Keep it in the family… the mad things families say to one another!

“If we lived there we’d be home by now” …this is a phrase my family would often say to each other whilst pointing at a random house when we were on a long journey home. And it’s one of those daft sayings that you think probably only your family say! (It isn't is it? Is it? Am I revealing too much in this post I wonder... well, I've started now...)

Like, as another example from my own family, “How’s your belly off for spots?” when you want to enquire after a person’s well-being. Or, “Why've you got a face like a violin?” is, or course, a way of checking on a loved one’s mental health at that particular moment. Shorts aren’t called ‘shorts’ in the PhotoFairytales household - they’re called ‘ventilated sun trousers’, because that's simply more fun than just saying 'shorts'.

A typical example of a pair of ventilated sun trousers...

And, of course, there's the classic, "Do you want to buy a battleship?" 

which basically means... erm... well...

You can even get your own canvas print with all the great classic family sayings on it...

My grandpa would look earnestly at you and say, “There is a green hill far away without a city wall, you know!” as if you ever doubted it and he’d found the proof. My mum is Queen of Mad Conversations, with such ice breakers as, “I had one of those but the wheel fell off.” Had what? What did you have? Wheel fell off what?! But that’s the joy you see, when you’re ‘in the know’ you instantly know that your reply should be along the lines of, “But I have the purple one, because they have castors rather than wheels which is better.” Then the reply to that would be, of course, “Yes, but I didn’t like the hairy finish on the purple ones so went for the spotty one instead.” This conversation can go on for hours. Perfect for long car journeys when you’re passing houses you don’t live in but if you did you’d be home by now...

Mad, utterly, utterly mad. Fun though… especially when you have those conversations in public so that people can overhear. I’m sure that over the years we’ve left many, many people with puzzled expressions wondering what on earth we were talking about (tip: queues are a good place for conversations like this)! But that’s the joy: the completely silly stuff that families say to one another that makes no sense to anyone outside!

So, is it just my family that has a history of all these silly phrases? 

What daft things does your family say to one another? Please leave a comment (and let me know that my family aren’t completely and utterly weird!).

Sarah :)