Mom showed the German part of her heritage when instead of telling us to sit down she would say, “Sitzen Sie.”
Dad showed the I Don’t Know What part of his heritage when he would randomly interject, “Rowdy dowdy dowdy dow.” You don’t often hear this term anymore, but on a couple of occasions he called me a knucklehead. I didn’t mind all that much because, admittedly, I was actually being one at the time.
A running joke was telling about a guy who was eating a real mountain of food and going back for seconds, one would exclaim, “Wow, I wish I had your capacity.” Another running joke was when there were guests for dinner, the not so secret codes referring to the amount of food available were FHB (family hold back) or MIK (more in kitchen).
Constance
Characterizations:
been there, funny
I especially enjoyed the food-available acronyms but I think “Rowdy dowdy dowdy dow” takes the cake. It’s great to see you back on the site.
In an effort to keep the family traditions alive, I frequently refer to my sons as knuckleheads. Deservedly, as you noted. Now I’m off to find some reason to say Rowdy dowdy dowdy dow.
Loved the acronyms – my family had a whole secret vocabulary that allowed them to talk about others, but unfortunately most of those words have vanished as their creators have vanished as well.