Family Culture

Every family has its own culture. That culture is based on shared experiences such as dinnertime rituals, vacations, holiday traditions, and sometimes trials and tribulations. Those experiences give families their own language and inside jokes and references. Just as many families have done, our family language has borrowed extensively from books and movies. Last week I began making a list of the lines we've borrowed and that are now an everyday part of our family culture. The list is six pages long and I'm still adding to it as we think of new ones! I thought it would be fun to share some of those from time to time. I'll give some below, and you try to guess the source. Some are more obvious than others, and I don't guarantee that I have the quotes exactly correct, but they should be recognizable. Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments. The prize is the knowledge of a job well done. :-)

Here we go:

The proprieties must be observed at all times.

There’s more to him than meets the eye.

Is this a kissing book?

Constant viligance!

I need two kinds of ice cream. I'm recuperating.

What does MRCVS mean to you?

Don’t want anymore corpses. Get a reputation.

Cyril never has any money.

No lickin', no larnin'.

Great doctrinal import

Things are boiling up nicely.

Things are not very good around here.

They’ll be safe with me; I’ve got twelve guns in my room.

I want some PTA!

It's a pome. I'm quotin'!

You shall not pass!

Difficulty distinguishing sounds

If I had ever learnt, I would be a true proficient.

Don’t give any of your startling speeches.

The spirits!