I like to think of myself as a savvy person, but there were certain things my folks said growing up that flew right over my head.  “Bigger than a bread box.”  “That’s the way the cookie crumbles.”  “Eat humble pie.”  “Pleased as punch.”  References to who knows what as mom and dad rambled on about one thing or another.  It’s the clearest example of in one ear and out the other I’ve got.

And now?  Well, I’ll be darned if I don’t see the exact same thing in my own kids.

Penny for your thoughts?

“What can I do with a penny?”

Back to the drawing board.

“What’s a drawing board?  And why would you go back to it?  Didn’t you already draw it the first time?”

It’s the best thing since sliced bread.

“Well, duh…bread’s always been sliced.”

If I had my druthers…

“What’s a druther?”

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

“How can you count a chicken before it’s hatched?  You’d be counting eggs.”

Biting off more than you can chew.

“That doesn’t even make sense.  I can chew any bite I put in my mouth.”  [Point in fact, this expression is a physical impossibility in our house.  Food-wise.]

Burn the midnight oil.

“Why would you be burning oil?”

Give him the hairy eyeball.

“Ewwwww.”

Save your bacon.

“Are we having bacon?”

Elvis has left the building.

“Who’s Elvis?”