by Margaret Graham

Created on: April 15, 2009

Every family and social group has their own jargon. We develop a language which means nothing to anyone but us. As human's we usually carry on using jargon out of the realm of our family and social group. This can bewilder some poor soul who has not yet familiarized themselves with the original jargon.

As children we become familiar with our relatives' jargon. It may take some time for us to figure out everything they mean but eventually we catch on. The sad thing is we carry this on to our adult life and believe many of the terms to be perfectly normal. Not all of them are grammatically acceptable, but we continue to use them anyway.

As children growing up, we would ask what nationality are we? We were, told "We're Irish till the plowin's done and Scotch till the pie's ate." (Granddad was Irish and Nana was Scotch which I am sure you guessed.)

My Granddad spent most of his life in the state of "Fair to Midland" or "Up to snuff" when questioned on the state of his health. My Nana was usually "Copacetic".

Visiting the Nana and Granddad at the farm was great fun. There, "Children were to be seen but not heard". None of their grandchildren quite fit the bill on this one.

Grandad told many stories to us. One of our favorite was when he had been served a cup of "raw tea" for breakfast. We thought he was handed a tea bag to eat. Apparently it was a cup of tea but without milk or sugar. My mom still refers to black coffee or tea as "raw".

Anything and I mean anything from towels to chesterfields and "britches" (or pants as we call them) that was "tattered" or worn were always referred to as "Granddad's". If someone's couch is due for replacement everyone in our family says "See you have Granddad's couch." If we see someone with their buttons done up wrong (even strangers), we ask them, "Did Grandad dress you today?" I do get strange looks and sometimes have to explain. At work I just fix the buttons and explain my jargon while I am doing them up properly.

If we complained about anything or anyone our complaint was answered with "They got ya gnawing at the bit, eh?" Or, better yet, "We know, you sit like God you with your hax." If we pouted and did not complain out loud, we heard "Your face will freeze like that." I was a "Smart aleck" as a kid and would think, "I don't think so, the sun is shinning." But never would I say it out loud as to prevent getting a "Clout" or "Skite."

I learned to watch my "P's and Q's" even though I never quite got this saying. What the heck

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