My Nan used to say "Black as Newgate's knocker" which is definitely outdated in the way she used it (to describe skin colour). I've used it to describe dirt or darkness before. Newgate was a notorious old London prison. I guess given that it closed in 1902 even my use is pretty outdated.

Then again, she also used to say someone "Had a lick of the tar brush" if their complexion suggested mixed race somewhere in their ancestry...

Her world consisted of dirty big black men or lovely coloured ladies. She seemed to believe all black men were savage Africans, whereas black women came from the Carribbean, were hardworking and made good cleaners.

pee like a racist

I've been mulling this over, and I think there probably are some really outdated ones i use a lot. Many of the ones I already listed are pretty outdated (cool for example). But there are some more obviously so. One I use a lot is 'shine on': an expression of surprise, frustration or exasperation. I suspect that'd a tad archaic now.

Mum and Dad used to use one when I was a kid that I misunderstood for years. I've noticed Mum still uses it with our Soph when she stays over at her house. Come bed time, the phrase 'up tha dances' meaning go up to bed. For years I thought that was 'up the dances', and assumed dances meant stairs :P Actually it's an instruction to 'dance' up the stairs to bed, and 'tha' is actually thou or thee.

Oh! here's one: Bloody Nora! That's pretty outdated. I find it slips in every so often.


On the racist stuff; I recall my gran using the term pikaninny once or twice :P

that was another thread!

Umm that is pee like a racehorse racist WTF? :lol:

That reminds me of my hub telling me one time "oh you are as pure as the drift in snow" WTF? I said thats pure as the driven snow to you buddy! :lol:

Another I can think of is someone telling me Jimmy Hendrix was gay because in his song he sang "excuse me while I kiss this guy!" No that's "excuse me while I kiss the sky!"

My Grandmother used to say,"Isn't that the berries"

She was from the Midwest. I had never heard it before or since.

We had a thread about that once...

One that used to get me is a work colleague who wuold refer to knowledgable people as being 'a mind of information'. :P

As a kid, I used to love the song Don't Cry for me Argentina. But I totally misheard the lyrics. Instead of 'Don't cry for me Argentina; the truth is I never left you'....I heard 'Don't cry for me Argentina; the truth is I never loved you'.

I sometimes "outen the light". It's an old regionalism from the upstate Dutch population.

When people ask how I am I like to use "Peachy!", "Keen!" or "Fabulous!" just to throw them off.

My six year old calls her friends her "Peeps," and thinks everything cool is "Sweeeet!"

berries, as used in 'twigs and berries' means balls.

isn't that the ballllllzzz?

Har. I use 'peeps' and 'sweeet' occasionally.

I just looked it up. It apparently means doesn't that just suck. lol

I don't recall that being the context in which she used it though.

She passed away at 93 years of age a long time ago. I miss her.

I have her recipe box. I don't know why I had to mention that. It's just the berries that I did though.

hehehe what a funny word.

i think we should have a thread about NEW slang. we could make shit up like the rap stars do.

I think this thread has made up shit covered.
http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=21865&page=2