On our Facebook page, listeners are sharing colloquial sayings they’ve heard used to describe events. These phrases include I haven’t had so much fun since the horse kicked Father, I haven’t had so much fun since the hogs et my little brother up, and I haven’t had so much fun since the barn burned down. If something’s amusing — or is supposed to be — someone might also ironically note that they haven’t laughed so hard since Maggie fell out of the hearse. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Haven’t Had so Much Fun Since…”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette. On our Facebook group, Arlene Westhoven wrote,
After certain gatherings, my family sometimes said, I haven’t had so much fun since the horse kicked father.
Poor dad.
Yeah, and that reminded me of the one that I heard growing up, which was,
I haven’t had so much fun since the hogs ate my little brother up.
No.
They would, too.
Hawks can be mean.
Yeah, you know that from experience, right?
Absolutely.
A lot of people chimed in with their own versions that they’d heard.
Ken Jones said that his family said,
Haven’t had so much fun since the barn burnt down.
And Sarah Bradley said, I haven’t laughed so hard since Maggie fell out of the hearse.
And these are all usually said when you didn’t really think it was funny?
You know, maybe it’s sarcastic.
Maybe it’s ironic.
Or both.
It’s sometimes genuinely sad and sometimes sarcastically sad.
Well, we haven’t had so much fun since the last time you called us,
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