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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

441 replies

WalkDontWalk · 05/10/2025 14:25

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.

OP posts:
Thewalrusandthecarpenter · 05/10/2025 16:35

I’m 56 and pretty much all these sound like normal parlance to me - I just don’t really talk about getting off with, copping off, on the pull - I think we said on the tap as well (same meaning). And I don’t have a Scooby (as in I don’t have a clue). And wassock.

BellyPork · 05/10/2025 16:35

sweeneytoddsrazor · 05/10/2025 16:29

Oh my giddy aunt

Drawers ( instead of knickers)

My dad says Oh my giddy aunt. London expression, I suppose.

ginasevern · 05/10/2025 16:36

Gordon Bennett! Taking the Mick is not an Irish slur. It's Cockney rhyming slang for "taking the piss" and has a number of possible origins. None of which relate to the Irish. People are getting confused with "having a paddy", which is a reference to the Irish and is now unacceptable.

And yes @AutumnGlum "I'll have your guts for garters" was used in our household. We're in the West Country.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 05/10/2025 16:36

My Dad used say say "When your Mum and I were winching" which was dating (Glasgow in late 50s )

PrincessofEuphrania · 05/10/2025 16:36

I said at work the other day “it's like the Marie-Celeste in that room” and no one knew what I was talking about!!

GypsyQueeen · 05/10/2025 16:36

TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 05/10/2025 16:23

Yes indeed.

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No, it's not 😅😅😅

Itiswhysofew · 05/10/2025 16:38

ginasevern · 05/10/2025 16:20

My mum used to say "I should coco" quite often, although we're from the West Country. It became a trendy expression in the 1930's when she was a teenager. Sort of like "whatever" or "as if" these days. It was used in a novel about London gangsters in 1936 and caught on from there, but it obviously pre-dates the book.

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I should coco, brilliant. Puts me in mind of old b&w films.

Hop it! - go away.

PocketSand · 05/10/2025 16:38

When I lived in Manchester I had a boyfriend who referred to things as ‘bobbins’ and from his expression and tone understood he thought they were rubbish. My home town was only 15 miles away but this was a new one to me. Apparently originates from textile mills.

Ponoka7 · 05/10/2025 16:39

A kip, Kip is still going strong in Liverpool. It came from the Danish word Kippe, then changed meaning over time.

MagpiePi · 05/10/2025 16:40

‘Well, I went t’ bottom of our stairs’ and ‘couldn’t get mi’ hat on’ for when something is surprising.
Another one I think is dying out is to use ‘middling’ for feeling poorly. ‘Eee, I’m right middling’

Illbefinejustbloodyfine · 05/10/2025 16:40

Dc aged 10 came out with "i haven't the foggiest" the other day. No idea where he got it from.

My Nan, and mum, used to say "My stars!!" In intense disapproval. If a child did or said some VERY bad. MY STARS!!!!

ginasevern · 05/10/2025 16:41

PrincessofEuphrania · 05/10/2025 16:36

I said at work the other day “it's like the Marie-Celeste in that room” and no one knew what I was talking about!!

Same. I use that expression fairly often and get puzzled looks. Slightly off topic but I'm also getting increasinly blank stares from young people when I talk about a dozen/half a dozen eggs.

Elsvieta · 05/10/2025 16:41

I suspect "akip" is regional - never heard that.

Illbefinejustbloodyfine · 05/10/2025 16:42

MagpiePi · 05/10/2025 16:40

‘Well, I went t’ bottom of our stairs’ and ‘couldn’t get mi’ hat on’ for when something is surprising.
Another one I think is dying out is to use ‘middling’ for feeling poorly. ‘Eee, I’m right middling’

We had "well i'll go t'foot er ar stairs"

AngelicKaty · 05/10/2025 16:42

@WalkDontWalk YANBU OP, but I'm doing my best to keep "Crikey" alive! 😂
To add a couple my dad used to use in the 60's when describing people of dubious character:
"They're as rough as a bear's tail-end", and
"They're as rough as grade A sandpaper".
I love them both, but who knew bears have rough bottoms? 😂

PocketSand · 05/10/2025 16:42

I like ‘died a death’ and ‘handed arse on a plate’, ‘half inched’ and ‘do you think my head buttons up at the back’.

Illbefinejustbloodyfine · 05/10/2025 16:43

Elsvieta · 05/10/2025 16:41

I suspect "akip" is regional - never heard that.

I've heard "abed". "She's abed" , cambs/Norfolk.

UnctuousUnicorns · 05/10/2025 16:44

AngelicKaty · 05/10/2025 16:42

@WalkDontWalk YANBU OP, but I'm doing my best to keep "Crikey" alive! 😂
To add a couple my dad used to use in the 60's when describing people of dubious character:
"They're as rough as a bear's tail-end", and
"They're as rough as grade A sandpaper".
I love them both, but who knew bears have rough bottoms? 😂

We said "rough as a badger's arse" here!

FirstNationsEnglish · 05/10/2025 16:44

Charlie's dead - to discreetly advise somebody that their slip (petticoat) was showing below their skirt/dress.

Pedant5corner · 05/10/2025 16:45

@Callipygion God in Heaven and Flaming Horror, I think. Gor blimey is from God blind me.

Lou802 · 05/10/2025 16:47

TheignT · 05/10/2025 16:32

Oh yes I remember Bill's mother when I was a child. I also wondered who he was.

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Oh I think I read on here that Bill's mother referred to where Willian Shakespeare's mother lived. I'd never heard of the expression before that.

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 05/10/2025 16:47

I said "Ooh, it's looking a bit black over Bills mothers" (meaning the weather was looking a bit grim in the distance) and DP, her sister and DD all looked at me like I was insane.

I'm now wondering if this was something only my parents used to say!

UnctuousUnicorns · 05/10/2025 16:48

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 05/10/2025 16:36

My Dad used say say "When your Mum and I were winching" which was dating (Glasgow in late 50s )

My parents were courting in the mid 60s, which sounds like something out of a Jane Austen novel now!

PocketSand · 05/10/2025 16:48

I also like malapropisms - I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it - does the pope shit in the woods.

SmudgeButt · 05/10/2025 16:49

I say "yee gads" on occasion. Was told off by a religious woman I work with who said it was sacrilegious. Then again she didn't like "jeesh" either. (lovely woman otherwise - I am just a bit more careful around her so as to not offend)