Some were familiar-- others not. Thank you, Stephanie -- these are too good not to share!
Arthur -- arthritis (Arthuritis) ' Ol' Arthur has done got hold of me."
Fireballs of the Eucharist -- fibroids of the uterus "She was just full of fireballs of the Eucharist."
In movable health -- doing okay, as in "I was in movable health till this here stroke got me."
Vomick -- vomit " Law, riding in the back seat on that twisty road makes me want to vomick."
Toucheous -- painful to touch "Pa's gout has made his big toe right toucheous."
And my personal favorite --
22 comments:
Excellent! My grandmother used the term, 'draws' for cramp, too.
In Cornwall, diarrhoea is referred to as the 'squits' or 'scats'. And if someone looks to be unwell, they're often described as looking a bit 'wish' (as in wishy washy).
Priceless!! Started my day with a good chuckle!! My personal favorite is "Fireballs of the Echarist." May I add a few of my own? At work we have said for years that we need to start a list of the things we hear in everyday conversation. How about -
Soldier pain, as in "He had an operation on his soldier (shoulder) last month."
Blood pageant - as in, we take precautions to protect against the blood pageant" (bloodborne pathogens).
Oh darn. I just realized I can't share the two others that came to mind. Not appropriate... Oh, I wish I could. There are others though, I'm going to ask my coworkers to jog my memory when I get to work. If they remind me of some good ones appropriate for sharing, I'll be back!
Okay, add a "u" to Echarist, and put in the other quotation mark in that third paragraph (yes, I'm a perfectionist).
wow. i feel like i am learning a new language...these are cool
I have heard of Arthur before, but none of the rest (although I vaguely remember the draws but not sure if ready or heard it.) Miss Susie Hutchens is such a beauty.
Priceless for sure! I love every effort to keep old sayings and regional dialect alive in any way possible, and the book "Mountain Born" sounds a treat! Thank you, Vicki!
Traveling fart is just too perfect a description.
This isn't an old phrase, but it could illustrate how they come into existence. :-) One time my mom was feeling poorly and it was during the height of the West Nile Virus scare. She mumbled out that she thought she had that West Nile disease, and I thought she said she had 'the Wide Smile disease'. Needless to say she hasn't lived that one down... Looks like Miss Susie is doing what kitties do best--looking down on the world!
Tammy
"Fireballs..." - that one made my day! When I was a teenager, back in the '60s, we used to say "Cousin Arthur is here for a visit", meaning we were having our menstrual cycles. I have no idea how that one came about!
Now I've heard of "walking farts" before, but never traveling fart. My dear mom always referred to her arthritis as Arthur. I do the same. Thanks for sharing.
I've never heard any of those Vicki. They are very funny though, very funny indeed!
Traveling fart? That's just too funny!
God Bless Mylanta Holp !
Gosh, I love these. Fireballs is my fave.
I loved this post Vicki! I remember some of my older relatives speaking that way when I was a child. Thanks for the memory jolt. I love the way some of the characters in your book speak.
LOL Can't wait to tell my Mom that "Ol' Arthur done got hold of her!" :-)
Here are a few more, courtesy of my boss:
"My brother-in law, a physician, has told me a number of these over the years (in most cases, the patient had self-diagnosed the condition). A few of them are:
Roaches of the Liver...aka, Cirrhosis of the Liver,
Sick as Hell Anemia...aka...Sickle Cell Anemia
and my personal favorite......
Smiling Mighty Jesus...recognized in most medical circles as Spinal Meningitis.
Another great one...a lady who used to work with my Mom worked wonders with the English language. She referred to Hall's Mentho-Lyptus cough drops as
MenoHalls (and she wasn't joking!)."
Love this word invention and colloquialism.
Martin -- I'm sure many of the 'quaint' colloquialisms around here came from England or Scotland or North Ireland originally. I think I've heard 'squits.'
Thanks, Brenda , for those great additions to my list! I could add 'Hit was like far (fire) running up my vertables (vertebrae.)
Love the Wide Smile Disease, Tammy! Kind of like Old Timers (Alzheimers.)
Cousin Arthur is a new one to me. We called it 'falling of the roof.'
"Smilin Mighty Jesus' Oh, my, that's wonderful!
TAlk about descriptive terms!!!
Poetic.
thank you for the fabulous lesson in English language. here in ireland you have a runner if you suffer from diarrhea.
Love it! I've heard them all except the fireballs one : )
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