This is one of my favorite idioms (old sayings) and I have used it often. In fact, my vocabulary is littered with idioms. Most of which I learned as a child. Where I’m from (the deep south), idioms are a way of life and spoken often, especially in my family. Now I have passed the tradition down to my kids. Of course, most of the time they think I am crazy when I use them or they just don’t understand the meaning. But once explained, they get it, sort of.  Of course my son (formerly known as Mr. Minecraft, and now is referred to as Mr. “really mom, really?!”), says I just need to be direct instead of saying these “crazy sounding” statements. But where is the fun in that?

At some point almost everyone uses them in conversation. Some of my favorites (and ones that I heard often) are hold your horses (be patient), rise and shine (time to get up and get ready), and face the music (confront something unpleasant). One of the best one, of course, is when pigs fly (something that is not going to ever happen). It’s been a great response to these most recent questions, “Will you do all of my homework?” or “Can you buy a brand new gaming system? I’m tired of the one I have.”

So what exactly idioms are and where do they come from? They are words, phrases, or expressions whose meaning cannot be taken literally, only figuratively. It is also a short way to express a complicated idea. According to the english-online.org.uk site, the word idiom is from the Latin and Greek languages and means “one of a kind or to make one’s own.” Most idioms are decidedly English or American, at least all of the ones I know of. But they are not specifically confined to the good ol’ USA. Every language has their own idioms or expressions.

In fact, the origin of this blog comes from an idiom. When we were first talking about starting this blog, we knew that between the two of us we had quite a bit of ground to cover. The sticking point was the name, at least at first. After batting around a few ideas, we hit upon this one. I have always wanted to do something with flying by the seat of my pants because I think it fits me to a tee. I am always barely getting things done, especially with the kids around. So taking that favorite idiom and adding a slight spin on it, Flying by the Seat of our Well-Worn Mom Pants was born!

Let’s face it, without idioms our conversations would be pretty dull. They are colorful, interesting, and humorous. Idioms are a great way to get someone’s attention. We would love to hear from you about your favorite idioms either here or on our Facebook page. We’ll  be posting more on our Facebook page, too. So, don’t be a Doubting Thomas (a skeptic) and give it a shot (give it a try)!