Has anyone else heard this saying….

[IncognitoUsername]

… or did my family just make it up?

When I was a child, if the sky was darkening due to incoming rain, my DM would say ‘It’s a bit dark over Will’s mother’s’. I grew up thinking this was a saying everyone used but if I’m honest I can’t remember anyone outside of our family saying it!
My DH thinks I’m crazy - or at least my family is. Please tell me someone else has heard this?!

“Enough blue to patch a sailor’s jacket” in our house.

My grandmother used to say the sky was as black as Newgate's knocker

It was "went all round Will's Mother's" here. I don't recall it being used in any other context.

Yes, my mum was always saying "it's black over Will's mother's". This was in Norfolk. I say it too.

Yorkshire here and I've never heard it.
I went around as a child thinking we were all "right Bobby Dazzlers" when we were dressed up. Pea on a drum was said a lot. I still don't know what it meant.

Definitely used in Suffolk a lot as ‘Will’s mothers’
we have some great sayings in Suffolk (or possibly just my mother!) that bemuse some people
’on the drag’
‘gone for a burton’
’annie twuzzle’
‘Shew’

Never heard of Will’s mother’s’ (SE), but think I’ll adopt it!

I really like “I could’ve been a crisp if I’d been born a potato.”

Well I'm from Cheshire and I know it as "It's a bit black o'er Bill's Mother's"
DH is from Derby and he says the same as me.
See also "Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs"

I've heard the phrase 'rattling around like a pea in a drum'. ? Having too much time on ones hands.
Also familiar with having enough blue sky to patch a sailors trousers with, and the cabbage looking phrase. West of England/Welsh borders.

Will's mother's but I'd never heard the expression until I moved to the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Haha I only said it today "looking a bit dark over Bill's mothers" 😂
From Dudley - I've only ever heard my mom say it

And my dad used to say "if there's enough blue in the sky to make a sailor a suit it's gonna be a nice day"

I meant a bit black over Bill's mothers **

Yes - a bit black over Bill's mother's. My Mum and her Mum with Derbyshire/Midlands heritage used to say this.

I've heard it a couple of times in my life. It's not something I routinely heard but I definitely have heard it and remembered it.

Yes but Bill's mother. Leicestershire

Bill's mother's and my grandma was from Manchester. She also used to ask if it were 'enough to make a pair of sailor's trousers' when the was a patch of blue in the sky.

My favourite East Anglian saying is ‘slightly on the hug’ - I lived in London as a student and had one flatmate from Norwich and the rest were all from Surrey. We were hanging a picture and Norwich flatmate used the expression. The others looked as is as if we were speaking in tongues!

Yes we use the sailor's trousers one, it meant there was lots of blue sky about as sailors wore flared trousers that needed plenty of material.

said as - Sloightly on the huh

sounds so much more interesting than wonky 😂

I just googled it and it’s definitely a saying lol I’ve never heard that one before

Yes “it’s dark over Bill’s mother’s” is an everyday saying where I am from in the Black Country. The Bill in question. I was always told, was William Shakespeare

@MyBrownEyedHandsomeBoy i am just giving a fist bump to another Dudley wench. Ar bin ya?

It's 'It's a bit black over Bill's Mother's' around here, too. Warwickshire/Leicestershire.

I was also under the impression that Bill was Shakespeare.

Same. Like if you caught the local bus and it took ages because - 'it went all round Will's Mother's'. Never heard it used to describe dark skies.