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They're called idioms. I've never heard that particular one before, and when I searched it on google nothing popped up; meaning it's not a widely known one. This leads me to believe it's probably an idiom only within his family, or maybe something an elderly relative used to say to him. These are usually sayings in country/smaller towns, and usually in bigger cities we don't hear them often.

Some other one's I know are:

- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
- There's more than one way to skin a cat.
- Kill two birds with one stone.
- Penny for your thoughts.
- Something costing "an arm and a leg."

I'm sure there are probably some that are regional. When I went to Canada my husband's father used to say, "You know what happens when you assume? It makes an a** out of U and me." I had never heard that one before, but now I use it all the time lol.

Haha, my partner told me that one years ago. I remember it vividly because he was a really big deal about it at the time, as if he was imparting some sort of ancient, secret wisdom, and he drew it out with lots of big letters and parentheses. I think it was actually intended as something to comically relieve some of the tension following some big srs bsns discussion we'd been having immediately prior, but whatever the reason, it made an impression, haha.

I don't know why I like paying attention to the crazy things people say. I guess part of it is that so many idioms (even plenty that are very commonly used) are just so silly and ridiculous, but so few people seem to actually stop to think about it because it's the sort of thing they grow up hearing all the time.

People tend to be more or less the same wherever you go. Add to that the massive increase in long-distance travel and communication over the last 50+ years and it's no wonder that certain cultural things manage to find their way across oceans and continents, especially among people who share a common language.

That said, it makes sense that cultural things that are the most dependent on being picked up from family members and other immediate surroundings survive better in smaller communities, where it's more likely that much of the population has lived there all their life (and for several generations).

I've always lived in a big city (not always the same one, but always a big one), and while I love the level of activity and diversity, there are probably a lot of cultural things that tend to get lost in the fray here. Sometimes I worry I'm losing my own cultural identity (I was not born or raised in the UK, I came here for university and then one thing led to another and I just never went home), and sometimes I wonder if my own cultural sense of self would have been stronger had I been raised in a smaller and/or more tightly-knit community. Granted, "cultural identity" really means ******** in terms of anything useful or practical in day-to-day life, and if I never had a strong one to begin with then it's not as if I stand to lose anything significant, but I guess when I encounter people who just seem to deeply embody their own cultural background, I think it's kind of neat, and a part of me respects them for maintaining that even while living far from home.

The only "cultural traditions" that are ever honoured in my household are things like making Lithuanian dumplings when my partner's grandparents are in town, or buying good French wine when my sister stays with us, haha. (Actually, we usually don't even buy it; she usually brings it with her and we just drink it while she's here.) I guess there's something to be said for the fact that we never consciously observe any English cultural traditions (which we wouldn't do even if the English actually had culture). My partner is half English, but it's a half we both prefer to ignore.

...just to be clear, things like the spread and practise of cultural stuff isn't something I've studied or thought about seriously. I'm pretty much just talking out of my arse, but I think my conclusions are reasonable enough.

In northern Ohio, anything negative or bad is referred to either as "an Elyria thing" or "its a Lorain thing."

What does that even mean? Is it a reference to anything in particular?

It means that something is wrong with you, but it's okay. It's like saying, "You're a total idiot, but please don't be offended by that because I still love you."

People don't look at it like it's an insult, but it really is. It's a phrase that makes any sort of following or preceding derogatory comment pertaining to competency okay to say out loud.