My father is a man of few words and preserves them for life's big moments. For the small-to-medium sized ones, he relies on a dozen or so sayings to convey his reactions and opinions.
When a third-grade bully, high school frenemy, or crankyboots boss does something that baffles or hurts his children or grandchildren, my father gathers the confused one close and says, "They're out there." He doesn't mean aliens. "They" refers to those who don't have his sense of honor and justice. He set the bar high for both.
He executes an eye roll and says "There goes another flock of them" every time a rabid but incoherent group asserts its rights but pooh poohs the rights of others. Recently, though, he's used the saying for the Canadian geese that dine on his just-sown grass seed.
For decades, my father has done the food shopping and is always willing to try new convenience foods. He's also a fan of labor-saving household appliances. His saying, "less work for mother," is popular with my mom, his three daughters, and one daughter-in-law. When he and my mother used to visit Houston, he'd want to take my little family out to dinner every night. I'd protest. "But, Dad, I made a turkey." My father couldn't understand why I'd do such a thing. "We'll go out. Less work for mother."
My husband adopted "less work for mother" and won't bat an eye when I ask him to pick up a pizza on Friday night. Thanks, Dad.
Does anyone in your family using sayings as verbal shorthand? What expressions would your family trademark if they could?
