I was thinking last night about how each family has things that only they say. You know, a word (or an entire phrase) that only your nearest and dearest will understand the underlying meaning of. We all have them. Sometimes they are a nonce word that has fallen into regular usage, at other times they are a normal word used for a completely different purpose. Often we can’t even remember where they came from, we just say them.
I am aware that we have quite a few in our home, but when I was writing last night how hard do you think it was to remember them?! They are in such common use that it is hard to single them out.
Household Lingo No.1.
Laughing (short for laughing like a big fat spider).
One we use a lot here is ‘laughing like a big fat spider’. This is what we use to let everyone know all is well.
If I pull up to an intersection with the man of the house in the passenger seat he will say ‘laughing’ meaning the traffic on this side is clear, it is safe to proceed. If I am at the door, keys in hand and ask if everyone is ready to go, the reply will be ‘laughing’.
As far as I know big fat spiders are no more inclined to laugh than skinny ones, and in any case I have never heard either type do so. Nevertheless, in our house if we say laughing, our mental image is immediately a large and happy spider.
I have no idea where we originally picked this up from but we have been saying it for years. Thanks to the interweb, I know we are not the only people in the world that say it, but I have never heard anyone else say it unless they have been infected by us.
I have called this post Household Lingo No.1 as I am going to start paying attention to what we all say, and hopefully add more of them to the list. Please feel free to share any of the specialized lingo that might live at your house too, I would love to hear it!
