My voluminous memory

Well -- I guess it finally time to dredge through my own voluminous memory of my late father's stock of hardy and handy phrases.

(but additions are still appreciated)

*Yes my darling daughter, you can hang your clothes on the chestnut tree, but don't go near the water.

*A good workman never blames his tools

*Do as I say, not as I do

*My only regret --- is that I began teaching too soon

*Those who cannot do, teach -- those who cannot teach, teach others how to teach

*Every craftsman has a persuader (i.e. big mallet/hammer for pounding things into place)

*The most common error in navigation is 180 degrees

*Everyone is either a teasee - or a teasor

*It takes two to tango

*It'll knock your socks off (for art that is good)

*Mickey Mouse / pathetic (for art that is not so good)

*The only taste he's got is in his mouth (for one who cannot tell the difference between the above)

*can't cut the mustard (i.e. incompetent or impotent)

*the closer the bone the sweeter the meat (apparently a tribute to thin women ?)

*full of piss and vinegar (a go-getter)

*She knifed me one night 'cause I wished she was white,
And I learned about women from her

*Willie the Shake (his favorite writer)

* The cabin boy, the cabin boy,
The dirty little nipper;
He filled his ass with broken glass,
And circumcised the Skipper!


*There's many a slip twixt cup and lip

*You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink
(regarding recalcitrant students)

*Man is born to trouble - as the sparks fly upward

*Many are called, but few are chosen

*It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory, a case of do or die
("As Time Goes By" must have been his favorite song, and he probably liked "Casablanca")

*I Object on On General principle (when no other reason seems available)

*Double mean (to describe a rather cold, heartless person)

*Go for the big shape -- and --- don't be so fussy (an aesthetic principle)

*Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (proper goals for living)

*Free, white, and 21 (qualifications for pursuing the above)

*A wild head -- or an insane mind (positive mental attributes)

*Strip my gears and call me shiftless (Carin remembers this as Dick's response the observation that his right shoe was a different color from his left)

*So scary, you'll lose a year's growth (really bad drawing, painting, or sculpture -- usually by a beginning student)

Introduction

The purpose of this blog is to collect the wit and wisdom
of that prolific sculptor and sage raconteur, R.J. Miller.

Frequently used phrases of any vintage,
originality, length, or political correctness are acceptable.

For example:

*That's cooking with gasoline (Danny Leonard)
*It Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing (Doug and Carol's favorite)
*Whatever helps you helps you (Doug and Carol's second favorite)
*Queer as a three dollar bill
*Cold as a witch's tit
*(that smell would) tear the hide off a dead pig.
*The dream of reason produces monsters (as quoted from Goya)
*It takes two to tango



... and come to think of it ... even frequency does not need to be a criterion ... so if some especially pithy remark clings to your memory ... this is the place to share it.

Readers of this post are invited to make their contributions
as comments to this post --
and as the list approaches the thousands --
I'll sort them into appropriate categories.