Funny things that the elderly say ...

[DaniBeems]

Hahaha, my grandma also says 'believe you me' and I still don't understand it! She also says 'like the dickens' which cracks me up. I love older people-they're so funny and they don't even know it

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

My grat grandma is 99. She still lives on her own and has her memory completely. We are very blessed. Anyway, she cracks us up all the time, the most recent thing was when my kids were videotaping her and interviewing her. My Dh piped in a question, he asked "what did you do back when you were dating?" He didn't mean anything bad by it, he meant where did you go, what did you do. Her answer back, without missing a beat was "If you forgive me for not answering, I'll forgive you for asking." We were all in tears.
She is an absolute riot!!!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

My MIL (RIP) used to say calvinator for the refrigerator. I think that was a brand way back in the day.

And once she was in the grocery store and saw her niece (who was in her 20's) and told her "You are looking awful flashy these days". Andrea, the niece, thought it was a compliment, but since she wasn't dressed fancy, she asked my MIL "What do you mean?" MIL said "You've gotten fat"

Oh how I miss my MIL. She always told it like it was.

 

[kimmar067]

...how about "Oh, for corn's sake!"...or, "...go sit in the parlor(living room)..."

 

[kimmar067]

My MIL (RIP) used to say calvinator for the refrigerator. I think that was a brand way back in the day....

...my dad always said 'the icebox'...

 

[kimmar067]

...my DH's grandma used to say "...it was too dear...", meaning that it was expensive...

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

...how about "Oh, for corn's sake!"...or, "...go sit in the parlor(living room)..."

Oh, I forgot until I saw your post, my grandmother used to say parlor, too.

Wow, things are coming back to me now. My MIL and FIL used to say "sparkin" for dating.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

A lot of these are familiar to me. My mom used to call our living room (the one we weren't allowed in) the parlor. My kids make fun of me all the time for using these type expressions.

When I was in my early 20's I spent a summer at my grandfather's sister's house. She was 89 at the time. One time she let loose with a particularly vulgar word, and I looked at her and said, "Auntie!!!" She looked at me, shrugged her shoulders, and said, "Well, sometimes these words are like farts. They escape without you meaning to let them go."

 

[Diznotyzed]

Having heard (and often used) my mom's old fashioned phrases all my life they make sense to me, but my kids think it's hilarious when she calls people Frick & Frack or Mutt & Jeff. If your hair sticks out funny she calls you Skeezix, after the old comics character. If she thinks a photo is unflattering she tells you to "put it in the basement to scare away the rats". One she never used but I picked up from somewhere is "Little pitchers have big ears" and I love that the mom in A Christmas Story says it at one point.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

my grandmother mixes stuff up alot. She loves PAWN stars .... but everytime she calls it porn stars! She will ask my uncles when the porn stars are on , well it gets awkward.

 

[disney_mommy]

My Mother who is nearly 86, will talk about people that live in the same apartment building as her and she will say... "Oh, she's an OLD lady." Cracks me up.

My 90-year old grandmother used to call the 70-ish man across the street "that old man."

Of course, other things she would say were not so cute. I swear, for about the last 5 years or so, her brain filter just quit working and she would say any old thing that popped in her head. It made for quite a few embarassing situations.

 

[Jusacuz]

My mother took care of elderly people when I was growing up. For 4 years, she cared for her uncle with Alzheimer's.

During this time, my mother would often have coffee with two other elderly aunts & other women. My mom called it a coffee klatch or something. Anyway, there are two things they'd say that I have caught myself saying lately.

"You're such a card." for someone being amusing or full of personality.
"Queer duck" for someone being unusual or quirky.

I miss those old ladies.

 

[Diznotyzed]

"You're such a card." for someone being amusing or full of personality.

The second part of that saying in our family (and many others, I'm sure) is:
"You need to be dealt with"

 

[kimmar067]

Having heard (and often used) my mom's old fashioned phrases all my life they make sense to me, but my kids think it's hilarious when she calls people Frick & Frack or Mutt & Jeff....

...or Heckle and Jeckle...

 

[Fantasmic23]

but I remember being called 'Sarah Bernhardt' as a child when I was acting like a drama queen!

My other grandmother used to call me Sarah Bernhardt, too!

 

[hereyago]

DM is 77 and I have heard her say is ice box for the fridge.

My DGM, she would say parlor. she used to love to watch the tv show Dallas and would call J.R. Ewing a "scoundrel".

 

[goofyernmost]

...my DH's grandma used to say "...it was too dear...", meaning that it was expensive...

"Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of White...if it's not too dear!" That phrase isn't that old...the preceding is a line from the Beatles..."When I'm 64.

Hahaha, my grandma also says 'believe you me' and I still don't understand it! She also says 'like the dickens' which cracks me up. I love older people-they're so funny and they don't even know it

That is simple Believe you me = you should believe me. Just a shortened version.

To show my age not a single thing that has been listed wasn't a regular thing I heard growing up. And to make matters worse...I still use some of them myself. You folks are such a bunch of whippersnappers.

 

[AnnetteF]

This thread made me laugh so much. I need that right now, since my DM has been living with us for the past year. She is 79 and in very poor health. She says "you people" all the time. And it seems that MANY of the bills she gets, she seems to think she shouldn't have to pay. "You people" are always trying to cheat her out of money. My father passed away last year at 88 and he was also the same way.

Another funny thing is they always think people want to steal things from them. I'm not talking about valuable things. If my Mom can't find something like an old pair of socks or pajamas , she'll accuse the last non-family member that was in the house.

 

[marcyinPA]

In the last years of her life, my grandmother had dementia, and towards the very end, she did not remember who we were. She had always been a very happy, pleasant woman, but dementia made her crabby and grouchy. We really had to learn to just take it all with a grain of salt, and try to laugh it off.

My mom and I lived a few states away, and my mom had planned a visit. My aunt, who lived in the same area as my grandmother, told my grandmother that my mom was coming to visit her. My grandmother's reponse: "Oh, Pam's coming? I used to like her!"

And then there was the time my grandmother hit on my Aunt's husband....That was pretty funny! ( you gotta laugh, right?!)

 

[Diznygrl]

My mom is 54 and she says dumb bunnies, Lady Jane, and believe you me. Also uses the old Carter's got liver pills line ("I've got more *insert object here* than Carter's got liver pills!"), even though she had no idea what it meant or where it came from. Wasn't till years later when I finally looked it up (thanks to a little invention called the internet) and was able to share the information with her.