70 Sayings You Learned From Your Southern Grandma

You've heard a lot of these Southern sayings before, and odds are that Grandma is your source.

Our mothers and grandmothers have given us so much. They've passed down their recipes, their china patterns, and their parenting tips, for starters. But we've just realized—they've passed down their vocabularies too. We have inherited their styles, their heirlooms, and more than a few of their favorite sayings as well.

We heard all of these adages growing up, and we couldn't help but pick up a few ourselves. However, we're starting to think that these words are passed down to us like our hair color and height. They feel so right—they must be in our DNA. Give your grandma a call, and you're sure to hear at least one of these sayings before you say goodbye.

Sayings Of True Wisdom

• Many hands make light work.

• A stitch in time saves nine.

• Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

• Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

• People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

• Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

• Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise.

• Any job worth doing is worth doing well.

Words Of Encouragement

• The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

• Can't never could.

• You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

• The early bird catches the worm.

• A rising tide lifts all boats.

• Make hay while the sun shines.

• You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

• Fortune favors the brave.

• Strike while the iron is hot.

• Every dog has its day.

• Hurry up, we're burning daylight. 
  

• Don't cry over spilled milk.

Sayings For Life's Entanglements

• A rolling stone gathers no moss.

• It was like herding cats.

• One man's trash is another man's treasure.

• You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

• Beggars can't be choosers.

• This isn't my first rodeo.

• You're barking up the wrong tree.

• The apple never falls far from the tree.

• You're a day late and a dollar short.

• It'll all come out in the wash.

Grandma's Cautionary Measures

• Don't put the cart before the horse.

• Don't count your chickens before they've hatched.

• A watched pot never boils.

• Don't be ugly.

• Too many cooks spoil the gravy.

• Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

• Don't take any wooden nickels.

• Don't buy a pig in a poke.

• You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

• Don't mistake endurance for hospitality.

• If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.

Words Of Kindness

• A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

• Pretty is as pretty does.

• A trouble shared is a trouble halved.

• Home is where the heart is.

• Confession is good for the soul.

• Share and share alike.

• You're the bee's knees. 
  

• I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

• Bless your heart.

• You're the cat's meow.

Grandma's Practical Advice

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

• There's more than one way to skin a cat.

• If it had been a snake, it would have bitten you.

• You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

• It doesn't cut the mustard.

• If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

• Don't judge a book by its cover.

Grandma's Greatest Hits

• Birds of a feather flock together.

• Bless her heart.

• You're preaching to the choir.

• More than you can shake a stick at.

• It doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

• As I live and breathe.

• Oh my stars.

• Gimme some sugar.

• Goodness gracious.

• Heavens to Betsy.

• Well I S'wanee.

• There's no accounting for taste.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.