Old Adages

d282 · Jan 1, 2013

I know this is a bit off topic but what are some of the old sayings you remember from the old timers?

My dad would say, pink sky at night sailors delight, pink sky in morning sailors head warning. And something with rain before 7 quits before 11.

A friend told me the other day, As the days grow longer the cold grows stronger.

What do you remember?

Too Far Gone · Jan 1, 2013

The winds outta the East,and theres a lotta wet country back East---If it rains while the suns shinin,,It'll rain same time tomorrow----Mud in your oats and dust in your wheat..

old · Jan 1, 2013

Red sky at night sailor delight red in the morn sailor take warn. Former navy and that was said many times. By the way do you know where it came from??? Would you believe that is out of the Bible.
As for sayings there are many.
Like colder then a witches %$#@
Something about when the cows come home
When pigs fly

Phil Tibbetts · Jan 1, 2013

My dad used to say it's a sure sign of cold weather when the pond freezes over. My mother had a saying about clouds, can't remember it but it was something about mares tails and the weather.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 1, 2013

ring around the moon indicates rain within 72 hours

Kenneth R Ohnstad · Jan 1, 2013

My Dad used to say "A horse that farts will never tire and a man that farts is the one to hire."
good luck
K

Mark Poss · Jan 1, 2013

My dad always said Old so soon late so smart

Vito · Jan 1, 2013

Could it be that when the mares tails showed up it will rain within 3 days? That was one I was told.

Vito

S2710 · Jan 1, 2013

All signs fail in a wet or a dry year.

There is a pot of gold buried at the end of the rainbow.

Bob

Va Gasman · Jan 1, 2013

Even the top rail ends up on the bottom.

You can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear!

rustred · Jan 1, 2013

geetkosnya. old ukrainian's always say that.
means "devil knows"

BoonvilleKid · Jan 1, 2013

When something was really tuff, the ole timers would say: "That's as tuff as Kelsey's nuts". I grew up thinking this was a dirty slang. A few years ago I discovered there was a company back in the 1800's, started by a man by the name of Kelsey, that manufactured bolts of nuts of extreme hardness.

Smitholm · Jan 1, 2013

There's nothing quite so expensive as cheap help.

A farmer only deserves one good dog, and one good hired man.

Mares' tails, mackeral sky, ring around the moon - all indicate rain soon.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 1, 2013

Mackerel scales and mare's tales warn great ships to carry small sails. (Alto cumulus and cirrus clouds in the sky.)

fixerupper · Jan 1, 2013

If it rains before seven it'll be over by eleven. During the summmer it's a true addage here in the midwest. Jim

will k · Jan 1, 2013

My dad used to say that I was "too slow to stop quick".

Paul from MI · Jan 1, 2013

Slow and steady goes far into the night.

The other one I remember was when we'd be working on something away from the buildings and I would forget some tool we needed. "What you don't have in your head, you have in your feet. You can walk and go get it."

gearheadbill · Jan 1, 2013

"When the days get longer the winter gets stronger" and "Never plant your corn till the hedge leaves are as big as squirrel ears" Boy, the second adage is long gone.

2+2 Guy · Jan 1, 2013

Several years ago, I was putting up a horse coral with wooden posts.
An old timer stopped by and asked me if I had checked the phase of the moon. He told me that if I put wooden posts in during a full moon that they will not stay in the ground as well as posts put in during a crescent moon.

In refering to the tightness of a nut or bolt, I've heard it called "Tighter than a bulls butt at fly time" (actual language was much more descriptive)

SuperABen · Jan 1, 2013

My Great-Grandfather used to describe something he couldn't quite understand as a "whim wham you grind smoke with."

If someone "if'd" once too many, my other Grandfather would say "if a bull frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his rear so much."

Ben W. in VA
OldPathsEquipment.com

LonM · Jan 1, 2013

"Dew on the hay means no rain today"- its right very often here in the upper Midwest. Also "plant in the dust and the bins will bust" and "there's two ways to spell baron/barren" come to mind.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 1, 2013

Is that the real McCoy ?

caterpillar guy · Jan 1, 2013

Drier than a popcorn fart. Lots of others I can't think of right now.

rhtx55 · Jan 1, 2013

A friend had a private airfield out back for his personal use, instead of the conventional wind sock, on the barn next to the drive way he had a large painted sign indicating his
" Weather Rock"

Rock moving - Windy
Rock swinging - VERY windy

Rock wet - Rain
Rock invisible- Snow
Rock Dry & motionless - Severe Clear- perfect flying conditions.

Rock gone - Airfield closed

rhtx55 · Jan 1, 2013

Dad's wisdom,
Tighter than a frog's (butt)...that'd be watertight!!!

If he can do it for a living, I reckon I can do a little for a while.

I don't like that s.o.b., and I don't like anybody that does.

That would be like putting Lipstick on a pig.

That would look like a fresh coat of paint on an old barn door,
ok at a distance, but up close it's pretty bad.

Chicken or the egg, which came first?
Neither....The rooster always came first.

Ain't worth the powder & lead it would take to blow it to (heck).

Looks pretty darn good, even if I do say so myself.....WELL!!......AINT IT !!

rustred · Jan 1, 2013

just like windshield wipers on a horses as- !
pickin flychit outa pepper!

rustred · Jan 1, 2013

she'll do in the dark!

Anonymous-0 · Jan 1, 2013

Had an old puller tell me, after listening to a fellow competitor brag about money spent, "That man is educated beyond his intelligence!" Took a little while for it to sink in...LOL

IH fan · Jan 1, 2013

"Worthless as t!ts on a boar hog" However, dad always said they weren't totally worthless as they determined how many his offspring gilts would have.
An old timer Dad worked with as a carpenter when they hired kids to help with roofing, etc., always said "You got one boy, you got one boy, you got 2 boys, you got half a boy, you got 3 boys, you got no boys." I think Benny was a smart old guy.

Smitholm · Jan 2, 2013

Even a blind hog will find an acorn once in a while.

Jim Naden · Jan 2, 2013

(quoted from post at 21:59:25 01/01/13) "Worthless as t!ts on a boar hog" However, dad always said they weren't totally worthless as they determined how many his offspring gilts would have.
An old timer Dad worked with as a carpenter when they hired kids to help with roofing, etc., always said [b:4ec1eaff93][i:4ec1eaff93]"You got one boy, you got one boy, you got 2 boys, you got half a boy, you got 3 boys, you got no boys."[/i:4ec1eaff93][/b:4ec1eaff93] I think Benny was a smart old guy.

Grandma Naden used that "boys" saying a lot.

Other bits of wisdom she used;

"An empty wagon rattles the most"

"Always watch how a man treats his mother for that is how he will treat you."

"Pretty is as pretty does"

One I got from my wife's paternal Grandfather;

"Dumb Sumbitch couldn't pour pi$$ out of a boot with a hole in the toe and directions on the heel"

A couple from Grandpa Naden;

"Growing old is no excuse for growing up"

"Take care of the pennies, nickles and dimes and the dollars will take of themselves"

Tom Fleming · Jan 2, 2013

Granddad:

"He doesn't have a pot to pi$$ in or a window to pitch it out of"

referring to something dirty or dark:

"blacker than Coalie's a$$"

Grandma:

"if your Dad finds out you'll have your head in your hands and your brains to play with"

"Time to plant potatoes when the oak leave burst bud"

when trying to BS my Dad:

"your a$$ sucks canal water"

"he who displays wisdom through an open mouth, loses it through the same opening"

"if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right"

"lots of ways to get something to work......very few ways to make it work AND have it last"

Anonymous-0 · Jan 2, 2013

If you plow all night, you will drag all day!

M Durbin · Jan 2, 2013

If Flies had machine guns, frogs couldn't eat em.

Better Lucky than Good.

Allan from PA · Jan 2, 2013

The best way to get out of a bad situation is to not get in one in the first place. Good advice, hard to follow sometimes. Allan.

GordoSD · Jan 2, 2013

Or, Too old soon, too late smart.

A watched pot never boils.

Super-H-Mike · Jan 2, 2013

Some of my Grandfathers on farm topics:
On when to start planting he would be anxious to get going and would say "Well, it aint gonna grow in the bag ! "
For plowing, " A bad job of plowing in the fall is better than a good job in the spring"
On the difficulty of handling hogs he would say " The Lord put their head on the wrong end ! "
When the nieghbor would go by with his Johnny Popper he would say "sounds like its only hitting on two cylinders" Many more I cant think of just now !

Ellis Kinney · Jan 2, 2013

Kermit says;; Time is fun when you're having flies. Ellis

Ellis Kinney · Jan 2, 2013

Looks good from a galloping horse. Ellis

The Dukester · Jan 2, 2013

"Slicker than snot on a doorknob" Take time to do it right and you won't have to borrow time to do it over.

Ken Ind. · Jan 2, 2013

Grandpa Johnson always said if the sun is shining and its raining it will rain the smae time tomorrow. Most of the time he was right.

Al L. in Wisc. · Jan 2, 2013

What a great topic and to use the work 'adages' you get a blue star for the day!

My now, late fire chief said "...that ain't gonna make no more difference than a fart in a whirlwind."

One of my late uncles said "the cemetery is full of people who didn't get finished."

scotc · Jan 2, 2013

colder than a witch's *** in a brass bra
He knows as much about ____ as a p***-ant knows about going to the moon
***hole deep to a tall giraffe

Rich'sToys · Jan 3, 2013

Most ofthe ones I remember have already been covered.

Regarding a dishonest person--"He's lower than whale sh!t"

Regarding the weather--
"Evening red, morning gray,
Sends the traveler on his way.
Evening gray, morning red,
Brings the rain down on his head."

"Red sun in the morning, sailor take warning.
Red sun at night, sailor's delight!"

Regarding a lousy shot--"He couldn't hit a bull in the a$$ with a frying pan!"

Kirk Affeldt · Jan 3, 2013

tighter than a cow's a$$ in a hail storm
colder than a well digger's a$$
for a heavy rain...coming down like a cow pi$$ing on a flat rock

Matt E. · Jan 3, 2013

From my Dad:

If it was worth doing, do it right the first da@$ time!

From the Army:

How many is it going to take to do it? All of us!

rustred · Jan 3, 2013

busier than a cat on a tin roof!
busier than a one legged man in an as- kicking contest!

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