My whole family is here today.
That is, my parents, my youngest brother and my middle brother, who is here for a holiday with his wife (my sister-in-law), and their son and three daughters (my nephew and nieces).
My nieces are making fruits and vegetables out of play dough and my nephew is pretending to be Cristiano Ronaldo.
We haven’t been able to be all together since Christmas because I live abroad and my two brothers live in different parts of Ireland. So, today is a special day.
We are all so happy to see other again and to enjoy each other's company.
At breakfast, I asked everybody to suggest one family related idiom for today’s blogpost and here is what they came up with.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
So, let’s start off with my middle brother’s pick. He chose Like Father, Like Son.
And he has a son of the same name and he loves all the same things as my brother does: football, football, football and you guessed it, FOOTBALL.
This expression is used to say that a son’s behaviour can be expected to mimic or resemble that of his Dad’s. And in the case of my brother and his son, it’s true! They are identical.
DADDY’S GIRL / MAMMY’S BOY
My Mum suggested this one.
She said my youngest brother is a Mammy’s boy.
And it’s true.
My sister-in-law also mentioned that my oldest niece is a real Daddy’s girl. This too is true.
But what do they mean? Is this something positive or negative? You decide.
While in the past, this expression referred to any son who received preferential treatment from his Mum, nowadays, a Mammy’s boy is considered to be any male over the age of 30 who still lives at home and whose mother does all his cooking, washing and ironing. Fail!
A Daddy’s girl is a girl or woman who can usually convince her father to do anything she wants. She can be 5 or 55!
MOTHER OF ALL X
My Dad suggested the phrase “mother of all…”
It is always preceded by the article the and followed by a noun. So you might hear:
“the mother of all arguments”
“the mother of all storms”
“the mother of all mistakes”.
But what does that even mean?
Well, the thing that is being described is larger, better or worse than all other things of its kind. So, if we describe a storm as the mother of all storms, then it’s going to be the worst storm ever. And logically, if the mother of all arguments starts, you’d better run and hide.
TO KEEP MUM
This expression was suggested by my youngest brother. I really like it, because, unless it were explained, you might never be able to guess from just the two words, what it means.
Which is: to refrain from speaking about something or to stay silent.
If you’ve just gotten engaged and you’ve told your best friend but not your family, you might ask him or her (or them if they are non-binary) to keep Mum.
Sometimes it has the connotation of saying nothing… so, in some cases, even though you want to give your opinion, you decide (for the sake of peace) to keep Mum.
MUM’S THE WORD
This one is very similar. If you ask somebody to keep something a secret, they can show you they will keep this promise by saying Mum’s the Word! It means, “okay, I’ll keep your secret”. So, now that we know all about secrets and what they have to do with Mums… it’s time to talk about uncles.
BOB’S YOUR UNCLE
Or one uncle in particular.
Uncle Bob.
Bob is the abbreviated form of Robert. Additional abbreviations are Bobbie, Bobby, Rob, and Robby (or Robbie).
What does this have to do with today’s blog post?
Well, this one is pretty cool. My sister-in-law suggested it… because I’m her kids’ uncle.
It is normally used after having given a very clear explanation of a process, as a neat way to show that there is nothing more to say, and additionally, to indicate that said process is going to be very easy to complete.
For example, the first time you explain how to use the washing machine to your teenage children, you might say by way of finishing off “and Bob’s your uncle”. The meaning is something akin to “and that’s all” or “and that’s all there is to it” or even “it’s as easy as that”.
ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY
Let’s finish today’s family-oriented blog entry with a bang.
Or rather, on a high note.
Sometimes you’ll hear people say…
“We’re just one big happy family.”
Even if they aren’t. A family, that is. Big or small. Or even happy.
The basic idea of this expression is that it refers to a big group of people who generally get along incredibly well… although in more recent times it has been used ironically to mean just quite the opposite. So, if the people in a work environment don’t get along especially well, their boss or a member of the team might say “Oh… we’re just one big happy family”, but meaning that they are anything but!!!
How often do you see your family?
Do you all get along well?
Are you a Mammy’s boy or a Daddy’s girl?
If you prefer to keep Mum… no worries!!!!
Just make sure to subscribe to the mailing list… so I can keep you up-to-date.
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