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Original poster

Phrases and sayings you just don't understand

415 replies

Remieatscake · 01/05/2019 10:28

Such as:

'Life isn't a bed of roses you know''
Well, yes I think it is really because roses have thorns - the tough bits of life but they also have the beautiful petals of the flower - the good parts of life...overly simplistic but you get my drift.....

''Oh, I slept like a baby'' - surely this is meant to mean I slept badly but people seem to say it wen they have slept well. Not a mum (yet) but I am an overnight nanny amongst other things so know that babies do not generally sleep well!

Will think of some more I'm sure but in the mean time anyone else think of sayings that don't really make sense?

OP posts:
DiseasesOfTheSheep · 02/05/2019 20:18

All I have to add is that horse shit isn't actually "rough" - it's generally quite smooth and sometimes oddly shiny. The "common as muck" phrase hinges on the two meanings of common, i.e. horse shit is commonly available, but folk are common in their background / behaviour (which, after all, is a development from common in the sense of commonplace anyway - there are many lower class folk on whom the rarer upper classes, would sneer for their common attributes...).

Tanith · 02/05/2019 20:19

I always thought that "sleeping like a baby" referred to the days when some mothers and nurses would drug their charges with laudanum to ensure they slept through the night. Of course, some poor mites never woke up again Sad

I've heard two explanations for "Hoist by their own petard". One means blown up by their own bomb. A petard was an unpredictable explosive device used to break open siege gates. The other refers to the hoist used to lift heavily armed knights onto their horses. The first makes more sense.

Beautga · 02/05/2019 20:22

I do love the phrase that is credited to Dolly Parton that if you want the rainbow you have t havethe rain.The most beautiful phrase i heard was a friend who was very goodloking had a very plain wife.He heared one of his so called friends say he could have done much better.He turned round to him and said if you don't see my wife through my eyes you don't see her
I throught this was beautiful

NameChangeSameRage · 02/05/2019 20:48

"Adam and Steve" is a nasty homophobic saying- ie that God created Adam and Eve (heterosexual) not Adam and Steve (Homosexual), thus being gay is against Gods will or something.

"It's not about waiting for the storm to pass it's about dancing in the rain.."
ok then you'll get bloody soaked then

I think this one means make the best of what life gives you. If it give you troubles, don't wait for the good times to have fun/do things you want.

Gbtch · 02/05/2019 21:39

“It’s a good day for ducks” when there is a lot of rainfall.
I used to think it meant ducks enjoy the rain . It doesn’t. It actually means it’s a good day for shooting ducks as their feathers are heavy with rain so they can’t fly so fast.

Gbtch · 02/05/2019 21:41

And what about” he’ll be laughing on the other side of his face”
What on earth does that mean?

Liketoshop · 02/05/2019 21:43

Three sheets to the wind was a phrase my mum used to describe someone who either didn't get it or not with it. Bit like her daughter at times.....

AnotherWickedWitch · 02/05/2019 21:44

My nana favourite saying was colour me shocked. I could never figure out how to do that

Tunnockswafer · 02/05/2019 22:25

The willing horse get the heavy load.
One of my favourites

Tunnockswafer · 02/05/2019 22:26

gets

Wait, doesn’t three sheets to the wind mean drunk?

rosenylund · 02/05/2019 22:29

My granny had some crackers, weirdest being 'they wouldn't laugh if they saw a chair walking', and calling something 'Crying Andy' (used only when a dog or child is whining).

timefora · 02/05/2019 22:33

Talk the hind legs off a donkey

Just?????

Almost40andweeping · 02/05/2019 23:15

Is there any left?
No, it’s all left

Translation
As in no it’s been eaten and it’s all gone. Arghggggggggggg! Just say no! It’s all gone

Almost40andweeping · 02/05/2019 23:18

Is this not a Florence and the machine quote?

Goodomens23 · 02/05/2019 23:19

You can't teach grandma to suck eggs.

A bird in the is worth two in the bush.

Almost40andweeping · 02/05/2019 23:20

I was replying to caught in a nett

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 02/05/2019 23:42

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush makes sense.

It's just saying that you're better with something definite than the possibility of more.

So if you've caught a bird, you have it. The two in the bush are more than one, yes, but you might not catch either of them.

Persifleur · 03/05/2019 00:16

This is one for t'elderly:
He was running about/caught/there I was Harry starkers.
Who was Harry and why is he particularly associated with being naked?
Harry also appears falling arse over Harry tit and in other compromised situations. May be RAF slang. Anyone?

mossiemagnet · 03/05/2019 03:19

Why do people say ‘cover your own arse’ when referring to protecting yourself ?

SusieQ5604 · 03/05/2019 03:29

Southern US expressions: "She cut it half in two"

"He'd gripe if you hung him with a new rope!"

GirlRaisedInTheSouth · 03/05/2019 04:16

No, you’re all wrong!

It’s: A friend in need is a friend IN DEED. Two separate words, not ‘indeed’. It means a friend who does something for you, ie a deed.

GirlRaisedInTheSouth · 03/05/2019 04:29

I’ve always wondered what this means:

The devil is in the detail.

HeronLanyon · 03/05/2019 05:26

glass half empty i always thinks this sounds better than glass half full
Half empty means you have already had half and still have half to enjoy.
Half full sounds to me as though you’ve been shortchanged !!

00100001 · 03/05/2019 07:41

"The devil is in the detail."

Means, sometimes things aren't as simple as they first appear. Sometimes the the 'devil' hides.and details are important.

whyohwhyowhydididoit · 03/05/2019 07:45

‘The devil is in the detail’ means that something can be presented in a way that makes it sound ok or appealing if you just hear a rough outline of it but less good once you find out the small print/details. Which is what the devil was thought to do - he presented temptation in a way that made it feel irresistible but it came at a cost that made it less worthwhile. According to the Bible (the source of many sayings) when Jesus was in the wilderness the devil came to him and tempted him offering him freedom from pain and hunger, absolute power etc if Jesus worshipped the devil in return but Jesus managed to resist it knowing that what the devil was telling him was true but was omitting the important detail that he would lose his soul and spirit if he succumbed. At at least that’s how I’ve always understood it.

So a house could sound an absolute bargain until you find out it stands between a motorway and a breakers yard and has rising damp and a mouse problem.