What does it mean?
Yesterday I was better value than Royal Mail. You had two posts, but now how do I follow that?
Struggling to think of a topic for today my email pinged. A new comment was added to the post Poor Mary. Now thanks to Magpie 11, I have found my subject!
I have been trying to find the origins of a saying of my Grandmother’s…
Q, “What’s for lunch Grannie?”
Her answer Three Jumps at the cupboard door the only reference I could find was by Grannymar on another site which led me here.
Can you help?
‘Three jumps at the cupboard door’ was a phrase I learned from my late husband. He grew up in Co Durham in the 1920-30’s and his mother used it regularly when he asked “What is for lunch or tea”.
All young children ask at some time when feeling hungry “What’s for (insert meal)?” Mother’s or Grannies gave the quick answer ‘Three Jumps at the cupboard door’.
It means any of the following:
“Away out and play and let me get on, or there will be no dinner!”
“Stop annoying me or you will have to make it yourself!”
“You will have to jump up to the cupboard and see what you can reach!”
Magpie came back with another phrase in the same vein:
‘Dried Bread and Scratch it’
This was from the days of poverty when children were given dry bread, sometimes several days old. The ‘Scratch it’ meant scraping at the lump of bread with a finger to loosen the crumbs. On good days they had dripping (fat from cooking meat) to dip the bread in for flavour and to let it soften.
And my mother had her own version
‘Potatoes and point’
Humorous as it is, it scarcely falls short of the truth. Prior to famine times many an Irish family, hung up a herring, or “small taste” of bacon, to smoke or dry (cure) over the open fire. Using their imagination each individual points the potato he is going to eat, at it, thinking the flavour of the herring or bacon will transfer to the potato.
Daddy often said “You are the apple of my eye!”
This phrase comes from the Bible. In Psalm 17:8 the writer asks God ‘to keep me as the apple of your eye’.
Another of Daddies sayings was “A little bird told me”
This phrase comes from the Bible. In Ecclesiastes 10:20 the writer warns us not to curse the king or the rich even in private or a ‘bird of the air’ may report what you say.
A bakers dozen
This means thirteen. It is said to come from the days when bakers were severely punished for baking underweight loaves. Some added a loaf to a batch of a dozen to be above suspicion.
That’s a load of codswallop
In the 19th century wallop was slang for beer. A man named Codd began selling lemonade and it was called Codswallop. In time codswallop began to mean anything worthless or inferior and later anything untrue.
“Go to pot”
Any farm animal that had outlived its usefulness such as a hen that no longer laid eggs would literally go to pot. It was cooked and eaten.
“To start from scratch”
This phrase comes from the days when a line was scratched in the ground for a race. The racers would start from the scratch.
Now you start from scratch and share a well worn old family phrase.
Magpie 11 said,
February 12, 2008 at 10:19 am
I’m glad I was a little bit inspirational
It seems that your blog continues to come up to scratch..there we are another idiom.
It comes from the days of prize fighting, when each round ended when someone was knocked over. After 30 seconds both fighters had to come unaided to the line scratched on the floor and if one didn’t do so he was the loser and was said to be “not up to scratch..”
Thanks for sorting out my Grannies sayings….it means a lot.
Another saying was “The colour on the outside doesn’t matter. It’s what’s inside that’s important.”
Your bakers were better than mine …mine used dough for twelve loaves to make thirteen and a bit more profit.
I used to love bread and dripping as a child…beef dripping being best.
Grannymar said,
February 12, 2008 at 10:28 am
Magpie,
inspiration only works if we are open to receive it or happy to share it with others.
steph said,
February 12, 2008 at 11:41 am
“Bob’s yer Uncle”
We used to have fun as kids with this phrase as we did have an Uncle Bob or ‘Bobs’ as he was known, and he was very good as pontificating!
The definition at Wiki is “Bob’s your uncle is a commonly used expression known mainly in Britain and Commonwealth countries. It is often used immediately following a set of simple instructions and roughly carries the same meaning as the phrase “and there you have it.” For example, “Simply put a piece of ham between two slices of bread, and Bob’s your uncle.”.
I feel a bit like an old hen that’s gone to pot but I’m far too tough to be eaten!
Grannymar said,
February 12, 2008 at 11:47 am
Steph I didn’t have an Uncle Bob, but I heard that phrase many times growing up.
Steph if you are an old hen… What does that make me?
steph said,
February 12, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Grannymar - I should have added…
Old hens make great soup!
Grannymar said,
February 12, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Steph you would need a pressure cooker for my old bones!
chrisb said,
February 12, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Now there are a few sayings I haven’t heard recently but I’ve never heard ‘three jumps at the kitchen door’!
Brianf said,
February 12, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Around here I still hear people say that before company comes over they have , “to straighten up the house”.
The other one I use to hear as a kid basically means the same thing but has a Pennsylvania Dutch origin is, “Redd up” as in, I gotta’ redd up my room before I can go out..
Nancy said,
February 12, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Good subject,as usual, Grannnymar.
How about: Saying someone is a “Big Wig” because in the olden days the most important people wore the biggest wigs.
“Bite the Bullet”. Before anesthesia, if a soldier was being operated on in the field of battle he was given a bullet to bite to take his mind off of the pain.
Giving somebody the ” cold shoulder”.. If you had company you didn’t like very much you didn’t serve them the nice hot cooked mutton. You didn’t want them to return so you gave them the “Cold Shoulder”…
Grannymar said,
February 12, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Chris like you, I am learning from the comments made by Brian and Nancy!
Baino said,
February 12, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Haha nice one GM. If we asked what was for dinner we were told “Kippers Eyes and Custard” a nice way of saying mind your own business. Or when we shouted rather than approached our mother “Where’s mum?” she’d reply “I’ve run away with a black man!” the mind boggles!
Nancy said,
February 12, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Grannymar,
I just remembered this one:
If my Mother was very busy and one of us kids would ask her “What’s for Dinner? she would reply “FRIED ICE”
Grannymar said,
February 12, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Baino ~ “Kippers Eyes and Custard” is a new one on me! My mother often told us when we were naughty that she would Run away with a soldier!
Nancy ~ “FRIED ICE”, thats a good one.
If we turned our noses up at something my father would say “If you don’ eat it for your dnner you will get it for your tea!”
Magpie 11 said,
February 14, 2008 at 9:47 am
Kippers and Custard! That was one of my father’s sayings. He swore that in WWII he saw an American eating Kippers and custard
Has anyone heard ” Round here it’s all Kippers and Curtains.”? Meaning the homes are all show on the outside…keeping up appearances. That from an East Londoner.
Grannymar said,
February 14, 2008 at 9:58 am
Magpie ‘Kippers and Custard’ and Kippers and Curtains are both new to me.
I particularly like the latter!