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I'm Maggie Smith, and this is The Slowdown.

Idioms and common sayings communicate so much about where we come from and who we come from.

I come from the Midwest, and my family's roots here are deep.

I grew up with a lot of what I'd call Midwestern folk sayings,

though no doubt some of them traveled from other regions, perhaps up from the south or down from New England. You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

is something I'm sure I've heard my mother say.

It's as if she has a little wooden recipe box in her mind,

filled with three by five cards,

with beloved sayings written on them, as if she can flip through all

the cards and pull the one she needs for the moment. If you don't have anything nice to say,

don't say anything at all, was always a popular one directed at me growing up.

Fine, I was a mouthy kid. I suppose some mouthy kids become writers.

Another popular one was two wrongs don't make a right.

That one came in handy, I'm sure, when one of my sisters did something to me,

and I did something to get her back.

I also remember my mom saying, do as I say, not as I do.

...