Ginger Blog Family's Wordlings

Eh so this pic doesn't really have anything to do
with this post. I just like it is all (I may have
forgotten the connector cable for my camera, grr)

Ginger Blog Fans, have any of you all had this similar happenstance when you all were growing up? Did any of you suddenly realise that expressions, phases or word-blurbs that are common knowledge within your family and family home, when used outside your familial sanctuary suddenly fall completely flat? These expressions, that you in your inoffensive youth truly believed were imbedded in the subconscious of the general public, when used are met with faces of blank? 

Welcome to my reality people, it took some time to adjust and figure this all out to be honest, though now I tend to adopt a strategy of ‘if they don’t know what I’m talking about they’ll get me eventually, fook dat sheat, I’m not changing’. I think one of my earliest memories of one of these Ginger Blog Family specific expressions is when my Ma and Da used to refer to me as a ‘Ninnyhammer’(or should that be hyphenated, Ninny-Hammer? One never does know with made up words). I believe the word was used to denote when my behaviour was being construed by my Parentals  as rather silly, maybe loosely similar to the word Nincompoop (yay, synonyms for non-words, I’m impressing even myself here). I recall the outrage and injustice I used to feel at this outrageous accusation. How very dare they. Though now with a few years on me I know there are far whose things to be called in this life (like a soggy biscuit or a Kardashian). So I guess I’ve forgiven the Ginger Blog Parents for Ninnyhammer. 

Artist Impression: Not actual GBD

Another memory I have is of a Ginger Blog Da ‘shutupem’, an expression used by our father for when either or all, of myself and the Ginger Blog Sisters (I have three) were horsing about too much. If my father wanted us to shut up, stop fooling about or stop tearing each others hair out he would utter the immortal line ‘Give it over’. May not seem that bad to you dear readers but it was the way he said it, his tone even, that signified he meant business and also it sort of became a single word in his bellowing, a ‘GIVEITOVER’ if you will. We all knew once uttered it was time to stop acting the maggot (is that another one?). 

When Ginger Blog Sister III came back from college and decided she didn’t hate me any more and also decided to be funny, ‘Theresa’ suddenly became our new word du jour to literally describe or refer to any female human being. We had replaced ‘yer one’ (masculine of ‘yer one’ is ‘yer man’ for those who don’t speak Oirish) with ‘Theresa’ and in particular coined the phrase ‘Good girl Theresa’ implying you girl, what ever it is you have done has pleased the Ginger Blog Family. ‘Good girl Theresa’ was used to congratulate the female members of the family (of which there always seemed many) on a job well done, GBS II washed all the dishes then ‘Good girl Theresa’.  It also was shouted at the TV to any female, horses in the Grand National a bet had been made on, when the right date was chosen by the woman on the TV show ‘Blind Date’ (a personal favourite of my mother's) or say when Sonia O’Sullivan was running for Olympic Gold for Ireland (our Sonia only ever did manage the Silver for us. Toilet issues, bless). ‘Good girl Theresa!’

GBS III also managed to help coin another one, not herself now, more by her behaviour, for this particular sister had an aversion to any household chores whilst growing up so adopted the attitude of ‘if I do them badly then I won’t be asked to do them again’. Yet my mother grew wise to her ways and in response to her half assed attempts at sweeping the floor uttered the fantastic ‘Stop throwing your arse at it’ to my sister and thus a phenomenon was born in our house. Huzzah mother, ‘Stop throwing your arse at it’ is possibly my favourite GBF expression. And you all wondered where I got it from?

Maybe this type of thing was not prevalent in your family home but I do know for a fact this goes on in other families. A close friend of our family introduced us to her family expression of ‘Burny poppy’ used to dissuade childer from touching something hot like a fire range or hob ring and also used to warn a child to blow on they’re incoming food to cool it, as it is ‘Burny poppy’. When visiting the home of my best friend from primary school as a child all words considered vulgar were not allowed to be spoken in those walls. To my embarrassment when I used the word ‘fart’ I was quickly corrected and informed that I should refer to all gaseous expoldus from anus as ‘cracks’ from now on.  Quite the traumatic experience for a six year old indeed.

Not Husband or is it?

Finally even Husband was at it in his home and coined an expression of his own when he was a child. Hmmm should I tell you this dear readers? Well here goes, I’ve started haven’t I? Husband used to refer to number two on the potty as ‘doing his no-nos’. If you look past any negative connotations, it’s kinda adorable.      

So what say you readers, got any of your own to share? 

I’d love to hear them.

GBM