Country Sayings told to me by my Parents and others

My Mother, Cozette Bentz, was born in Coshocton County, Ohio in 1913.  She grew up on a farm off Route 83 south of the city of Coshocton.  Her father, Charles Royer, was a farmer, school teacher, and County Recorder. She was proud of the fact she was educated in the one-room Wills Creek school house through 8^th grade; she graduated as valedictorian of her class at Coshocton High School.  She went to Business School; and then she worked as the chief clerk at the USDA North Appalachian Hydrology Research Station near Coshocton, and later as purchasing agent at Universal Cyclops Specialty Steel manufacturing near Coshocton.

My Dad, Bill Bentz, was born in 1913 in Norwood, Ohio near Cincinnati, and grew up in the small town of Racine in Meigs County, Ohio along the Ohio River.  His Dad, John Bentz, was a carpenter and his Mother, Bertha, was school teacher at one time.  After graduating from Racine High School, he worked at a CCC camp in Southern Ohio during the Depression.  He then worked at the USDA Research Station in Coshocton.  During World War II, he rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant in the US Army Air Force where he specialized in repairing Bomb Sites for the planes bombing Germany.  At the time, this was a very high-tech job.  He was stationed at an airbase in Northampton, England.  After the war, he returned to work at the USDA Research Station and married my Mother.  He used the technical skills he learned in the Army to become a Hydrology Technician where he built instruments to measure the underground flow of water.

When I was growing up in the 1950’s, my parents, especially my Mother, had pithy country sayings they said often, and the sayings still come back to me now in the appropriate situations.  I decided to write down them when they came back to me.  I attribute many of the sayings as being first told to me by my parents although I am sure I learned many of them from other sources.  The following is the list so far.  Please comment if you think of any others so I can add them to the list.

Pithy Sayings  

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Don’t cry over spilt milk.

Cream rises to the top.

A stitch in time saves nine.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all.

Spare the rod and spoil the child.

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

Action speaks louder than words; and its corollary, talk is cheap.

Idle hands make the devil’s mischief.

Early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

The closer the bone, the sweeter the flesh

You reap what you sow.

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

Don’t be the little boy who cries wolf.

Beauty is only skin deep.

Easy come, easy go.

Buy low, sell high.

Better safe than sorry.

He who hesitates is lost.

One hand washes another.

Don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

Turn the other cheek.

Let justice roll down like waters. (Amos)
Two “wrongs” don’t make a “right”.
A fool and his money soon part.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Don’t wish your life away.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The proof is in the pudding.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Don’t put the cart before the horse.
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Don’t swap horses in the middle of the stream.
The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
Better to be big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.
To err is human, to forgive divine.
You can’t teach and old dog new tricks.
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.
Look before you leap.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite.
Chickens come home to roost.
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  – Jesus
Truth is stranger than fiction.
The early bird catches the worm.
He who laughs last, laughs hardest.
He has carried his eggs to a fine market.

Quaint Metaphors

It’s like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

It’s like making a mountain out of a mole hill.

It’s water over the dam, or water under the bridge.

There are too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.

He’s no spring chicken. (older)

It’s old as the hills. (oldest)

It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. (easy)

It’s more fun than a barrel on monkeys.

Darkness (or fog) so thick you could cut it with a knife.

It’s raining cats and dogs.

He’s stubborn as a mule.

He’s sly as a fox.

It’s as American as apple pie.

He’s crazy as a loon.

It’s a tough nut to crack.

He’s wise as an owl

He’s crying crocodile tears

He’s a snake in the grass

It’s like opening a can of worms.

It’s like opening Pandora’s Box.

It’s like putting a square peg in a round hole

He got the golden handshake.

I’ll play it by ear.

It came out of the blue.

He hit below the belt.

It (the thought) came to me off the top of my head.
Dyed in the wool.
A fly in the ointment.
You give a inch, but he takes a mile.
Putting in your two cents
Beating around the bush
The tail’s wagging the dog
Dog and pony show
When push comes to shove
The whole nine yards
Killing two birds with one stone
That’s the pot calling the kettle black.
Sight for sore eyes
Throwing out the baby with the bath water
Clean as a whistle
Beating a dead horse
Penny-wise and pound-foolish
Feather in his cap
Getting on your high horse
Going on a wild goose chase
Pig in a poke
Where the rubber meets the road
Already baked in the cake
Home cooking