Our family language doesn’t always originate in “the wild minds of children.” (See here.) One day, I fretted over an incident. What was that far-away person, thinking?
Nothing can be known until Mr. Knightly returns.
My husband
I laughed. The tension was broken. Mr. Knightly is a character in Jane Austen’s novel Emma or, in my husband’s case, the movie. While Mr. Knightly is away, Emma frets over Mr. Knightly’s love interest. Emma’s former governess finally says, “Nothing can be known until Mr. Knightly returns.” My husband’s shortcut to making a point.
Movie quotes may not seem like familect, but it is. A friend’s family quotes Home Alone. I’ve seen that movie twice but don’t recognize any lines. Once, an in-law said, “She’ll be there by 10:30 tomorrow morning.” Seeing my blank stare, he added, “It’s from Runaway Bride,” and explained his joke, which of course, ruined it.
And there are the remembered conversations. After an elderly lady recounted a tale from her youth, the elderly man beside her laughed and said, “You tough lady,” which eventually became, “You funny lady.” My husband and I often repeat those words. (Yes, I say “You funny lady” to my husband.)
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