Larovers to Catch Meddlers

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi there, this is Beth. I’m calling from Woodstock, Vermont.

Excellent. Welcome to the show. How can we help you?

Well, my mom was from Baltimore and moved to New England with my dad when they got married.

And when I was young, and she’s no longer around so I can’t ask her,

When she didn’t want me to know something or see something,

Or she’d hide something, you know, Christmas presents or other things,

She’d call them lay lows for meddlers.

Lay lows for meddlers.

If I had a bell, I would ring it.

What did this mean to you?

Did you understand what she was up to?

Well, no, I knew I wasn’t supposed to look or know.

But other than that, I’ve always wondered about it.

Where did it come from?

Very interesting, Beth.

And did that keep you from asking more questions?

It did.

Yeah, because it sounds so, I don’t know, specific and so ominous, right?

Yes.

This expression has a very long tradition, and it is in so many different forms.

And I think the classic one is layovers to catch meddlers.

Layovers to catch meddlers, like M-E-D-D-L-E-R.

Yeah.

People who meddle, who interfere.

Yes.

But what in the heck it means, nobody really knows.

It’s just one of those things that parents tell their children to keep them from asking more questions.

And we have a bunch of those, right?

We have a bunch.

Well, yeah, like I’m sewing buttons on ice cream when you ask when the kid.

Yeah, have you heard that one?

What are you doing?

I’ve never heard that.

I’m sewing buttons on ice cream or I’m making a whim-wham for a goose’s bridle,

And it’s just supposed to sort of shoo the children away, right?

What’s the one about the rabbit fur or something like that?

Well, sometimes if you say, what’s that for?

Yeah.

Then the parent will say that’s cat’s fur to make a kitten’s britches or something like that.

Yeah, but layovers to catch meddlers, or what was your version of it again, Beth?

My mom would say lay lows for meddlers.

Yeah, yeah, that’s one of the variations.

And you see this expression mostly in the South and South Midlands, but it does make it up to Baltimore.

And what’s really interesting, yes, Baltimore with its strong Southern heritage.

Balmer, yeah.

Definitely.

What’s interesting, a lot of these variations show that this expression clearly has been transmitted orally.

It’s at the classic signs of oral corruption, so to speak.

Oral transmission is really imperfect as opposed to written transmission.

So wide variety of complete misunderstandings.

But they all have the same purpose.

Deflect the kid’s interest.

Get them to stop bothering you.

You know, make them walk away.

Right.

But as far as we know, I mean, that expression is meaningless, right?

I mean, layovers to catch meddlers or lay-los.

That’s the point, yeah.

Okay.

A meaningless saying.

Okay.

Yes.

A handy term.

I appreciate the opportunity to ask you guys.

Well, thank you very much for calling Beth.

Because I love listening to you.

Oh, thank you very much.

Well, we welcome your questions.

Well, thank you so much.

Bye-bye.

All right.

Bye now.

Well, what are the words and phrases that you heard growing up that you wonder about still today?

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