March 29, 2024

Column: What’s that you say?

The other day, hubby and I were talking and the word “fisticuffs” was used during the conversation. My 25-year-old girl-child was stymied.

“What in the world is that?” she asked. Apparently, it wasn’t something we used in our everyday vocabulary when she was growing up, and to be honest, I’ve probably only used it a few times in my life. So I’m not exactly sure why it even flowed from my mouth during that particular conversation.

After we told her what it meant, it started me thinking of other words — idioms, similes, euphemisms, metaphors and hyperboles riddling our daily speech.

I vividly remember the first time I heard the term “hunker down.” I was in my 20s, and we were living at the Lake of the Ozarks. I was quite certain it had to be something only hillbillies did, whatever it was. Imagine my surprise when I learned I had actually done it many times, whether waiting out a tornado in the basement or staying warm and cozy in my house during a heavy snow.

As I was growing up, my elders would use the phrase “vim and vigor” and although the words may have seemed foreign to me, I understood it to mean someone was doing well and was full of energy. But I was taken back when, in church one day a few years ago, an older woman professed herself to be full of “piss and vinegar.” That was a new one to me, but I immediately knew what she meant.

I’m also certain many families have their own sayings or phrases that might raise an eyebrow to “outsiders.”

In my family, I grew up hearing “when Shep was a pup” referring to the old days. For all I knew everyone said it. Quite recently, I learned my mom’s grandparents had a dog when she was a child — you’ll never guess his name — which they had from the time he was a puppy. It was that simple. My great-grandparents would refer to the time “when Shep was a pup” and to this day, my family, including myself, use those five words to reference anything from years ago.

Who knew?

Contact Dana King at dking@shawmedia.com