Aug 05 2008
Skedaddle? Upsy-Daisy?
Skedaddle? Upsy-Daisy? I used to hear these words all the time. Yes, they are from my youth, and mostly, therefore, words and terms from my Grandparents’ generation. Many of the words were used by my parents and their friends of the “Mature” generation, that is, those who parented the Boomer bunch. So I’ve come up with a list of pretty much “Retired” words and phrases.
I thought about this for about an hour and came up with quite a list of terms we just don’t hear (much) anymore. Perhaps it depends somewhat on where in the world you live, but here is my list for your enjoyment. The definitions and the little explanations are as I remember them. There is nothing very sophisticated here. I will get back to “skedaddle” and “upsy daisy” at the end of the post.
Slop the hogs. The food scraps and liquid (kitchen) waste that was fed to the pigs in their trough was called slop. To do the chore was called “slopping the hogs.”
A miner’s cabin that probably didn’t bother with a “honey pot.”
Honey pot. A little potty used in the cabin on cold days or at night, especially by the children.
Get in yer knickers. A warning to a young woman that a fella who was courtin’ her might just be trying to “get in her knickers.” A slang term of a woman’s undergarments.
Mumbly-bumbly. Slurred speech, most often caused by alcohol. Anyone who just rattles on and on without making much sense is pretty “mumbly-bumbly” too.
Sunday-go-meetin’ clothes. Wearing your very best outfits, as in, going to church meetings.
Steppin’ out. Also going “out steppin.” To go dancing.
Dicker (to). Seeks to make a better deal; get a bargain or discount
Hoity-toity. All high-falutin and putting on “airs.” A “fancy dancy” person who thought themselves above the ordinary folks. Someone who got educatin’ and/or inherited money, often became “hoity-toity” in their behavior toward others who were considered to be of a “lower station” in life.
Washtub. A large tub used for taking baths; also for doing laundry. Sometimes the used laundry water was then used for taking a bath too. On Saturday nights, the children would bathe first, then the older girls, then the Mom, then the teenaged boys, and finally the Father. The order of bathing was based on how clean a person supposedly was before the bath, thus the water would gradually get dirtier until the dirtiest person of all, the working father, would get in. Nobody had to get in the water after Dad was done. It was tossed out to the pigsty, with some meal garbage too, this was called “slopping the hogs.”
Tall drink of water. A tall man, often gangly in appearance. Pretty common amongst teen-aged boys, who were considered “men.”
Poppycock. Pretty much baloney…not a word of truth to it. Made fairly famous by President Eisenhower in the 1950’s; this I remember. He was usually talking about Democrats.
Floozie. A woman of loose morals.
Hokey. Something contrived or phony or buffoonish.
Nincompoop. A ditsy, stupid or foolish person. I recall my Father calling me this, amongst several German words that are best left unexplained.
Mungo. A person who scavenged from garbage cans and the dump.
Tight-wad. A cheap person who rarely paid for any one else’s meal. Also a real bargain hunter who would “dicker” over a dime.
Tight. A slang term meaning intoxicated.
Old Foggy. An older guy who just isn’t “cool” any more. Not “with it.” No longer a “cool cat.”
Spinster. An older woman who has never married; the exact age at which an unmarried woman became known as a spinster was totally arbitrary, but generally once she quit look for a mate, or perhaps once she quit looking good enough to attract a mate.
Carpetbagger. Originally a term in the post-Civil War South to refer to a Northerner who moved south after the war to take advantage of southerners. In 20th century often referred to “outsiders” who moved in and tried to take over…politically or economically.
Scalawag. Originally a political term in the post-Civil War South. In 20th century was often used to denote someone was a bit of a “rascal” and not trustworthy.
Shoofly pie. A molasses pie so sweet that it attracts a lot of flies. Popular in Pennsylvania and in some Southern states.
Willy-nilly. All scattered and unorganized, as in a teen-ager’s bedroom, or a messy house, or a bachelor pad.
Pipsqueak. Insignificant little man with a chip on his shoulder, perhaps. Any tiny person.
Pig in a poke. Referred to buying something on trust without first inspecting the goods. A person might think he was buying a pig or rabbit for dinner, wrapped in a sack, only to find out later that the meal would actually be a cat or a dog.
Okay, now back to the top tease:
“Skedaddle” meant to “scoot on out of here in a hurry!”
“Upsy-daisy” Term was mostly used as someone “boosted” another person up onto a bunkbed, over a fence, or often up upon a horse. The person providing the boost would say “upsy daily” and that would signal the other person to push off for extra leverage. Today, I understand there to be a rag doll by that name.
Have a great “retired” day.
Would have been even better with etymology.
Willy