Things Your Grandma Told You

If a little kid bends over and looks between his legs, his mommy and daddy can expect to welcome another bundle of joy pretty soon. (You'd be surprised at the accuracy of this in my family)

Don't clip your nails/toenails at night. Bad luck.

Don't whistle at night or you'll attract evil spirits.

Girls -- washing your hair while on your period will cause it to turn gray faster.

Never turn your back to the ocean.

One can never have too much 20 lb bags of calrose rice.

[Tom Earp]

Wow, when I live with Granny I never got all of the advices.

She just said, Dont screw up or I will whip Ya!

Be home for Lunch and Dinner, here are the hours if Ya want to eat.

While she seemed very big and gruff, whe actually was a Very Sweet Person.

Well for someone having a 5 Husbands and outliving the last one!

Pioneer Woman, Tuff, Ruff, and Gruff, but a sweety, I was Her Fav!

[aephi alum]

One of my grandmothers died before I was born. The other one lived very far away, so I seldom saw her. So my grandma-isms came to me indirectly through my mother.

- Never leave the house without enough money to get home on your own.

- (If I scowled) Don't scowl, your face will freeze that way!

- Don't leave the house with wet hair.

- If you share a family recipe, don't share the whole recipe. Hold back an ingredient or change the amounts of your spices or something. (My grandmother took her borscht recipe to her grave. Fine by me - I hate borscht!)

- If there is a rosemary plant in the garden, and it flourishes, the woman of the house is in charge. If it is sick or dies, the man is in charge. (I make sure to keep my rosemary carefully tended, and it is indeed flourishing! )

[ZTAMich]

My grandma she taught me to always be ready for company. Growing up in her house there were ALWAYS people stopping by with little or no notice. Grammy was always ready with something she had baked! She and my grandpa were all about the hospitality.

My grandmother taught me all these cute sayings! "Cover a cough or a sneeze and they'll never accuse you of spreading disease" I still remember

Both ladies had a storage freezer in the back room with extra food...I suppose I will too someday. And both of course told me not to go to bed with my hair wet, not to go outside with my hair wet etc or I'll get sick.

Two very different ladies who I miss very much...

[UKTriDelt]

My Granny is a great Southern lady, and has handed down a few wacky sayings to her family:

-Girls that play with fire will pee in the bed.
-Always check the toilet and the tub before using either one, because snakes and baby alligators have been known to get into them via pipes from sewage drains. (This one, by the way, has to this day left me terrified of getting near or touching the drain in showers)
-Always be the very best you can be, because when you're older and have your own children, they will do every bad thing that you did as a child.

I'm sure there are countless more that I can't think of now!

[Jill1228]

I only have one remaining grandparent and she is 86...will be 87 in a few weeks. My maternal grandma (aka Nana)

a man's expensive gifts come with a price
make sure you have clean underwear leaving the house
Any woman who depends solely on a man for financial support is a damn fool
Have your own separate account
You don't need a man. Anything you need, YOU can do/get yourself.
Nana was widowed at 31. When her husband died she had 5 kids under the age of 10 and was pregnant...with twins. Yup, she raised 7 kids alone
Don't whistle indoors...bad luck
Don't put your pocketbook on the floor or you will always be "down" (down and out and broke)
Don't sleep with your shoes by your head, you will have bad dreams
Never leave the house without enough money to get home on your own.
Don't make funny faces or it will freeze that way
Cats are evil! I come from a long line of cat haters. Obviously I don't believe that...I have 2 cats I adore! (Yes they are trying to figure out where they went wrong)
No laundry or major chores on New Years Day. It must be done before mid night NYE or it is bad luck

Granted I love my grandmother and have a lot of respect for her, but some of the stuff she said is SO out there!

[non-greek newby]

Don't eat a lemon while you have your period . . .

Don't walk barefoot while you have your period . . .

And don't hold a baby while you have your period . . .

To this day, I still have yet to know why . . .

[jhujenn]

If you wear your coat indoors it won't work when you go back outside.

[AchtungBaby80]

In reference to jewelry..."Big is beautiful, but gaudy is best."

You should see this one ring she has...I doubt I could lift it!

[Little E]

I'm not allowed to own a green car.

My grandma's psychic told her no green cars and because she had predicted my uncles apendicitis correctly, she'd kill me if she ever hear I had a green car. (My grandparent's were strange)

[winnieb]

When i was younger my grandma would tell me to wear clean underwear, in case i was in an accident. Now that I am older, my grandma would tell me to not wear any underwear, just to thrill the paramedic!!!

She would always say to be clean when you leave the house-- if you must leve don't have time to shower you should at least take a PTA bath. (P=pussy, T=tits, A=armpits)!!!!

My grandma is quite spunky!! Last time I saw her I was shocked (my grandma comes off as nothing but class) but get her at home and watch out!! She told me a few years ago her favorite part of being old is you can say whatever you want and no one will argue with you, they just think you are old and don't know better!

[EEKappa]

These are from my Great Aunt Jane, who was born in 1897:

If something gives you a thrill, you should buy it. You'll never regret it.

You can always tell a lady by her shoes.

When a girl can play the piano, she always has friends.

[RACooper]

I was lucky enough to have both of my Grandmothers alive, and mentoring me until I reached adulthood...

My paternal Grandmother was an interesting lady, a little ahead of her time (she was a barnstormer at 16, and ferried planes during WW2):
Be who you are, and who you want to be.
Class isn’t about money; class is about dignity, respect, and honour.
She was also fond of Latin... and I remember a few
Nihil Sine Labore “Nothing without labour”
Semper ubi sub ubi (bad Latin pun – “always wear underwear”)
Aquila non captat muscas “The Eagles doesn’t capture flies” (don’t sweat the small stuff)


My maternal Grandmother was always proud of her Scottish heritage, and always sought to pass on her Gaelic wisdom:
Blood will outlast the rocks, a betrayal of blood will outlast the stars (old Gaelic saying, but I can’t remember the Gaelic).
Cha d'thug gaol luath, nach d'thug fuath clis. (“Quick to love, Quick to anger”)
Cha'n aithnich thu duine gus am bi do ghnothaich ris. (“You will never know a man, until you do business with him.”)
Cha'n fheum an ti a shealbhaicheas an toradh am blàth a mhilleadh. (“He who would enjoy the fruit must not spoil the blossom.”)
Cha dean cridh misgeach breug. (“The inebriated heart will not lie.”)

[starryeyed]

Originally posted by UKTriDelt
-Girls that play with fire will pee in the bed.

I laughed so hard when I read this! My granny used to say it too!I hadn't thought of that in ages!

[Taualumna]

My paternal grandmother and I are not close at all, since she lives half way around the world. My maternal grandmother raised me and always told me never to wash my hair on New Year's or my birhtday (washes luck away)