Tim in Unadilla, New York, says his grandmother used to say It’s a great life if you don’t weaken. For some reason, in 1914 this catchphrase exploded on both sides of the Atlantic. Other versions: It’s a gay life if you don’t...
Bekkah in Wimberly, Texas, says her grandmother would express surprise with the phrase Well, my foot! This is part of a complete episode.
Books were rare treasures in the Middle Ages, painstakingly copied out by hand. So how to protect them from theft? Scribes sometimes added a curse to the first page of those books that was supposed to keep thieves away — and some were as vicious as...
Carol from Clays Ferry, Kentucky, wonders about the term her grandmother used, dasn’t, as in the warning “We dasn’t do that.” The word dasn’t derives from the expression dares not. It’s now antiquated and mostly...
Sherry from Green Bay, Wisconsin, remembers that whenever she balked at doing a chore as a kid, her grandmother would say If ifs and ands were pots and pans, a tinker would have no trade. Her grandmother was suggesting that merely paying lip service...
Eva in Fairbanks, Alaska, wonders why her grandmother used to say raise the window down when she wanted someone to open that window. This is part of a complete episode.