Our parents used certain expressions that are colorful and I remember. For example, “First things first,” said our father often, and “Darn right!” or “Right you are!” They’d both say, “More power to you!” and “I see whatcha mean, peaches and cream!” and “It’s an oldie but a goodie” and “Hold your horses,” and “What’s your story, morning glory?” and “It’s time to get this show on the road,” and Dad, “See ya later, alligator…After awhile, crocodile” (though Dad turned this into “See you later, prestidigitator!”) and Dad and Mom both, “Poor bunny,” and “Forge ahead,” and, as our father’s dad said a lot, too, “Carry on.”
Mom would use the expressions, “What more do ya want?” and “Let’s give credit where credit is due!” as well as “There but for the grace of God go I.” She would also say, “So you did good,” when we had done the right thing, and, when we were fortunate, “Praise the Lord” (i. e., “Nobody’s fallen off the ladder yet, praise the Lord.”). Occasionally she’d say, “Well, I’ll be damned!” if she was surprised. She said, “Fools that they be,” and “Ain’t it the truth,” as well as ‘I’ll go there tomorrow “God willing and the river don’t rise.’” She’d sometimes say, i. e., “Put your dirty clothes in the washer or forever hold your peace.” Mom would say, “Broccoli, well not exacully, is within an inich of being spinach!” and, “I’ve got it in my hot little hands,” and “Bless your heart!” Our mom also said, “God rest their souls(s),” and “(I. e., Our nation) is going to hell in a handbasket” sometimes. She would also say, nonsarcastically, when we had done something intelligent, “Well, aren’t you smart!” Mom would call us “Honey,” “Sweetie,” “Punkin.’” Karen, another part of the family, called us “Dear heart.”
Our father, when frustrated, would cry, “What the devil!” or “Jesus!” or “Hell!” or “Dammit!” When he made a mistake and wasn’t upset, he would say, “I goof-fed.” (His brother’s first wife, Lucy, made up the name “goofballs” for his experimental soybean burger balls.)
My sister and I used some of these expressions; we also said “Don’t fuss, Daddy, don’t fuss” when our father was getting compulsive. And we said “I get it” or “I got it” or “I don’t get it” when understanding—or not—something, especially someone’s feelings. We often used the term “cool;” we still do, and we’ve adopted the occasionally Valley Girl “like” to some extent (“She said, like, I can’t believe you prefer that color”) and we say “goes” for “says”—as in, “Ruthie goes, ‘blah blah blah.’” My sister and I both use the Midwestern “go with” or “come with,” as in, “I’m going to the store, you wanna go with?” We found “No thank you for green beans,” or whatever we didn’t want, useful.
I remember one of the shows on public TV would start out with a teenager yelling to the camera, “HEY YOU GUYS!” “You guys” was the term we grew up with for addressing more than one person, male or female. Our parents used it and we did, too. “Y’all” is better because it’s more gender neutral, but we weren’t raised with it. Before “cool” came around, we would say something was “neato!” “Groovy” was the expression the previous generation used, and was a little outdated for us, though we’d heard it used. If we didn’t like something, it was “stupid,” or “dumb.” If something hurt, it “killed.” Our curse was “Dang it!”
Later, we would say “yah hey,” which I think we got from Bob and Doug MacKenzie, the Canadian comedians who wrote the Canadian version of “The First Day of Christmas—On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me—a beer in a tree,” etc. We also listened to “Uncle Lar’ and Li’l Tommy’s Animal Stories” on WLS radio during those years: priming ourselves for Steve Martin’s humor. We loved the wonderful Smothers Brothers’ Aesop’s Fables record, and I, Bill Cosby’s “Bill’s Best Friend,” an early one of his masterpiece records. Both parents would say, “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!”