Myths, Wives tales, Superstitions, and the Like
08-07-2011, 09:50 PM
#91
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Floral City, Florida
Posts: 116
My Grandmother always said if you got your belly wet when you were washing dishes you would marry a drunk and you never passed a knife or scissors across a table - you had to lay it front of the person and let them pick it up
08-08-2011, 12:46 AM
#93
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: my heart is in texas, philly and london
Posts: 4,756
if you suffer from foot cramps at night, put a bar of soap in your bed , between the sheets.
this is more of a mom-ism, but Never leave the house without clean underwear on.
you can test for the gender of an unborn child by holding a needle dangling from thread over the baby bump. if it goes in circles it's a girl. if it moves in a straight line back and forth, it is a boy.
whenever you are in the car you should count any white horses that you see. when you get to 100, the man you will marry will come from the direction that horse is facing.
this is more of a mom-ism, but Never leave the house without clean underwear on.
you can test for the gender of an unborn child by holding a needle dangling from thread over the baby bump. if it goes in circles it's a girl. if it moves in a straight line back and forth, it is a boy.
whenever you are in the car you should count any white horses that you see. when you get to 100, the man you will marry will come from the direction that horse is facing.
08-08-2011, 04:40 AM
#94
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Plainfield, IN
Posts: 390
I work in theatre. There are a lot of superstitions surrounding the stage, some of them so old nobody knows where they started. I, personally, am not superstitious, but I love learning about the origins of them.
It is bad luck to put shoes anywhere but on the floor--it curses the actor wearing the shoes. It represents the feet being higher than the body, which equals falling onstage.
It is bad luck to whistle backstage. This one has its origins in the early days of "fly houses," when they first started using ropes and pulleys to "fly" the scenery in and out. Sailors were often hired to man the ropes and they communicated scenery moves with a series of whistles, just like they did on ships. An unintentional whistle backstage could result in chaos. Whistle cues went the way of limelight and corsets, but the superstition stuck, and now if you're caught whistling backstage someone may ask (or demand) that you spin around three times and spit behind you.
A theatre is never, ever left completely dark. After hours, a "ghost light" is always left onstage. Depending on where you are, the ghost light is to either ward off ghosts, or to invite the ghosts of former stars to come back and relive their days onstage. There are also those who take the word "dark" literally. In theatre-speak, when a theatre is "dark" it means there is no show running at the moment and there's nothing onstage--meaning the theatre is not making any money. Therefore, some people never allow the theatre to go completely dark. If there isn't some kind of light on at all times, the theatre will shut down. (These days, it's more of a safety thing--theatres are cluttered with scenery, props, and all sorts of dangerous objects, and it's just safer to always have a light on.)
And everyone knows the phrase "break a leg." It's not really a "bad luck to wish good luck" thing. Back in the days of vaudeville, the performers only got paid if they were seen onstage. The long, narrow curtains on the sides of the stage are called "legs." Therefore, if you "broke a leg," or made it onto the stage, you got paid for the evening.
It is bad luck to put shoes anywhere but on the floor--it curses the actor wearing the shoes. It represents the feet being higher than the body, which equals falling onstage.
It is bad luck to whistle backstage. This one has its origins in the early days of "fly houses," when they first started using ropes and pulleys to "fly" the scenery in and out. Sailors were often hired to man the ropes and they communicated scenery moves with a series of whistles, just like they did on ships. An unintentional whistle backstage could result in chaos. Whistle cues went the way of limelight and corsets, but the superstition stuck, and now if you're caught whistling backstage someone may ask (or demand) that you spin around three times and spit behind you.
A theatre is never, ever left completely dark. After hours, a "ghost light" is always left onstage. Depending on where you are, the ghost light is to either ward off ghosts, or to invite the ghosts of former stars to come back and relive their days onstage. There are also those who take the word "dark" literally. In theatre-speak, when a theatre is "dark" it means there is no show running at the moment and there's nothing onstage--meaning the theatre is not making any money. Therefore, some people never allow the theatre to go completely dark. If there isn't some kind of light on at all times, the theatre will shut down. (These days, it's more of a safety thing--theatres are cluttered with scenery, props, and all sorts of dangerous objects, and it's just safer to always have a light on.)
And everyone knows the phrase "break a leg." It's not really a "bad luck to wish good luck" thing. Back in the days of vaudeville, the performers only got paid if they were seen onstage. The long, narrow curtains on the sides of the stage are called "legs." Therefore, if you "broke a leg," or made it onto the stage, you got paid for the evening.
08-08-2011, 05:19 AM
#95
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Woodstock, GA USA
Posts: 1,250
Originally Posted by liondenise
My Grandmother always said if you got your belly wet when you were washing dishes you would marry a drunk and you never passed a knife or scissors across a table - you had to lay it front of the person and let them pick it up
I don't know about the drunk part. I washed dishes from the time I was 4 years old and I got my belly wet fortyleven times and DH rarely touches alcohol and never to excess ;-)
08-08-2011, 06:39 AM
#96
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 799
My DH's grandmother had a fit when her son suggested she get rid of the hogs because they were too much for her by herself. It was disasterous if you didn't have things balanced out...hogs rooting forward and chickens scratching backwards! Couldn't have one with out the other! She, also, would not go out a different door than she used coming in.
08-08-2011, 06:47 AM
#97
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Southern Oklahoma
Posts: 687
My grandmother and mother always said,"If it rains big drops of rain, it will be a short shower. But if the drops afre small it wil last longer."
Also, a friend of mine says you can look at the moon, and if it is tilted toward the ground there will be rain. If it is more level, there won't be any rain.
Also, a friend of mine says you can look at the moon, and if it is tilted toward the ground there will be rain. If it is more level, there won't be any rain.
08-08-2011, 06:53 AM
#98
Power Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 17,728
TryItAll's reminded me of a couple of rainy day ones ......
Rain before seven, top by eleven!
Rain after seven .... and you're in for an all day rain.
If you see rain drops hanging from the clothesline, the rain is over!
Rain before seven, top by eleven!
Rain after seven .... and you're in for an all day rain.
If you see rain drops hanging from the clothesline, the rain is over!
08-08-2011, 07:44 AM
#99
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,027
speaking of superstitions, everyone knows about the wishbone and making a wish. How many grew up calling it a "pully bone"? I had a friend down south who called it that.[/quote]
Yep, grew up in Central Texas and we called it the "pully bone" too. Sometimes I still catch myself saying that. My mother taught me to cut up a chicken to where the "pully bone" was a separate piece and the bone is whole.
Yep, grew up in Central Texas and we called it the "pully bone" too. Sometimes I still catch myself saying that. My mother taught me to cut up a chicken to where the "pully bone" was a separate piece and the bone is whole.
08-08-2011, 07:47 AM
#100
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 1,027
My favorite wive's tale is that if you see a turtle crossing the road it will rain within 3-4 days. It's really true, at least most of the time. Last week I saw a turtle crossing our county road, but I think he was just looking for water as all of our stock tanks are drying up and we have no chance of rain in the forecast.
Another saying my mother always used was if you see a ring around the moon, it will rain soon. She also said that "sun dogs" (those glowing orange spots to one or both sides of the sun late in the afternoon) were a sign of rain coming soon.
Another saying my mother always used was if you see a ring around the moon, it will rain soon. She also said that "sun dogs" (those glowing orange spots to one or both sides of the sun late in the afternoon) were a sign of rain coming soon.
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