When I was a teenager, my mother used to warn against following the crowd by always saying, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?" Undoubtedly I'd roll my eyes and walk out of the room, thinking how silly this line of reasoning really was. But now that I'm the mother, with three teenagers of my own, I've found myself saying the same thing to my own kids -- much to my chagrin.
But everyone does it. And so what sayings from your parents do you surprise yourself by repeating? I asked our Facebook fans the same question and was inundated with responses, many of which brought back memories of my own childhood. Check out a few of them below. Have anything to add? Let me know in comments.
1) "After the red light turns green and a driver doesn't move: 'That's the only shade of green we've got'," said Katie Altman.
2) "Pretty is as pretty does," said Valier Barricklow.
3) "My mama would say 'this too shall pass' -- I say it often," said Robbie Martin.
4) "Your face is going to freeze like that," said Peg Whetstone.
5) "Brand new car and the blinker doesn't work?!?!" said Troy Spainhower.
6) "You lie like a rug," said Delsa Pauletich.
7) "Now, be a sweet girl and be nice to your cousin," said Iona Warmack.
8) "Because I said so, that's why!" said Michaelene Llewellyn.
9) "Have a good time and don't do anything I wouldn't do," said Kit Burns Wheatley.
10) "My dad used to say that there are no free lunches," said Judith Gregg.
11) "Turnabout is fair play," said Jean Capron.
12) "Waste not, want not. Dumber than a doorknob. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl," said Jane Thompson.
13) "If you had a brain you'd be dangerous," said Theresa Pugh.
14) "Go to sleep. I'm tired," said Jamie Wieloch.
15) "Eat your food. There are kids starving in China," said Carol Suttmiller.
16) "Number than a pounded thumb," said Donna Gammy Gallant.
17) "Scuzi (skoozee) hiney. After passing gas!" said Pamela Palmer.
18) "Not worth a tinker's dam," said Dana Vermeersch.
19) "Oh my stars!," said Don Wilder.
20) "A fish rots from the head down," said Carla Carlyse Gallagher.