...to think that this expresson is dying out?

[WalkDontWalk]

On another thread someone used the expression 'taking the mick'. And I thought, 'I used to hear that all the time when I was a kid. But I rarely do now.'

So I started to think of others that my dad used but my kids don't.

'Having a kip' or 'I was akip'.

'Yikes' (My daughter says I'm the only non-cartoon that says 'yikes'.)

'Swinging the lead'

'Bunking off'. (Daughter: 'Never heard that. Sounds rude')

'Going Dutch' (Daughter. 'Nope. No idea. Is that rude too?')

'Haven't the foggiest.'

These were all in use in London fifty years ago. Maybe they were always regional.

I use haven't the foggiest. A game of mine is to 'translate' idioms literally word for word into other languages, and this is one of them: je n'ai pas la plus brouillardeuse, ich habe nicht die nebelsten.

There was an Australian general in WW2 called Gordon Bennett, but I don't know if the expression refers to him.

This one can be precisely dated. When Lord Salisbury - family name Robert Cecil - retired as prime minister in 1902 the premiership passed, some thought a little too easily, to his nephew Arthur Balfour. So Bob's your uncle came to be said whenever anything was easily acquired.

Same to you too with brass knobs on (optional extra: and don't forget to clean them).

See you later, alligator.
Reply: in a while, crocodile.

Worse things happen at sea.

Mine said “I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night!”

These were all in use in London fifty years ago. Maybe they were always regional

Nope, definitely not regional. I’m in Australia and still use all of those, except ‘yikes’. Like you, my kids, who have grown up with DH and I using all of those expressions, and know what they all mean, don’t use them themselves. Why, I have no idea.

When I was a child/young adult, the version of ‘yikes’ here was ‘struth’ (pronounced tooth). I haven’t heard that for decades now though, as we seem to have evolved to using ‘fuck’ wherever we used struth, or if we are trying to be polite we would say ‘shit’. Even my mum in old age had changed over on that one🤣. Also, ‘taking the Mick’ has changed into ‘taking the piss’, you’d have to be in an extremely formal setting to revert back to Mick.

Nope, they're all in regular use. Might be slightly generational, but still hear them a lot, and they're not London based, they're UK based.

Infra dig (in for a dig - a joke?)

Having it off - sex

A dry shite (dull person)

Big long streak of piss (useless person)

Chinny reckon had accompanying guesture of stroking your chin and giving the side eye for nor believing someone.

Then it morphed into replacing the words ‘chinny reckon’ with ‘Jimmy Hill’ - still stroking the chin. That was London in the 70/80s.

I’ve heard my parents say most of these, and have also read them in books but not really said them myself. I’m late 40s.

One I’ve never heard again is something my parents used to say. If anyone had done the wrong thing but didn’t own up, they’d say ‘must have been those three boys from Manchester’. I’ve never heard or read it elsewhere and google didn’t help me find the origin either.

We ended this phrase with “…unless it was to fuck him on the floor”

another phrase that’s not often used is “I'm not as green as I'm cabbage-looking”

We used “spitting feathers” to mean angry.

Or a bubble 🤣

I thought infra dig was from infra dignitatum ie against dignity. So you could say 'wearing jeans to Ascot is rather infra dig'.

Yes 🤣 hoor is whore.

My parents used to say 'she was like a hoolet looking out of a wanbush' (owl looking out of a windbush if someone looked like they'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Me too! Late gen x

I recognise about 98% of these.

I had a Scottish mother and southern father and we moved round a lot.

I read a lot and have done since as long as I can remember and knew the background of a lot of the phrases.

One not mentioned and that my dad used to say was he had “a bone in his leg”

As a ND literal child I just didn’t get it and used to list the bones in his leg 😂. My younger sister just accepted it as a valid reason we couldn’t disturb our dad.

My DP is Asian (middle eastern) and picked up a lot of phrases.
I taught him to say “oh my giddy aunt” with a rising inflection for when he is in an awkward situation because it’s unexpected and makes people laugh and diffuses some awkward moments.

We were looking into getting him a job as a translator but whilst his English appears perfect and he can read and write and SPAG is better than a lot of English people there are so many words he doesn’t know.

I think I did test him with words a lot of English people also wouldn’t know but if you needed to communicate then learn English conversationally wouldn’t you prefer to learn common worlds and phrases?

He speaks 5 languages but his English is very much a northern dialect and anything American was banned after hearing him pronounce aluminium 😂.

Does anyone think it’s worth looking into translation?

For an example he could say “Katie is a good student and was wondering what job to do after finishing school. She is good at sport and music and could make a career out of both”

He would struggle with “Katie excels at the national curriculum and has been pondering her future. She is athletic and has a flair for music.
Her instincts are to go in a musical direction but she thinks physical education would be more fulfilling and prosperous”

Most people would have no issues from gaining the information they wanted from the first sentences. We are wondering if he’d be expected to translate to the standard of the second?

I don’t think anyone can advise on here we would appreciate any suggestions or guidance - especially if you have any experience with translating please?

Is he translating speech or written word? I can’t see many people saying the second option.

‘Give us a break!’ Give me a chance.

And also “there’s more meat on a butcher’s pencil”

I'll add
"well I'll go to the foot of our stairs" to express shock

"my giddy aunt" to express mild shock

"I'm as fat as Danny Lambert" I'm full, thanks, no more for me

I got in the car this weekend and said to my husband who was driving, “home James and don’t spare the horses!”.

He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. He’s not called James nor is he British. My mum used to say that a lot driving home from school and it just came out of nowhere!

I use ‘crumbs’ or ‘oh my giddy aunt’ for shock which my teens find baffling.

Stone the crows !
Late DH spoke fluent French and said something about les corbeaux

My Yorkshire grandma calls me a daft a'porth! Myself grandpa (from Durham) used to call me Tuppence a'penny.

I'm sure my daughter has a book with "yikes" in it. I'm going to be trying to remember which one all day now.

My dad would always say "You make a better door than a window" if one of us stood in front of the TV as kids. He has loads of expressions.

• Take X for Justin (= just in case)
• Couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery
• Bent as a nine bob note (definitely offensive these days!)

My mum always said "she's the cat's mother" when we were kids.