Another Way: A mother’s dictionary
[Editor’s note: Melodie Davis is on vacation; this is a previously printed popular column from 2009]
Upstonah.
Have you ever caught yourself using one of your mother’s — or father’s words, that doesn’t really come from any language that you know of other than mother language?
I caught myself saying, “Oh it’s all upstonah” one day, and realized that one of my mom’s words was lurking back there in my brain and I hadn’t heard or said it in ages!
Upstonah means, roughly, a big mess. It could be Yiddish or Pennsylvania Dutch for all I know, but it is one of those perfect words that sounds like what it means.
Another word Mom would use when something went awry was “kafluey.” One reader, Marla, wrote to me saying she loved my mom’s word “kafluey.” She shared that one of her mother’s weird wonderful words was “licky-dab”: anything that could hold something together, like duct tape or even adhesive shelf-paper. “She could fix anything with licky-dab and some ingenuity,” Marla said and added, “Someone should make a mother’s dictionary!”
I asked my children for some words they remember in my motherly vocabulary. Such words function as in-family jokes, that act as “licky-dab” to bind you together as a family.
Tanya, our middle daughter, wrote back almost immediately: “Remember the first time I tried to order eggs in a restaurant without your help? You always made our eggs ‘squishy’ but I doubted the waitress would know what that was. I asked you for the right words to describe how I liked my eggs.”
A squishy egg, in case you are wondering, is an egg that is mostly fried and turned over and just a little runny in the middle—and just a little squishiness left in which to dunk your toast.
Another daughter recalled my word for a fall or ouchie: “ouchie-boom,” as in “Don’t go near the edge of the porch or you’ll fall and go ouchie-boom.” I had completely forgotten my use of that wonderful word!
A similar sounding word “boucher” was our word for tangles in the hair. With three girls, we had a lot of knots. The first time I met someone with the French last name, “Boucher,” it seemed funny to me, but I soon learned they pronounce it “boo-shay.”
Michelle also remembered “schmutz” which came straight from my mom. Wikipedia says it is a Yiddish word of German derivation, meaning dirt, soil, or mess. Such as “What’s that schmutz on your face.” I would have guessed it came from Pennsylvania Dutch. Probably some link there, since Pa. Dutch derives from German too.
I also had a habit of calling the children when they were very small, “booger-bum.” Don’t ask. Because I can’t quite explain that one.
One day I saw a license plate (this is weird, too) saying simply “Ay yi yi.” Shades of my father: Dad would frequently say “ay yi yi yi” when something was bad — as in looking at a bill or report card or if something mechanical broke down. He would also say shucks or jeepers if he was mad, but never their stronger alternatives in the “cuss” department. Oh for Dads today who would use nothing stronger than shucks or jeepers or ay yi yi!
My daughters loved some of their grandmother’s words and expressions. Grandma was known to proclaim: “Our family is very Dodgey,” in reference to the fact that many in the family liked Chrysler/Dodge vehicles.
Our girls also jotted down this burst from Grandma: “Grandpa told me a meal I made was good. Well you can just write that on the chimney!”
Does this stir any memories for you? I’d love to hear! Write to me at anotherwaymedia@yahoo.com or Another Way Media, P.O. Box 363, Singers Glen, VA 22834.
Another Way is a column by Melodie Davis, in syndication since 1987. She is the author of nine books. Another Way columns are posted at FindingHarmonyBlog.com a week after newspaper publication.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Melodie Davis column about motherly vocabulary
