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
Make us preferred on Google

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

Screenshots of Jessica Tarlov and Emily Compagno; Abdul El-Sayed
Fox News; Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Jessica Tarlov Has Perfect Clapback After Fox News Co-Host Criticizes Abdul El-Sayed For Not Being A 'Practicing Physician'

Fox News host Jessica Tarlov had the perfect response to her colleague Emily Compagno after Compagno complained that Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is not a "practicing physician."

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist who campaigned on expanding healthcare access, strengthening the economy, and ending unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, became the first progressive to win a statewide primary in a state carried by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. He is set to face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers during next month's midterms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tom Holland; Florence Pugh
Jeff Spicer/ Getty Images for Sony Pictures; NBC

Florence Pugh Revealed That Tom Holland Is The Reason She Appears In 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'—And We Love To See It

Florence Pugh has built a career on scene-stealing performances, but her latest Marvel appearance came with one particularly flattering endorsement: Spider-Man himself.

While promoting her latest historical drama, East of Eden, Pugh stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she was asked about her surprise appearance as Yelena Belova in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kelsgordon's TikTok video
@kelsgordon/TikTok

Woman Reveals The Fallout After She Caught Her Sister's Fiancé Cheating Just 2 Hours Before Their Wedding

Some people would rather live in a state of oblivion than know the truth.

TikToker @kelsgordon realized her sister was one of those people when she discovered, just two hours before her sister's wedding, that her sister's fiancé had a whole other romantic relationship in the works—and she intended to go ahead with the wedding anyway.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @maddieogle10's TikTok
@maddieogle10/TikTok

Woman Shares The Biggest 'Red Flags' That A Friendship Is Ending—And TikTokers Are Sounding Off

Most of us have experienced a friendship coming to an end, and while it sometimes comes as a surprise, we can usually look back and see some signs that the end was near.

TikToker @maddieogle10, for example, believes that it's obvious that a friendship is coming to an end when something starts to feel off or like the friend is losing interest.

Keep ReadingShow less
Conservative political activist Peter Thiel arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Award in Berlin.
Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP via Getty Images

Tech Billionaire Goes Viral For Bonkers Claim That Being Evil Can Actually Be 'Kind Of Good' In Cringey Viral Clip

While everyday Americans are watching the cost of seemingly everything eat away at their bank accounts, the billionaire class continues operating in an entirely different financial multiverse.

Now, tech billionaire Peter Thiel has apparently found another luxury afforded by extreme wealth: redefining whether “evil” might actually be a good thing. The eyebrow-raising philosophy came during a September 2026 appearance on MD Meets, where Thiel sat down with fellow billionaire Mathias Döpfner.

Keep ReadingShow less