Just realised I've been saying this wrong for over 30 years.

[FirstNameSurname]

Open and close a chair. I've always said this, as have my family. Asked a friend to close a chair for me and she hadn't a clue what I was one about. I've realised it doesnt make much sense. Now shes explained the in and out version I feel so stupid. Now I have the task of reteaching DCs.

Does anyone else say open and close chairs?

I thought you meant some kind of meeting thing, like - will the Chair please open the meeting - never occurred to me you were talking about chairs!

Its made me second guess what I say and wonder if other terms I use are known by anyone outside of my family.

That sounds like 1 of those phrases a small child comes out with and they stick with the family!

NEVER heard it and couldn't have guessed what you meant by it.

I didn't understand what this meant when I read it!

We all make mistakes with saying or expressions or words....eg. we are on tenderhooks.....etc

Maybe it was something you just thought was common usage and no one noticed or thought it odd

I've never heard this but it's made me smile OP

It doesn't make any sense

How can you only just have come across the correct way?

No clue who started this in the family, its been widely accepted as normal by all of us. Rang my sister and her DCs use the term too. Everyone who meets my family is clearly too kind or confused to correct us.

Is it maybe a literal translation from another language?

Oh my god are you my MIL, my husband comes out with some random things that she's always said

My friend just realised yesterday that it's 'spur of the moment' not 'spurt of the moment' although it does make sense! Open and closing a chair at a table also does kind of make sense

I love it!!!

Zucker
When my son was little, he used to ask me to "open" his apple for him. He meant that I was to take a small bite out of it to give him a start!

I've never heard of it but I could easily work out what you meant OP so I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm obviously very good at lateral thinking and not very modest.

Did YOUR parents translate that from another language in to English? It is an unusual way of expressing it. I'd have understood it of course.

I have never heard of someone using that before

It sounds as if you are confusing chairs with drawers

Families use these funny expressions stemming from a child's mistake or a joke or whatever but forget to point out to their children that they are just family "in-jokes" and send them out into the world thinking that they're using widely understood and commonly used expressions when they aren't!

We almost let our children grow up thinking that the ordinary term for diarrhea was through-fall, only realised that they didn't know it was a joke (yes in this case literal translation from another language) when the eldest was 12, they know it's a made up word now!

Brazen it out, OP. If anyone questions you make them feel like they’re ignorant for not knowing this very common usage. Who knows, it may catch on. To help you I will start to ask my friends and family to open and close their chairs.

Oh OP I am having the day from hell and this has just made me giggle so much, thank you 🙏🏻

It does remind me of an ex who’s family used to “shut” the light (switch it off)

Don’t change what you say! I think family sayings are charming and should be kept going for as long as possible. Opening and closing a chair makes perfect sense.

Are you non-English British by any chance? I tend to say things like this, things that make perfect sense in one language doesn’t quite translate into English.

You push a chair in, and pull a chair out. Open and close? Wtf? Strangest thing I’ve heard. It doesn’t even make sense, unless you are referring to a deck chair maybe 🤷🏻‍♀️