Pennsylvania Dutch
Courtesy of my grandmother’s archives, enjoy a few of these Pennsylvania Dutch* sayings (those of you who speak German will recognize its sentence structure cropping up in the English).
“Look the window out to see who is coming”
“Make the lights out”
“Throw the cow over the fence some hay”
“When company came, they say you look good in the face”
“Don’t eat yourself full, Pop, there’s pie back yet”
“Cut the butter half in two”
“Hurrieder I go, the behinder I get”
“A big barn, a plump wife, a man is set for life”
“Aunt Emmy’s shoofly pie sure eats good, ain’t”
“Go the hind way around, the front door is stampened shut”
What for dutchy sayings do you know? Please share in the comments section!
*What is Pennsylvania Dutch and how does it factor into Amish, Mennonites, and the “English?” Check out this article from the Anabaptist historians:
2 Comments
My grandfather was Pennsylvania Dutch. There was a saying passed down from generation to generation. I don’t know the full saying, as much was lost over the years. I believe the original language was German (Did Penn. Deutch have their own version of German?) I do know that In English, part of it was (something like) I caught a fish, as long as my arm, as thick as my wrist and then two more lines that rhymed and had great rhythm.
Do you, or does anyone know anything about it
Some of these words sound familiar, but not all. (this is s Google translate in German)
Ich habe einen Fisch gefangen, der so lang war wie mein Arm und so dick wie mein Handgelenk
Hi Deanna, I think I may have found your rhyme, although it is in *Hochdeutsch* as opposed to Pennsylvania Dutch. Is this it?
https://youtu.be/4SzEUU8FipY