G Is For Gravy, Good Golly

April 8, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 43 Comments

It’s all gravy

… is a wonderful way to say that everything is going well in your life. The logic behind it can be explained thusly:

“This phrase originated from an Old English saying. Life, it explained, is meat and potatoes, and the luxuries are gravy.”

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That being said, for me, this phrase was one that I never heard growing up. My mother, Skinny Ginny, had an aversion to all things sauce. Including, but not limited to, gravy.

There was no gravy in my life, so when I first heard this saying, while in college studying English Literature, it confused me.

To me, gravy was something bad. Empty calories, you know?

When I finally figured out what the saying meant to the rest of the world, I had to laugh. Despite my mother’s good intentions when it came to healthful dining, she did a really good job of screwing with my mind, and inadvertently baffling me.

Which just goes to show, it ain’t always what it seems.

F Is For Froot Loops, For Sure

April 7, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 35 Comments

Just Another Froot Loop to add To the bowl

… is one of my favorite sayings. I first remember hearing it in the late 1990s, but other than that I don’t know its origin.

And I don’t care.

This is because when forced to listen to both sides of a longstanding neighborhood feud, I can say of it all, with detached amusement: I guess she’s just another froot loop to add to the bowl.

Which is true. And not rude. And gets me out of further conversation about an argument that has no definite solution, and I do not now, nor ever will, care about.

The argument being: is it better to home school or public school your children? Like I have an opinion…?! I don’t even have kids.

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“Luckily it hasn’t affected my appetite.”

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E Is For Egg, Exactly What We Need

April 6, 2016January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 41 Comments

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

This proverb tells us to not make everything dependent on one other thing. It reminds you that if you drop that basket and break any eggs, then *kablooey* you’ve lost everything.

Yep, you’ve got nothing then. Kind of like me now.

You see, my gentle readers, I have nothing more to say on the topic of eggs.

Well, that’s almost true.

Sure, I could tell you about my latest experience with eggs [pickled them], but do you really need me to do that?

Instead, I suggest that we all agree that I showed up here, posted something as per the challenge guidelines, and then babbled enough to make it seem like I had something to say.

This works for me. I hereby declare that I have written about the letter “E.”

And the A To Z Challenge continues tomorrow…

D Is For Doughnuts, Darn It

April 5, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 46 Comments

I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts

… is a saying dating from 1904. It means you are so confident about what you know that you’re willing to bet on it. That is, a dollar has more value than a doughnut, so you are willing to give long odds, knowing that you’re going to win.

On the surface this saying has nothing to do with doughnuts, per se. In fact, some 1880s versions of this saying were “dollars to buttons” or “dollars to dumplings.”

There was even a “dollars to cobwebs” version of this saying. Shocking that it didn’t catch on, eh?

But being of a contrary mind, I have to wonder if the fact that doughnuts look like little zeros contributed to the popularity, and subsequent staying power, of this particular version of the saying.

I mean think about it, once in a while who doesn’t like to talk about doughnuts [or donuts, if you lean toward the more modern spelling]?

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