Mama’s Butter has Slipped off her Biscuit
Phrases get weaved inexplicably into our conversation. Who knows where they come from?
My brother called this morning to tell me that our mother forgot which day we’re meeting for brunch despite both of us reminding her approximately 3,000 times.
“Your mother’s butter has slipped off her biscuit,” he said.
My husband overheard and laughed. “I’ve never heard that phrase before. What does that even mean?”
It means she’s lost the thread on something. Obviously.
But his question did make me wonder if this is one of those phrases my mother imported from her Southern childhood. She arrived in our small Midwestern town as an exotic import from parts unknown (Missouri), clearly unrelated to anyone, which is how my father knew it was safe to start dating her when they were in high school. They married at nineteen, and she’s been peppering our collective vocabulary with eccentric phrases ever since.
My brother and I have a whole language of family shorthand. “Just for your 1043” means FYI which was one of Dad’s most commonly used police radio codes. “Versteh?” means “do you understand?” courtesy of our German-speaking grandparents. I didn’t realize that one wasn’t English until high school German class.
But “butter slipped off her biscuit”? Sounds like a southern witticism to me.
Have any of you heard this phrase before? Does your family you have sayings that make perfect sense to you but leave everyone else confused?