Old Sayings and Modern Counterparts

[MaxD]

Mis-remembered

Mares eat oats and does eat etc

[Trees]

Well done thats the one still a good giggle the children just can't fathom iy out

[Nettie]

At those moments Mum would say "Did your last servant die of shortness of breath?

...oh for a servant just to help pick things up after the family don't think too many of us have a useful maid these days

We've always said, 'What did your last slave die of?'

[Roobarb]

I thought that the Dozey Doh was a corruption of the French 'Dos a dos' meaning back to back.

[DavidG02]

I thought that the Dozey Doh was a corruption of the French 'Dos a dos' meaning back to back.

Or two by two?

Mr Wiki says you are correct. Dos a dos as opposed to vis a vis (face to face)

[Roobarb]

I thought that the Dozey Doh was a corruption of the French 'Dos a dos' meaning back to back.

Or two by two?

No, that would be deux a deux 

[LizzieW]

Everything was "Smashing" when I was growing up.
Carol

  Everything was "dead good" when I was a teenager.  It used to drive my dad mad, he kept saying how can it be good if it's dead?

[LizzieW]

“Sweet FA” is the same as “Sweet Fanny Adams” which I think comes from “San Ferry Ann” and its French origin “ca ne fait rien” meaning “it does not matter” or “it is nothing”. My father thought that this phrase was picked up in the Army in WW1 France, which is better than other things they may have picked up!

We used to say "San Fairy Ann" and when I mentioned it to a teacher when re-learning French many years later, she said that by saying San Fairy Ann, it made the pronunciation correct.

[jaybelnz]

When I was a child and couldn't find something I would ask my Mum where such and such a
thing was!  Sometimes she answered "hanging on a hook behind my ear".  But not always! Maybe I was pestering or something, I can't remember that far back, but I certainly remember her saying it!  Can't even think what the equivalent of that might be today!

Jeanne