'You better not let your mom hear you saying that.' Translation: I'm too tired to discipline you for a small infraction like a cuss word, especially since you probably learned that word from me. Just don't try it in front of your mother or we'll both be sorry!" Cathy Hamilton's handy reference decodes Dad's idiomatic sayings that are often evoked to cajole, shame, motive, inspire, threaten or bewilder his offspring.