Listening to Rural Midwestern Idioms/Folk Sayings

Entertaining guide to sayings and expressions from an almost lost early rural culture. Helps explain some strange phraseology and other Midwestern talk. These sayings are colored with allusions from the past and touched with a bit of humor. Some may appear to be crude and crass, but they are authentic. Written by noted storyteller and observer of local folks.

Here is a sampling of these and many other midwestern folk sayings (idioms) in the following categories:

Appearance, such as "being run of the mill" "she's no spring chicken"

Behaviors and Dispositions, as "happy as a cow in clover" "rougher than a cob"

Marriage and Separation - "she led him down the primrose path" "he's in the doghouse"

Common Sense - "he's talkin' through his hat" "few bricks short of a full load"

Credibility - "slippery as a greased pig" "there's a lot of frosting on that cake"

Situations and Tasks - "it was cut and dried before he came" "it was water the dam"

Time, Distance and Weather - "make hay while the sun shines" "goes to bed with the chickens"

Value - "not worth a hill of beans" "can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear"

Competition - "helpless as a pig on ice" "separate the wheat from the chaff"

Money and Finance - "that's just chicken feed" "the well has gone dry"

Relationships - "the pot calling the kettle black" "taken under her wing"

Death and Dying - "he kicked the bucket" "shouldn't buy green bananas"

Communication and Language Skills - "in one ear and out the other" "that's just hogwash"

Kitchen, Household and Food - "he's a meat and potatoes guy" "two pickles short of a quart"

Sports - "went to bat for him" "got a lot on the ball"

You'll find no "beating around the bush" here. If you're ready to "chew the fat" and "strike while the iron is hot," then this book's for you.