Monday, February 9, 2009

Words We Made Up

It rained here last night, the patio and walk are covered with ice. School was cancelled. Rain showers are forecast for this afternoon, perhaps we will get some thunder. When we get an unseasonable rain storm smack dab in the middle of winter and we get thunder we usually call it snow thunder. I am not sure why, I guess it is one of those made up words.

That got me to thinking. We have a few made up words, that only make sense to Far Guy and I and the girls. One is Gore Slop. The girls hated Gore Slop..I think it was Jennifer that named it such. It is a recipe that you all are familiar with. Hobo meals? I put hamburger, onion, potatoes and carrots in a large piece of tin foil and bake it for about an hour and a half. Just before it is to be served I add some cheese so it can melt. It is a quick easy meal. At our house it began as a camping meal. Then I made them when we were not out camping..and it became Gore Slop. Far Guy likes his without carrots, I like extra carrots! Nothin' better than cooked carrots! Anyway Gore Slop is what's for supper tonight. YUM!

When Trica was about four years old back in 1976, we lived in a trailer house. We had a metal strip that separated the carpet from the fancy black and white linoleum. The strip was attached with screws. Trica would sit and take the screws out one by one, Far Guy would put them back in every night. Trica called this metal strip a "binge." I would ask her what she was doing, she would reply "Workin' on the binge." When she was workin' on the binge she wasn't coloring on the walls, terrorizing the dog or tearing apart her entire dresser changing her clothing fifty times a day. She would sit for hours taking out those screws, it required a special screwdriver with a square tip..we only had one and she knew which one it was and where to find it. I am still not sure what those transition strips are called..other than a binge.

Snow thunder, Gore Slop and a binge, all made up words. Do you have any made up words that you care to share? :)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the made up words! We have poo soup - stuff that comes out of the dog or kids when they are sick.

WE also do some 'coconuting': that means staying up late to watch TV.

And spaghetti is our code word for: Help or No.

RURAL said...

I don't think we ever had any made up words, oh other than loogan, which means you are totally crazy.

But what a hilarious post, how did you ever survive? You poor thing, that part about her not coloring the walls, it had me LOL. My sister used the hack saw, on my parents brand new wooden table and chairs. Maybe they should have given her a screwdriver.
Jen

laurie said...

oh man i love this post. i don't know your daughter, but i can just see her sitting there, working so diligently, night after night.

i think we did have made-up words but none come to mind right now except gross ones. let me think of some nice ones and get back to you.

Unknown said...

We have always called cola's "pop" no matter what brand they are it's still pop. We get the strangest look when we ask someone if they'd like a pop.
For some reason and I'm not sure why, we call the remote control "channel changer!" That started when the kids were little back in the 80's.
I know there are many others but I can't think of them right now. Another good post Connie!

flydragon said...

I have a el cheapo iron weather vane in my yard with a "boogala boogala" man on top. It is really a Kokopelli, but I can never remember that name and you have no idea how long it took me to find it just now:) That's why I renamed it.

I love hearing thunder in the winter when it's snowing. Don't know why, just do.

Jan said...

Kids always come up with funny names. Stefanie called McDonald's "Big Donald's" and called Burger King "Burger Donald's"

That Janie Girl said...

So. Did your Binge girl grow up to be an engineer?

Roxane B. Salonen said...

Far Side, my dad, when playing frisbee with us, used to say, "Ready Hezzie?" as he got ready to throw it to us. This isn't made up, I don't think, but we used to word "padiddle" a lot in high school. It means a car with one headlight. Maybe it was made up? :)My friend and I, to remember the colors of the rainbow in order, used to say "Roy Garbage Breath" (ROYGB) I don't know if those count, but I hope they come close. :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

Thanks for the comments and sharing of your made up words! I enjoyed them all!
Janie, The binge girl in an RN..go figure?

Connie Peterson said...

We have some made up words, but a lot of them have been passed down by others. Norm still calls children "ankle biters" or "rug rats" or "curtain climbers".

I make up words when I can't remember what the "think" is ... but one I made up is "Snartzenager" - for California's governor -- still CAN'T remember his name!

Connie Peterson said...

Oops ... I meant "thing" ... I am sitting in the recliner with the keyboard on my lap and sometimes (often) hit the wrong key.