Nothing beats the old sayings our dads used to say in the 50s and 60s. While they may no longer be with us, their hilarious quotes and memorable sayings will stay with us forever.
While the sayings were probably a big part of your childhood and upbringing, chances are you find yourself using the same quotes and sayings on your own family and friends these days. Starts at 60 is looking back at some of the best sayings and asked the community for some of the sayings their own fathers used to use.
“Close the door! Were you raised in a barn?”: If you ever left the door open when you entered a room or a building, it was likely your dad would say this. It doesn’t matter how many times he said it, chances are he always thought it was hilarious.
“While you’re living under my roof, you’ll do as I say”: A classic dad line. It was commonly used in the teenage years, when you wanted to rebel or do something that he didn’t approve of. It was usually met with an eye-roll on your behalf.
“Because I said so”: Remember asking your dad for something that was extremely important as a kid, only to have him tell you no? Our little brains couldn’t understand how he could have come to such a harsh decision, and our request for further information was usually met with this sassy response.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, you know!”: If you were a mischievous kid, there’s every chance you came up with an elaborate lie to cover a mistake you made or to hide something from your parents. It may have worked sometimes, but chances are your dad was probably always one step ahead of you and ready for this comeback to foil your plans.
“This hurts me more than it hurts you”: Getting in trouble was never nice, but it was worse when your dad claimed that issuing a punishment was actually worse for him than it was for you having to do it in the first place.
‘Just don’t tell your mother”: If at first your mother didn’t give in to your pleas, your dad was probably a big softie who didn’t mind helping you out. It was, of course, done on the down-low and you would have been instructed never to let your mother know what really went down. Your dad may also have used the phrase if you caught him doing something he wasn’t meant to be doing.
“Put that back, I’m not made of money”: If you ever went to the shops with your dad, chances are he wasn’t as lenient as your mum when it came to toys and tasty snacks. Even though you probably didn’t think that chocolate bar or toy was that expensive, he always made it seem like the world would end if he purchased it for you.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older”: This was usually the response you were given when you read about something a little raunchy or overheard an older kid explaining something in graphic detail in the playground at school. While your dad promised to tell you when you were older, chances are you were probably informed by someone else in the family.
There are kids in Africa starving”: While he wasn’t lying, it didn’t make eating some nasty corned-beef or disgusting vegetables any easier.
“I’ll wash your mouth out with soap”: If you accidentally dropped a swear word in front of your father, he probably threatened you with this as a way of cleaning up your language.
‘You’ll understand when you’re a parent”: The irony of this saying was that your dad was completely right. In most cases, you probably understood why he and your mother did the things they did.