A Lick and A Promise

A Lick and a Promise....

How many do you remember?
Ah,
yes! I remember them well! Sigh, back in the day.

A LICK AND A PROMISE

'I'll just give this a lick and a promise,' my mother said as she quickly mopped up a spill on the floor
without moving any of the furniture. 'What is that supposed to mean,' I asked as in my young mind I envisioned someone licking the floor with his or her tongue.
'It means that I'm in a hurry and I'm busy canning tomatoes so I am
going to just give it a lick with the mop and promise to come back and do the
job right later.

'A lick and a promise' was just one of the many old phrases
that our mothers, grandmothers, and others used that they probably heard from
the generations before them. With the passing of time, many old phrases become
obsolete or even disappear. This is unfortunate because some of them are
very appropriate and humorous. Here is a list of some of those memorable old
phrases:

1. A Bone to Pick (someone who wants
to discuss a disagreement)

2 An Axe to Grind (Someone who has a hidden
motive. This phrase is said to have originated from Benjamin Franklin who told a
story about a devious man who asked how a grinding wheel worked. He ended up
walking away with his axe sharpened free of charge)

3. One bad apple spoils the whole barrel
(one corrupt person can cause all the others to go bad if you don't remove the
bad one)

4. At sea
(lost or not understanding something)

5. Bad Egg (Someone who was not a good person)


6. Barking at a knot
(meaning that your efforts were as useless as a dog barking at a
knot.)

7. Barking up the wrong tree
(talking about something that was completely the wrong issue with the wrong
person)

8. Bee in your bonnet
(To have an idea that won't let loose )

9. Been through the mill (had a rough time of it)

10.Between hay and grass (Not a child
or an adult)

11. Blinky (Between
sweet and sour as in milk)

12.Calaboose (a jail)

13.Catawampus
(Something that sits crooked such as a piece of furniture sitting at an angle)

14.Dicker (To barter or trade)

15 Feather in Your Cap (to accomplish a
goal. This came from years ago in wartime when warriors might receive a
feather they would put in their cap for defeating an enemy)

16.Hold your horses (Be patient!)

17.Hoosegow ( a jail)

18.I reckon (I suppose)

19.Jawing/Jawboning (Talking or
arguing)

20. Kit and caboodle (The whole
thing)

21. Madder than an wet hen
(really angry)

22. Needs taken down a notch or two
like notches in a belt usually a young person who thinks too highly of
himself and needs a lesson)

23.No Spring
Chicken (Not young anymore)

24.Persnickety
(overly particular or snobbish)

25.Pert-near
(short for pretty near)

26.Pretty is as pretty
does (your actions are
more important than your looks)

27.Red up (clean the house)

28.Scalawag (a rascal or unprincipled person)

29.Scarce as hen's teeth (something difficult
to obtain)

30.Skedaddle (Get out of here
quickly)

31 Sparking (courting)

32.Straight From the Horse's Mouth (privileged
information from the one concerned)

33.Stringing around, gallivanting around, or piddling (Not doing anything
of value)

34.Sunday go to meetin' dress (The
best dress you had)

35.We wash up real fine
(is another goodie)

36.Tie the Knot (to get
married)

37.Too many irons in the fire (to be
involved in too many things)

38.Tuckered out
(tired and all worn out)

39. Under the weather
(not feeling well this term came from going below deck on ships due to sea
sickness thus you go below or under the weather)

40.Wearing your 'best bib and tucker' (Being all dressed up)
41. You ain't the only duck in the pond

(It's not all about you)
Well, if you
hold your horses, I reckon I'll get this whole kit and caboodle done and sent
off to you. Please don't be too persnickety and get a bee in your bonnet because
I've been pretty tuckered out and at sea lately because I'm no spring
chicken. I haven't been just stringin' around and I know I'm not the only
duck in the pond, but I do have too many irons in the fire. I might just be
barking at a knot, but I have tried to give this article more than just
.....
A lick and a
promise.