What's that you say??

By Ann Marie Ames ( Contact )   May 21, 2008 - 4:37 p.m.

I had just gotten done talking to Evansville crop producer Gordy Andrew on Tuesday afternoon when Cathy Idzerda yelled a question across the news room:

"How long does a field have to be dry before they can plant corn?"

I had forgotten to ask Gordy something, so I called him back and asked Cathy's question too.

His answer made Wednesday's story on crop yields.

"If you can make a mud ball, it's too wet."

I couldn't make up stuff like that.

It's one of my favorite things about being the ag reporter. Farmers just have great descriptive phrases.

A couple from my grandpa, John Ames:

-- "There was a line from Hell to breakfast."

-- "Whoever laid this road was following a got !! dang !! cow!!!!" (That was in the truck with a full load on the way to Wilmot.)

A couple of others I've jotted in the notebook:

-- (How are you today?) "Well, I can still stand up and make a fist."

--It takes real, hard money to buy whiskey.

--"In case I get hit by a bus..." such and such information is in the book in this desk drawer.

Please feel free to add quotes from your favorite relative or feed mill secretary.

And watch out for buses. Or wandering cows.

reader COMMENTS (37)
Dr_Fever
Jun 1, 2008 at 12:58 a.m.
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Jimmy you make my ass tired

stuckhog
May 26, 2008 at 12:58 p.m.
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one of my all time family favs....
faster than hell can scorch a feather

Hockeyjockey
May 25, 2008 at 10:52 p.m.
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Or the sentence that gets everyone jumping: "The cows are out!"

By the way, I always thought Tom Waits came up with the "frontal lobotomy" line.

Noneya
May 24, 2008 at 10:33 p.m.
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Why (instead of well) strip my gears and call me shiftless!

wisconsinheat
May 24, 2008 at 10:06 p.m.
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OK...Sorry

tjncj
May 24, 2008 at 8:02 p.m.
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WisconsinHeat-I'd give credit if I'd ever heard of Fred Allen. I heard this the first time over 35 years ago from my uncle.

ms_sassy_wi
May 24, 2008 at 3:31 p.m.
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no matter what was happening...

you gotta make hay while the sun's a shining.

NVgrf
May 24, 2008 at 1 p.m.
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Always drink upstream from the herd.

momworksalot
May 24, 2008 at 9:06 a.m.
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Child: "Hey Mom!" Mom: "Hay is for horses."
You move slow as molasses in January!
You're not a cow... quit chewin' your cud!(spit out your gum)
How 'bout some hen's fruit for breakfast? (eggs)
Warm up the jallopy...pantry needs stockin' and Mom needs yard goods! (warm up the car, we need groceries and Mom needs sewing material)
For golly gosh sakes! Could ya keep it down to a low roar? (be quiet)
Hold your horses!( wait a minute)
Hang onto your underwear! (something unexpected was about to happen)
Where's the whatchamacallit? You know, the thingamabob with the doodad. Oh, what's-her-name put it in the junk drawer by the thingamajig next to the little dealie thing. Thanks, I need it for the whats-it.

bwheelock
May 24, 2008 at 7:43 a.m.
Suggest removal

You'd go trompin' down to the crick, the calf is bellerin'.
Hmmm...I'm trying to think of turkey-related ones, but coming up empty.

woodchuck
May 24, 2008 at 7:23 a.m.
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Plant your garden when the oak leaves are the size of a squirrel's paw.

wisconsinheat
May 24, 2008 at 12:25 a.m.
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Fred Allen said: "I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me...than a full frontal lobotomy"
.
Give credit where credit is due.

chelleandlou
May 24, 2008 at 12:20 a.m.
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Gosh darn, the only one I can recall is 'you got potatoes growin in those ears'...for dirty ears...lol

Irish_Mafia78
May 23, 2008 at 11:41 p.m.
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"prunt'near." As in: "He's got prunt'near 20 head."

Oh my. My grandparents would say that!

when I was little I thought "Prit'near" was a real word.

There was prit'near and accident at the stop and go lights!"

jbrown
May 23, 2008 at 10:11 p.m.
Suggest removal

We raised rabbits and my dad referred to the manure as "smart pellets." When I finally asked "why?" (as a kid), he replied, "Because if you ever ate one, you'd be real smart not to do it again!"

tjncj
May 23, 2008 at 7:28 p.m.
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"I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy"

Hockeyjockey
May 23, 2008 at 7:06 p.m.
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I can't spell this, but my dad always said, "prunt'near." As in: "He's got prunt'near 20 head."

aames
May 23, 2008 at 6:43 p.m.
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Hahahahahahaha!!!

These are all great. I especially love the part about how describing measurements is singluar.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to stop myself from saying, "How many bushel?" or "You got 15 ton on that truck."

That's fine on the weekend, but I can't say things like that in the newsroom. It don't look good.

janesvillean
May 23, 2008 at 6:22 p.m.
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"If you can make a mud ball, it's too wet."

That's not a saying. That's what they teach you in gardening school.

yousureitsme
May 23, 2008 at 5:44 p.m.
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Grandma used to warn us: "Don't eat too many of those green apples or you'll come home with LumPuckeroo"

momworksalot
May 23, 2008 at 3:58 p.m.
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Dad never got a haircut... he had his ears lowered.
When Dad ate he didn't use silverware... he used scrap iron.
His mother would tell us to put on a clean waist if we got our shirts dirty, and if our hands weren't clean she'd tell us to wash our paddies.
Mom would always leave a tip for any one in need of it...plant your corn early!

Curlrock
May 23, 2008 at 3:02 p.m.
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"Feels kinda close today" (i.e humid)

Growing up, my grampa always described distances in rods. (i.e That deer was about 30 rod past the fence) I remember never knowing the actual distance of anything he ever described. Also, he always used the singular "rod" no matter how many rods he was talking about. I'm not sure if that was just him or if everybody did that. It wasn't until later in life I found out a rod was 16.5 ft.

tjncj
May 23, 2008 at 12:35 p.m.
Suggest removal

"two shakes of a dead lambs tail"

"if brains were lard you wouldn't grease a very big skillet"

noggi
May 23, 2008 at 6:28 a.m.
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Growing up we always heard "pot licker"<<<<

Technically "pot liquor" meaning the liquid left in a pot after cooking vegetables, meat, whatever.

rstricker
May 22, 2008 at 9:53 a.m.
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"Throw the cow over the fence some hay."

turkeyman
May 21, 2008 at 6:47 p.m.
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Q.Think the rain will hurt the rhubarb? A. Not unless the dogs get to it first.

deweeze
May 21, 2008 at 6:35 p.m.
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Growing up we always heard "pot licker"
We never gave it a thought until 10 yrs ago when my sister-in-law (who I might add is 12 yrs my senior) ask what my mom had said and what it ment. Needless to say what Mom discribed was not the picture I had in my mind lol.
There is something to be said about child innocences. lol

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