old. They are the first generation in the developed world to have no recollection of a time before widespread internet access, cellphones, and social media.

They're also the first generation—in the United States—to grow up with women on the Supreme Court and the last major milestone of the women's rights movement, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), signed into law.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Joe Rogan; Donald Trump
The Joe Rogan Experience; Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Joe Rogan Explains Why So Many MAGA Voters 'Feel Betrayed' By Trump—And He's Got A Point

Conservative podcaster Joe Rogan criticized President Donald Trump for campaigning on "no more wars" before attacking Iran late last month, remarking that "this is why a lot of people"—MAGA voters—"feel betrayed."

Rogan, along with guest Michael Shellenberger, criticized the Trump administration's intervention in the Middle East that has already resulted in the deaths of at least seven U.S. service members and heightened global tensions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Lindsey Graham; Donald Trump
Fox News; Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Lindsey Graham Dragged After His Latest Claim About Iran Directly Contradicts Trump's From Last Summer—And Oops

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was called out after he predicted on Fox News that the U.S. is "gonna obliterate" Iran's nuclear program by the time the recently-initiated war with the country is over, prompting critics to point out that he directly contradicted President Donald Trump's own claim from last summer.

Graham, discussing the war that began after the U.S., with the joint coordination of Israel, launched strikes against Iran on February 28, claimed Trump is “the right guy at the right time” because of Tehran’s supposed nuclear program.

Keep ReadingShow less