Ways to Say Someone is Pregnant

Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Scott from Susanville, California.

Hi, Scott. Hi. My wife is pregnant and it’s really fun, especially when we, you know, meet people or run into people that we haven’t seen, you know, at the grocery store. And we actually had one guy that we know just kind of look stunned and point at her belly. And we’re like, yep, she’s pregnant. And this has been a lot of fun. And we’ve been thinking about different ways of saying it. We’re just wondering how many different ways there were and if there’s any history behind it. You know, we like Great with Child. We heard that one and thought that was pretty good. Great with Child. Of course, Knocked Up. But we just wanted to get your guys’ opinion and see what else there was and what kind of history you’ve learned.

Yeah, Great with Child is in the Bible. It’s biblical.

Yeah. Yeah. Did I hear you say Knocked Up?

Oh, I’m saying I’ve heard knocked up, but that’s not our preferred one to use.

And what’s her favorite?

What’s your favorite?

I like great.

She likes great with child.

Great with child.

In a joking way.

Not super, yeah, serious.

That’s great.

And then once she has the baby, she’ll be really great with child.

Yes, absolutely.

But one that was curious, we heard an old one was like in the family way.

I guess they used to say, maybe.

And that one just kind of creeps me out.

Really? Why?

I don’t know.

I guess it’s something about the secrecy behind it.

Maybe that they weren’t allowed to talk about it.

And it seems so natural and something you’d want to celebrate.

So I don’t know.

It almost seems like you did something wrong.

There’s a whole slew of these terms.

Everything from what? Swallowed a pumpkin seed?

Do you like that one?

Or swallowed a watermelon seed?

Yeah.

Yeah, that’s a good one.

Well, there’s basic ones too, like lumpy or clucky or awkward.

Clucky.

These adjectives have all been used in English dialects.

Eating for two.

But the clucky goes back to the idea that you are like a mother hen who’s broody sitting on your eggs waiting for them to hatch.

So you’re clucky.

I think that might get me in trouble with my wife.

Okay, so we’re going to rule out clucky, right?

How about eating for two?

Eating for two.

Yeah, that one comes up mostly when she wants the rest of the pizza, and I have to give it up because, I mean, how do you argue with that?

I have lists.

There’s at least 120 of these.

I have lists, my friend.

Wow.

120.

Let me just run through some, all right?

Delicate condition, double ribbed, with child, be with book, in the familiar way, not just in the family way, in for it, in pot, in pup, preggers, pregnant, pregnable.

Poisoned with a kid in the basket, bun in the oven.

Joined the pudding club.

I have no idea what that means.

Shot in the giblets.

Away the trip, full in the belly, belly up, apron up, knocked up, up the spout, up the stick, and up the way.

But joined the pudding club?

Joined the pudding club.

Oh, that’s my favorite.

Some of these are inscrutable because they come from other times and places, and it’s hard to know without doing a great deal of research on every single one why they are what they are.

Bay window.

You have a bay window means you’re pregnant.

Oh, we have a bay window.

Here’s one that looks like it’s pretty widespread in the south.

Broke her toe.

Broke her toe.

I’ve never heard that one.

Interesting.

That’s weird.

I don’t know.

Are any of these appealing to you, Scott?

The Pudding Club sounds pretty good.

I like that.

I’ll have to run them by my wife.

I don’t think she’d like the clucky one, although the mother hen thing makes sense.

Great with book or with book is just funny because I don’t really know.

Yeah, we just thought it was really interesting that there were so many different ways, and I guess you can kind of tell how excited the person is about it by which phrase they’re using.

Bravest child, you know, obviously you sound pretty impressed with yourself.

But, you know, knocked up not so much.

Yeah.

Well, I think the great there is like large in that case.

But, Scott, what’s your wife’s name?

Marika.

Yeah.

Well, I’m glad that you seem to be consulting her on all of these terms.

I think this bodes well.

I think you’re both going to be great with that child.

Oh, well, thank you.

Scott, thanks for calling.

I really appreciate it.

All right.

Thank you, guys.

All right.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

You know, I’m betting that our listeners have lots more of these that they’d like to share with us.

So if you’ve joined the Pudding Club already.

If you’re pregnant and you have a funny way to say it, let us know.

877-929-9673 or send those emails to words@waywordradio.org.