Z is for Zip It ~ 4/30/23

ZIP IT

This is used to tell someone to be quiet.

We made it! What a feat! Another Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is in the books. Well almost. I have to write about Z or Zip it first.

Funny what one remembers. My mom used to get very upset if we told each other to shut up. It just really bothered her.

Similarly if we stuck out our tongues at one another, she’d tell us we just made Mother Mary cry. Heavens forbid! That gutted me. I never wanted to make Jesus’ momma cry. I may have stuck out my tongue once but never again! To this day!

Now flipping the bird, that I can do! LOL. If she wanted to keep me from saying shut up to one of my brothers, the Mother Mary crying thing would have worked. Just sayin’.

Anyway, I have no idea what it was about “shut up” that got to her. We were encouraged to say “be quiet please” & a few times my brother tried “will you PLEASE shut up!” as if adding the please made shut up ok to say. Nope, shut up simply was not allowed.

And now she’s gone 25+ years & I can’t ask her what the big deal was about that. Maybe the rudeness or total dismissiveness? I wonder if she may have tolerated zip it? Zip it good. No, that’s whip it … whip it good. Devo in da house.

Fooled ya, not using Whip It as my song. Instead I leave you with Shut Up & Dance by Walk the Moon. Songwriters: Ben Berger and Ryan McMahon. We need some pep in our step as we exit the challenge.

See you next year! Not if I see you first! ZIP IT! Mom! HE’S BOTHERING ME!!! She STARTED it!! Yep, exactly what we sounded like. LOL. I love my brothers, missing two of them, only me & Jr left from the littles who were close enough in age to bicker like that.

As always, more to come.

Y is for You Catch More Flies With Honey Than With Vinegar ~ 4/29/23

YOU CATCH MORE FLIES WITH HONEY THAN WITH VINEGAR

It is easier to persuade people if you use polite arguments and flattery than if you are confrontational

I once had a boss who would say “You don’t catch more flies with honey, you catch more bees”. His twist on this idiom was that being nice can get you hurt. Nice guys finish last or something like that. And he was and IS a nice Guy. Miss ya JC.

Being sweet as honey might turn one into a doormat. You’ll get flattened. Flattery will get you everywhere. Wink, wink. But at what cost? A surface level connection at best, more like a house of cards ready to fall.

This post is going nowhere fast. Follow me for more idioms within idioms like the ones italicized above.

In all seriousness, I’m not done yet. LOL.

You can’t catch flies with honey unless they want to be caught. At least in my experience. No amount of persuasion, niceness, or flattery will change that. I can’t make them LOVE me! But, if you’re lucky and you cast a wide enough net, maybe some of your found family will accept you.

Now for the song … hmmm with all that’s going on in this post, what theme do I use? Well, I’ve been waiting to spring this gem on you. Let My Love Open the Door by Peter Townsend. I will use the E. Cola mix. This song is not about romantic love. See the American songwriter article linked HERE. Music always makes me feel better & this song lifts my spirit as I imagine singing these words to the one who holds the key to my existence.

When everything feels all over
Everybody seems unkind
I’ll give you a four-leaf clover
Take all worry out of your mind

Expect nothing but never lose hope.

As always, more to come.

X is for X Marks the Spot ~ 4/28/23

We’re almost to the end so I’ve decided to recycle a post. I forget that in 2022 my theme was haiku & a song instead of idiom & a song. Time blurs together for me as per usual. Here you go from 2021, April 28th – X Marks the Spot

As always, more to come.

W is for Waste Not Want Not ~ 4/27/23

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

If you use what you have to the full, then you won’t desire or need more

I feel a novella coming on but I’ll be brief. My mom & dad, the ones who raised me, were the epitome of waste not want not. Both grew up during the Depression & were avid conservationists before that was a thing. I do yearn for simpler times like that though things were not necessarily that much easier. With the limited technology, everything took longer to accomplish but in the end those extra steps made all the difference.

This idiom means so much more than be a recycler or never buy new though. More be satisfied. Don’t let your sH!t sit around & collect dust. Live without regrets. I couldn’t let this challenge go by without some metal. Mainstream metal but still counts. Wasted Years by Iron Maiden, writer Adrian Smith.

As always, more to come.

V is for Vim and Vigor ~ 4/26/23

vim and vigor

Lots of energy & enthusiasm for life

That’s what I’m talking about. Vim & vigor!! We should all be enthusiastic for life as opposed to being full of piss & vinegar. Which is what I thought of first when trying to find a ‘v’ idiom. Vinegar, vigor, close no cigar. Besides P was also about 7 posts prior or 6 or 8. Funny math is back.

Ms. Vim & Vigor is Fit as a Fiddle!

For heaven’s sake, let’s get to the song, this stream of consciousness is going nowhere fast. How about Lust for Life? HERE are some wiki facts. Writers: Iggy Pop, co-written by David Bowie. Rock on wit ur bad selves.

As always more to come.

U is for Up in the Air ~ 4/25/23

UP IN THE AIR

A decision or plan is uncertain or unsure

What are we? Effing savages. Who does that? Who leaves things up in the air? Uh hell know. I have lists for my lists & I plot & I plan EVERYTHING except when I don’t which is often. Let’s just say I am a quick decider. Yep now I’m just making stuff up. Is decider even a word? Yep decider is a word. Plus there’s an app for that. Of course there is … Verry interesting said in my Arte Johnson voice over voice. See this quick clip.

I loved Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In though back then most of the jokes went over my head. And if the show started at 9 pm, I would have been in bed. Maybe I watched the show on reruns? Now back to up in the air. No thanks!

As if this post could not be more all over the place, check on my song selection. Timbaland- Hands in the Air ft. Ne-Yo. Writer(s): Timothy Mosely, Shaffer Smith, Chris Godbey, Jamal Pittman. Not finding much about the song on wiki but it was made for the movie Step Up Revolution. HERE is some info. RIP tWich.

As always, more to come.

T is for Through Thick & Thin ~ 4/24/23

THROUGH THICK AND THIN

To continue to support someone even during difficult times

The mother daughter relationship. Oy Vey! I’ll just say that I’m forever grateful for my baby girl. She saved my life when I lost the only momma I ever knew. And would you look at that. Me with a loss for words. Instead a song. Together Wherever We Go. Songwriter: Stephen Sondheim.

As always, more to come.

S is for Steal Someone’s Thunder ~ 4/22/23

STEAL SOMEONE’S THUNDER

To take attention or praise away from someone else’s accomplishments by outdoing them with your own

I never do that. In fact, I’m the opposite almost. Instead I give credit to the team even when I carry the load. There is no ‘I’ in team or some such nonsense not nonsense. I learned recently the I’m a zero footprint human being. I hang back and let others shine as I apologize for my existence. Ugh! Don’t cry for me bloglandia. I’ll be A-okay! Charles is helping me through all that.

Okay, now for a tune to turn that frown upside down. Thunder by Imagine Dragons. Songwriters: Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, & Daniel Platzman. I love this song!!! HERE are the wiki deets.

As always, more to come.

R is for Rock the Boat ~ 4/21/23

ROCK THE BOAT

To do or say something that could cause a problem or disturbance

When the boat is a rocking, don’t bother knocking. Doh! That’s not even funny. The house … not the boat. When the house is a rockin, don’t bother knocking. Two ear worms come to mind before I even write a little something.

I’m on the fence as to whether boats need to be rocked or if it is best to let sleeping dogs lie. More idioms within idioms though ‘L’ was so 6-7 posts ago. My math is always funny.

Rock the boat has a negative connotation usually preceded with DON’T rock the boat. Yet sometimes looking the other way when something needs to be said is perpetuating the problem. At work, we call speaking up, “healthy challenge”. My nature is to take the happy path or path of least resistance. Pick my battles. I definitely do NOT rock the boat very often despite my sometimes sassy attitude. The only rocker I am is that 70s glam rocker chick.

I have a trial subscription to Sirius in my new vehicle. I’ve been flipping between 70s on 7 and 80s on 8. Good times I tell ya what. Now for the tunes – First Stevie Ray Vaughan … The house is a rockin’ Writer(s): Doyle Bramhall, Stevie Ray Vaughan. HERE are some song facts.

Second, Rock the Boat by the Hues Corporation. Writer Wally Holmes. HERE is the wiki for more 411.

As always, more to come.

Q is for Question of Time ~ 4/20/23

QUESTION OF TIME

Said about something that will surely happen

Finding a ‘q’ idiom was harder than I thought. I borrowed question of time which is more commonly known as a matter of time. I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again, time is a fickle bitch.

There is no surety that something will happen if only given enough time to occur. Sometimes it’s too damn late. I will say this though, my nephew in love helped me tremendously when he said “Jill, but know this, it’ ain’t over ’til it’s over” ~ credit to Yogi Berra. That gave me courage to keep trying until I’m told to get lost or I die … whichever comes first.

Today’s song is Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper, co-writer Rob Hyman. HERE are some wiki facts. Hope you enjoy!

As always, more to come.