Texas Sayings and Folklore

About this book

On the eve of his 100th birthday Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey shares a generous collection of sayings from his homeland. What began as an enjoyable hobby and led to a limited edition book has now been expanded to include thousands more folk sayings. Many of the expressions here are as old as language itself. Some have their origin in ancient Sumerian and Sanskrit. Others come from Chinese and African tongues as well as Hebrew Greek and Latin. Wherever they originated they bear the wisdom of the ancients and they have been used in vernacular speech in Texas during the last century. Some are light-hearted while others convey deep emotionjoy sorrow life death and human frailty. Born before sound movies phonography or rapid transportation became popular Dr. Kelsey reminds us that language has the lasting power to both define and delight us. The more things change the more we coin colorful phrases to describe our experiences.