Ye Gods and little fishes...

mstang67chic

Going Green
My mom and I were talking this evening and got on the subject of older sayings and figures of speech. Apparently when my grandmother was REALLY ticked, she would say Ye Gods And Little Fishes. Mom commented on how she never really knew what that meant or where it came from.

Has anyone ever heard that before? Or know it's origins?
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
I don't know, but it sounds nicer than what my grandmother says...[Poop] fire and save matches. (Substitute another word for poop.)
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
My granny (born and raised in Nebraska) would say "Christmas at the Cratchits!" when she was surprised.
 

mrscatinthehat

Seussical
Ok but the question is what is going on when my current phrase to exclaim is Holy Cats.

Gotta love those old phrases that I used to hear though.

Beth
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
"Schnizzle!" is an exclamation made by difficult child - you can figure out what it's subsituting I think.

"Oh Fudge!"

"Bull Donkey!"

"Oh Raspberries!"

As far as I know, none of these have biblical references, but I think they are cute.

Where did "Jesus H. Christ" come from? My dad said that one all the time! Hahaha. My mom used more 'colorful' words, which everyone found appalling.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
My great-grandmother used to say stuff in Italian, but I'm not really able to translate....some of them would get sensored!

My Dad's mom used to say them in Gaelic and I wouldn't have a clue what she was saying, but I'm sure some of the translations would be sensored as well!

Uffa! is one exclamation that was heard a lot and "Marone a Mi"(literal translation is something like My Maroon) I haven't a clue, but I suspect it's something to do with blood of Mary the Virgin, but couldn't really tell ya.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
It was used by Chris ((((?)))) big, funny, redheaded guy in that movie with David Spade and they sell brake pads when his Dad dies -
WHoley Schnikes.
 
Chris Farley!

And Loth, my ENTIRE family does the Madone Mi (it refers to the Madonna). Also Ba fanabla (go to Naples).

My DAD always said something about God making little green apples. Have no idea why. He also insisted that Jesus' middle name was indeed H, for Horatio. I think he is full of it.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
My aunt says "Geezle Petes". I have no idea where it comes from, but as a kid it used to send us into gales of laughter. (Esp when my cousin would imitate her saying it.)

I still don't think any of them is as descriptive as "SH** a cold purple Twinkie" which I found on an online slang dicitionary. It describes having a fit for no reason.

Susie
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Why "poop fire and save the matches" was both my grandmother's and my Mom's fav saying.

And I'll still say it on rare occasion. I have to say though, it's an attention grabber.

:rofl::rofl:
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I don't know but it sounds like a great book title!!!!
It sounds like it has Greek and Old English roots.

BBK, my dad used to say Jesus H. Christ, too! I've always wondered where the H came from. :)

My grandmother used to call us little scheitz kophs. LOL. She had to stop when I was about 12 and I somehow figured it out by myself.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Susie, the cold purple twinkie???? I think I have to go clean the coffee off of my monitor now.

See, BBK Madone a Mi, make a heck of a lot more sense, but around here, they all say Marone. Maybe it's like so many other weird slang things and it's because of not wanting to be blasphemous. And now that you mention it....Ba Fanabala...yes, I've heard that. The majority of my family is Calabrese.
 
Loth,

yeah, Madone, Marone...it actually sounded kind of like "madrone" with a slight trill. Slight dialect thing.

I heard a lot more, which I am sure would be censored...
 

meowbunny

New Member
There are a couple of theories surrounding Jesus H. Christ. One (and the one I think makes the most sense) is that Southerners frequently would say "Jesus Holy Christ." Northerners heard it, shortened it and it picked up from there.

Another theory is scientific. Since Jesus was born of an immaculate conception, he's missing half of his genes and is, therefore, "haploid."

Third theory is that "IHS" was the ancient Greek abbreviation for Jesus. "Iesous" (the "e" looking like an H) was the Greek spelling. The Romans converted it to Jhesus.

So, take your pick. I'm sure you could probably find a few more reasons but these are the ones I've heard over the years. Being the product of good Southerners, I'll stick with Jesus Holy Christ.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
I had a French teacher from Quebec years ago, who used to say "Christ sur bicyclette" (roughly, Christ on a bicycle). My husband says, "Jesus H. Christ in a canoe".

I have no idea why Jesus would choose either a bicycle OR a canoe, when he had a perfectly good donkey to ride.

I think I'm going to look those up and see if I can find out their origins.
 
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