Old Time Words And Expressions

There are a multitude of old words and expressions that I grew up with that you seldom hear anymore. I used “sauce” on one of my posts not too long ago, and a reader said that word brought back a lot of memories because that is what canned fruit was called when she was a child.
I was told not to “muss” my dress or skirt when I was little by my mother and grandmother. In the days of feed sack and flour sack material it wrinkled very easily. Because of that, little girls were taught to smooth out their skirts with both hands before sitting down.
The other day I went to get out of my chair and I groaned and moaned and told Fran I was all “stove up.” I grew up with that expression. All that means is that you have a little pain that you can live with, but it is uncomfortable when you get up from bed or a chair after a period of time.
My mother frequently asked me (she never told me) to go to the garden and pick a “mess” of green beans for supper. Well a “mess” means a different amount for each family. A “mess” depends on how many people in the family and how well they like green beans. Once in a while she would have me go back to the garden and pick more. She also would go after me to see how many plants I had pulled up by accident while picking the beans. A mess also included peas. That was more difficult to determine because peas in the pod looked like a lot. A porcelain dishpan full of peas resulted in less than two cups of peas.
When I was young I got many “discussions” about slang language. My mother would not allow any slang that could in fact substitute for Biblical connotations i.e., “gosh” “darn” etc. However, my mother frequently used, “My soul and body, bloody murder, Heavens, Good Heavens, Looking to the ceiling and saying, “Give me Strength”
My Grandma used to say “Sugar” I am sure that substituted for something naughty.
Mom used, “Traipsing” when I was a teenager. She would ask, “Where have you been traipsing around?”
Mother would also say “ Get yourself “corralled” and help me”
Dad always said, “Get into the jitney and we will get going.” Which referred to a 1920’s kind of trolley car that was not insured or franchised. I can remember a song about a jitney.
Dad always called my oldest boy a “knuckle head.” You don’t hear that much any more. Maybe that’s because other kids aren’t knuckle heads. Oh he called him a knot head too.
One of my sister’s favorite expressions was, “Whoopee Ding.”
My Grandmother used, “Glory Be and Land O’Goshen.”
My mother used to say, It’s good for what ails you about medicine and cod liver oil pills. (That’s another story.)
Another expression Mother used a lot with me is “Don’t be so owly, or “Aren’t we owly today?” Hmm I wonder if I had a growly disposition when I was younger. Maybe that’s why I drove my mother up the wall when I called everybody a “goon.”